A lot of people think that minivans are like the Brussels sprouts of vehicles: Good for you, but that’s about it. To a certain extent, they’re right. They’re the kind of vehicles that are good in comparison: Not as big and thirsty as SUVs, more useful than crossovers and wagons. By that measure, minivans are hard to beat and people-and-things haulers. The flip side is that minivans are almost always completely free of passion. Even the company that started it all, Chrysler, can’t seem to do more to make its vans appealing than cram more features inside.

A lone exception is the 2009 Honda Odyssey. I recently spent a week with one, and although the basic vehicle has been around since the 2005 model year, it’s still the act to beat in the minivan arena for one simple reason: It’s pleasant to drive. Not M3 pleasant, of course. But when you put the Odyssey up against the likes of the Chrysler/Dodge vans – including the Volkswagen Routan – the Odyssey will be the one that you’ll actually want to spend time with.

The reason is simple. Objectively measure minivans and they all come out roughly the same, whether it’s in cargo room, hauling capacity, horsepower, etc. They’ll all get you and your stuff and/or family from A to B without complaint, and if you’re willing to pony up, they all offer roughly the same creature comforts. However, the Odyssey is the only van with reflexes good enough to even mention, and for someone like me, that makes all the difference.

Engine & Drivetrain

Powering every 2009 Honda Odyssey, regardless of trim choice, is a 3.5-liter 244-hp V-6 engine connected to a five-speed automatic transmission. The only difference is that the EX-L and Touring models get a version with Honda’s variable displacement system that shuts down half of the cylinders when you’re at very light throttle. It’s seamless in operation, and if it weren’t for the glowing “ECO” light on the dash, you’d never realize it was working. However, the payoff was 19 mpg at the pump, not too bad for 4,640 lbs. of family hauler.

That weight rarely makes itself known. The 2009 Honda Odyssey has enough power and torque in reserve that the old image of minivans as lane-hogging slugs should be banished forever. While not exactly fast, it’s plenty quick merging into traffic, getting on freeways or just blowing the doors off the punk 16-year-old who’s too naive to realize that his V-6 Mustang is a turtle compared to Honda’s van. The transmission lacks a manual shift function, which is only notable because the Chrysler vans (including the Volkswagen Routan) does have one. However, the five speeds shift smoothly and quickly, and I never once wished for manual shifting.

Ride & Handling

A minivan’s suspension has one main function: comfort. The 2009 Honda Odyssey offers plenty, with a quiet cruises down the freeway, soaking up bumps big and small. It’s not floaty and uncoordinated like the Chrysler vans are, with a subsequently stiffer ride, but it’s still cushy.

Once the ride comfort is good, anything else from a minivan’s suspension is gravy. By that standard, Honda drowns its food. It’s not that the 2009 Honda Odyssey is a sports car in disguise. Hardly. However, with the Touring package you get bigger wheels and slightly more aggressive tires, along with stiffer shocks and springs. The upshot is that the Odyssey can tackle a twisty road without feeling like an out of control bus. The steering is light and quick (but still numb), the weight shifts from side to side comfortably, and the understeer at the limit is both easy to control and comforting for those of you who just Googled “understeer.” Of course, all this is within the context of minivans. Put the Odyssey up against a real sport sedan – or even a moderately sporty family sedan like Honda’s own Accord – and you’ll be looking at taillights. But if you want a van that can keep you happy behind the wheel, this is about as good as it gets. Simple proof that Honda likes drivers: The stability control has an “off” button.

Interior & Exterior

Honda’s exterior styling is rarely the stuff of dreams, and this is true of the 2009 Honda Odyssey. It’s a nice enough looking van, with bug-eye headlights, plenty of detail creases on the flanks, and nicely jeweled taillights. The revisions made for last year were mostly limited to new taillight housings and a new grille. But as boxes on wheels go, it’s a pretty good one.

The inside is mostly the same. Function is the watchword, and although it’s nicely styled and packed with features, the Odyssey is also designed for durability. That means lots of hard plastic on the dash and doors, which would be fine, but a little hard to swallow with an as-tested price of $41,175 (including the $670 destination charge). I was also surprised that there were a few assembly problems, with some uneven gaps here and there, and an large number of visible mold lines on the interior plastics.

Put that aside, however, and the Odyssey is a great place to spend time. The Touring model I drove was loaded with navigation and a DVD rear entertainment system that kept the kids occupied for several hours on a road trip. The driver’s seat kept me comfortable as well, and there are enough creature comforts up front that the Odyssey lacks only bathroom facilities to keep it from being a full-time residence. “Feature packed” describes the van well: a six-disc CD changer behind the nav screen, an AUX input; heated seats; radio controls for the third row; automatic climate control on the front left and right and for the rear; and power sliding doors and liftgate. Not enough? How about leather seats, parking sensors, a sliding moonroof, power adjustable pedals and a two-setting driver’s seat memory that’s synced with the key fob? There are cupholders galore, a dual-door glovebox, and a big storage space under the floor. This is also an 8 passenger van, thanks to the removable second-row jump seat.

If you need to haul cargo, the third row split-folds into the floor, and the second row seats come out for full cargo room. The second row seats aren’t as easy to maneuver as Chrysler’s Stow ‘n Go setup, but they’re much more comfortable; pick your poison. With all the seats folded and removed, there’s enough room inside the Odyssey that I think it echoes a little bit, but the missing seats leave a lot of exposed seat tracks, perfect for snagging cargo or getting crammed with Cheerios.

Summary

Full disclosure time: I own a 2002 Honda Odyssey. Not surprisingly, the 2009 Honda Odyssey makes it feel ancient. What is surprising is that I actually prefer my old van to most of the crop of new ones. It had nothing to do with gadgets, but with the driving, and it’s what continues to set the 2009 Honda Odyssey apart from its rivals. Brussels sprouts? Hardly.