7 Alternatives To The Honda Odyssey

While considering the appropriate alternatives to the 2025 Honda Odyssey, it is necessary to take your own preferences into account. There are other minivans similar to the Odyssey, but there are also three-row SUVs. Many alternatives will have an internal combustion engine (ICE) like the Odyssey, but there are also hybrids and electric vehicles (EVs). There is even a three-row SUV that's also an EV. There are many possibilities out there, so let's round them up.

First, a recap on the Honda Odyssey itself. The Odyssey is Honda's minivan and it sticks to the traditional, non-hybrid formula. It is powered by a 3.5-liter V6 that cranks out 280 horsepower and flows through a ten-speed automatic transmission with front-wheel drive. This means that the Odyssey has plenty of power (for a minivan) but can't post the high fuel economy numbers of its hybrid competitors. 

Performance-wise, the Honda Odyssey goes from 0-60 mph in 6.4 seconds and does the 0-100 mph run in 16.4 seconds, based on testing by Car and Driver. It does an uninspiring but not unexpected .73g on the 300-foot skidpad. The fuel economy of the Odyssey is an EPA-estimated 22 mpg in combined city/highway driving, which breaks down to 19 mpg city and 28 mpg highway. The Honda Odyssey is available in four trim levels, The entry-level EX-L trim has a starting MSRP of $42,220, with the Sport-L at $43,370, the Touring at $46,910, and the Elite at $51,180. Heated leather front seats and a power tailgate are standard across the entire Odyssey lineup.

The 2025 Toyota Sienna is one of the Honda Odyssey's closest competitors — it comes from a Japanese brand as the Odyssey does and has an even wider variety of trim levels than the Odyssey. In addition to those six trim levels, which outnumber the Odyssey's four, the Toyota Sienna has two distinct advantages over its Honda rival. One is the fuel-saving hybrid powertrain that comes standard in every Sienna and the other is the availability of all-wheel drive (AWD) on every Sienna trim level.

The Sienna gets its motive power from a 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle inline-four driving through a CVT, combined with two electric motors (three motors in AWD versions) that produce a total output of 245 horsepower. According to Car & Driver, the AWD version can go from 0-60 mph in 7.5 seconds and takes 22.1 seconds to make the 0-100 mph run, noticeably slower than the Honda Odyssey. But it makes up for that in fuel economy, coming in at an EPA-estimated 35 mpg in combined city/highway driving, 35 mpg city, and 36 mpg highway. These are vastly superior numbers to those of the Odyssey.

Pricing for the 2025 Toyota Sienna starts at an MSRP of $39,185 for the entry-level Sienna LE FWD and steadily increases up through the various trim levels to a high of $56,905 for the fully-loaded Sienna Platinum AWD 7-Passenger. Standard equipment on all Siennas includes a rear-seat reminder system and the latest Toyota multimedia system. The top-level Limited and Platinum Siennas are available with a built-in refrigerator and vacuum cleaner.

The 2025 Kia Carnival represents the Korean alternative to the Honda Odyssey. It goes for an SUV look with a flat hood and blacked-out roof pillars, but the sliding rear doors reveal that it is a minivan. If you can't decide between a V6-powered minivan like the Honda Odyssey or a hybrid powertrain like the Toyota Sienna, the Kia Carnival gives you both. The 3.5-liter V6 produces 287 horsepower through an eight-speed automatic, while the hybrid uses a 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four combined with an electric motor to make 242 horsepower using a six-speed automatic. 

Like the Odyssey, the Carnival is only available with front-wheel drive (FWD), so if AWD is a must, you should probably look elsewhere. Fuel economy numbers for the Carnival are similar to the Sienna with the hybrid and close to the Odyssey with the V6. The Carnival Hybrid gets an EPA-estimated 33 mpg combined (34 city and 34 highway), and the Carnival V6 gets 21 mpg combined (18 city, 26 highway). Both versions go from 0-60 mph in 7.8 seconds, according to Car & Driver.

The pricing strategy for the Kia Carnival follows that of its competitors, with five trim levels for the V6 models and four trims for the hybrid. The entry-level Carnival is the V6 LX, with an MSRP of $36,800, with the V6 SX Prestige topping out at a $50,900 MSRP. The hybrid lineup starts with the HEV LXS trim at $40,800 MSRP, increasing to $52,900 MSRP for the HEV SX Prestige.

The 2025 Chrysler Pacifica, like the Kia Carnival, is available as both a V6 gas-only version and a hybrid. But there are key differences — the gas-only V6 is available with AWD, and the hybrid is a plug-in hybrid with a battery that takes it up to 33 miles on electric power. If your daily commute is under 33 miles and you charge every night, you might do without gasoline.

The non-hybrid Chrysler Pacifica comes with a 3.6-liter, 287-horsepower V6 with a nine-speed automatic sending power to either the front wheels or all four. The Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid uses an Atkinson-cycle version of the V6 plus two electric motors to generate 260 horses in total, making its way to the front wheels through a CVT. The Pacifica V6 with AWD makes it from 0-60 mph in 7.9 seconds, while the Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid does it in 7.8 seconds, according to Car & Driver. Fuel economy ratings for the two Pacifica variants are not as close. The gas-only FWD Pacifica V6 gets a combined 22 mpg (19 mpg city, 28 mpg highway), similar to the Odyssey. The Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid does better, hitting 30 mpg combined (29 mpg city, 30 mpg highway).

