180 mile roadtrip: about 3 hours each way. The seats and headrest Fit me well: no comfort issues. I might spring for the OEM center armrest but don't feel like it's mandatory. It was easy to forget how small the car is until getting out and looking back at it.

A/C performed well at highway speeds in 85 degree, high humidity weather. In city driving I find I have to switch it to recirculate, especially at stops to maintain comfort. It takes a bit longer than I'd like to cool the interior when the car is left out in the sun. Wish the A/C had more capacity, or wasn't programmed for as high economy. Living in the south you tend to become emotionally attached to air conditioning.

Handling was very nice for a car this size. Steering was comfortable, I didn't find anything strange; the car tracked well and didn't surprise me handling the congested I85 traffic from Atlanta to Montgomery. Buffeting from semi headwind was unnoticeable. Ride was a bit harsh over I85's many potholes, but I prefer this over too soft/poor handling.

Power is completely adequate for a car in this class. No issues accelerating and merging. The auto's shifting from 5th to 4th when encountering upward inclines is expected and not harsh. Wish cruise control were available/standard in the Base. But I don't feel the need to pay for a Sport with all the plastic exterior trim hung on it to get it (I did pay $200 for a single remote entry key; dealer wanted $270 before talking them down. Still it's too high.) The tension on the accelerator pedal was perfect; I felt no foot fatigue.

Road-noise is low, less than the 97 1st gen Odyssey this car replaces. The factory radio sounds great compared to most factory radios without expensive upgrades. Burned 14 albums to a single CD in WMA format using windows media center. The center selector knob and display was intuitive for navigating between folders and songs.

Fuel economy much better than advertised. Trip down, the computer registered 44MPG after 180 miles. After this and a couple days city driving it dropped to 38MPG; actual mileage when filling up for the return trip was calculated to be 35.5mpg combined. Returning to Atlanta the computer read 39mpg (maybe it's uphill? greater headwinds?) haven't filled it yet for actual mpg. Around town in metro Atlanta I get 32.5 mpg (manually calculated) consistently on each tank (well at least the 3 that I've had to put in over the month I've had it). I keep the tires at the recommended 32PSI cold and don't practice any obsessive driving habits.

Cargo capacity is great with 2 people. Loaded it up with an unlikely amount of crap and had room for twice as much. This with the rear seats folded down.

Feeling no buyer's remorse at 1,500 miles. I'll let you know at 10,000...

 

nice review!

my only gripe at 10k in my 09 base is my steering wheel... the gray paint is coming off... was planning to just buy a steering wheel cover anyway