There are three Pacifica trim levels — Select, Limited, and Pinnacle. Prices start at $42,450 MSRP for the Select V6 FWD up to $57,725 MSRP for the Pinnacle V6 AWD. Plug-In Hybrid pricing goes from $51,055 MSRP (Select) to $60,280 MSRP (Pinnacle). A stripped-down Voyager V6 model at $39,995 MSRP is new for 2025. 

The 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz is something completely different — the only true EV minivan available in the U.S. The VW ID. Buzz has been inspired by the original VW Microbus and is back to reawaken those nearly-forgotten hippie-era memories held by many aging Boomers. In spite of this, it is a unique vehicle that has excellent space utilization in a much safer, more modern form factor. 

The Volkswagen ID. Buzz' source of power is either one or two electric motors, depending on the drive layout selected. The rear-wheel drive (RWD) version has 282 horsepower, while the AWD version of the ID. Buzz has dual front and rear motors that together produce 335 horsepower. While fuel economy is a moot point in an EV, acceleration and range are not. The AWD ID. Buzz does 0-60 mph in 5.5 seconds and 0-100 in 16.3 seconds according to Car & Driver, better than any of its ICE competition. EPA-estimated range is 234 miles for the RWD ID. Buzz and 231 miles for the AWD ID. Buzz is somewhat substandard for a modern EV and way below what any of the ICE or hybrid minivans can manage on a full tank.

The 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz comes in five different trims — Pro S, Pro S Plus, Pro S Plus with 4MOTION (VW's name for its AWD system), 1st Edition, and 1st Edition with 4MOTION. Pricing starts with the Pro S at $59,995 MSRP and goes up to the 1st Edition with 4MOTION at $69,995 MSRP.

The 2025 Kia EV9 is also an EV, but one which has been designed as a three-row SUV. As such, the Kia EV9 can offer nearly as much space inside as one of the minivans above, thanks to the space-saving effects of not having an internal combustion engine, exhaust system, and driveshaft taking up interior space. 

In a similar fashion to the VW ID. Buzz EV, the Kia EV9 gets its power from either a single-motor RWD or a dual-motor AWD powertrain. With the RWD setup, you get a 215-horsepower electric motor driving the rear wheels. With AWD, you get front and rear motors that together provide 379 horsepower with torque-vectoring capability. Depending on the model chosen, EPA-estimated range goes as high as 304 miles, a noticeable improvement over that of the ID. Buzz. According to Car & Driver, the performance of the 379-horsepower AWD version includes 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds and 0-100 mph in 13.0 seconds, which is faster than the VW ID. Buzz or any of the ICE minivans.  

The 2025 Kia EV9 is available in five different trims. The entry-level is the Light Short Range (MSRP $54,900), followed by the Light Long Range (MSRP $59,900), the Wind (MSRP $63,900), the Land (MSRP $69,900), and the top-tier GT-Line (MSRP $73,900).

Now we're in ICE-powered SUV territory. The 2025 Hyundai Palisade is the company's largest three-row gasoline-powered SUV, which gives you a decent amount of room for both people and cargo in spite of that boxy front end that houses the engine.

The Hyundai Palisade has a single powerplant, a 3.8-liter Atkinson-cycle V6, with an output of 291 horsepower. Front-wheel drive is standard on all models except the top trim, while AWD is a $2,000 option. Based on Car & Driver testing, the Hyundai Palisade's performance stats for the AWD version include 0-60 mph in 6.4 seconds and 0-100 mph in 16.6 seconds, very close to the times put down by the Honda Odyssey. EPA-estimated fuel economy for the AWD Palisade is 21 mpg combined (19 mpg City, 25 mpg Highway).

The Palisade can be had in seven different trim levels. Prices start with the SE (MSRP $37,200) and progress through the SEL (MSRP $39,950), the XRT (MSRP $43,050), the SEL Premium (MSRP $44,550), the Limited (MSRP $48,600), the Calligraphy (MSRP $51,000) and max out with the top-level, black-trimmed Calligraphy Night (MSRP $54,500), which includes AWD as standard. If the Hyundai Palisade appeals to you but the brand is not an option for some reason, consider its sister car, the Kia Telluride, which is built on the same platform with the same engine and the same drivetrain choices.

Last is the 2025 Toyota Grand Highlander, a large, but not excessively so, three-row SUV alternative to a Honda Odyssey. It can hold up to eight people. The Toyota Grand Highlander offers a choice of one gasoline drivetrain and two different hybrid drivetrains. The gas-only option gives you a 2.4-liter turbocharged inline-four with 265 horsepower channeled through an eight-speed automatic, available in FWD and AWD configurations. 

The basic hybrid pairs a 2.5-liter inline four with two electric motors that put out a total of 245 horsepower, which uses a CVT and also comes with FWD or AWD. The most powerful Hybrid MAX setup takes the 265-horse turbo engine from the gas-only setup and adds two electric motors, all flowing through a six-speed automatic to create a total output of 382 horsepower, available only as an AWD vehicle. Hybrid MAX fuel economy is 27 mpg combined (26 City, 27 Highway). Performance of the three drive systems reflects their respective horsepower ratings. According to Toyota, these 0-60 mph times are 7.8 seconds for the basic hybrid, 7.5 seconds for the gas-only turbo, and 6.3 seconds for the Hybrid MAX, putting it just ahead of the Odyssey in acceleration. 

Pricing for the 2025 Toyota Grand Highlander covers 14 different trim levels and drivetrain options. From a starting point of $40,860 MSRP for the Grand Highlander LE FWD, prices move up through the various trims of the gas-only, basic hybrid, and top-trim Hybrid MAX AWD models to $58,775 MSRP for the Hybrid MAX Platinum AWD.