Honda Odyssey Question - EX-L w/Nav or Touring?

[Bean606]

So, we are finally ready to take the plunge on a Honda Odyssey. We definitely want NAV, and the rear DVD will be good both for DS as well as my dad who may be sitting in the back for long car trips and is addicted to TV. Anyway, we can't decide between the EX-L with Res & Nav and the Touring, which is 2K more. The dealer is telling us we should go for the Touring because it has back up sensors, among other things. Anyone with BTDT experience to share in making this decision? Thanks!

[brittone2]

We have an EX-L but skipped the Nav and DVD systems, which brought the price down (but those can be tough to find). We have an 05, so some things may be different, so YMMV w/ what I remember. There was a recent thread about aftermarket vs. factory NAV systems. I'm not sure if it was on Hondas or another make, but one person mentioned someone in their family recently needed to update their factory navigation system, and the download was pricey (if I'm remembering this correctly). Just something to consider if you haven't already...and I may be totally off and it may not apply to Hondas.

With the Touring, when we were looking they had those PAX tires, and they were spendy to replace. If I remember correctly, they also weren't always easy to find if you needed to replace one. Again, that may have changed. Have you checked out Odyclub.com?

My info could be completely out of date since it was a few years ago when we purchased.

[kellij]

Just fyi b/c we're looking at buying one soon. They have a seller incentive of 2500 that ends tomorrow night, so I'm being told the prices are good only through tomorrow. After tomorrow they may or may not have the incentive available, but probably not. This is just what several dealers have told me. So I might be buying tomorrow.

[JBaxter]

we have the EX-L w/ nav basiclly we have every thing that the tourring does except the power lift gate and runflat tires. We couldnt get a tourring without them and everyone I talked to said the are a big PITA.

[chozen]

:applause:didnt want the touring for two reasons- our dealer told us alot of people dont like the pax tires that come on touring and we also wanted to seat eight people if need be, and touring only seats seven. we just got ours and really like it. the one thing that i did like about touring which the 06 exl doesnt have is running lites but i am glad we went with exl for the seating and price.

[BeachBum]

I have a touring 06. I wouldn't give up my remote trunk for anything. That was totally a deal breaker for me. I had to have the touring for that feature. If I've got a kid in my hands etc it is so nice to pop the trunk remotely or close it via remote.

[SpaceGal]

We have just a plain EX-L. Figured that I'd rather have a portable GPS system that I can update and move between our vehicles. As for DVD, I didn't have to have that. I believe with the new 2009 models a power liftgate is standard...not sure but I think that's what I read. I probably would have liked the power liftgate but I had to decide where I could save some money.

[kransden]

They'll have another sale at the end of June, and a big sale in Aug. Though someone told me Honda was switching models early this year because of the redesign, and there were going to be good deals early.

[bubbaray]

I have a 2005 EX-L. We specifically d/n want the Touring for the PAX tires. I'm super happy with my EX-L, though I too have heard the '09s have the power liftgate standard and I would love that. That's pretty much the only thing I miss. And, I only miss it when I'm carrying a 30lb bag of dogfood to the van and don't have a free hand....

[justincase]

Piling on... Another EX-L here, also didn't get the Touring just because of the tires. Even the dealer advised against those tires! What does that tell you?? I *really* wanted the power liftgate but DH trumped me on *not* wanting those tires. But this was a 2007 and the options have changed...

[BillK]

The new Touring has an option to not have the PAX tires - AND - if you go with the non-PAX tires - the wheels on the Touring are the best looking by FAR of any of the Ody models imo. LOVE LOVE LOVE the non-PAX Touring wheels.

[jk3]

We have the EX-L. We did not want a DVD system. We purchased a Garmin Nav. system for less than $200 so paying $2,000ish for it seemed ludicrous. The EX-L has the camera for backing up. The only drawback is the lack of memory seats. We really wanted that feature but did not want the other upgrades.

[jk3]

I have a touring 06. I wouldn't give up my remote trunk for anything. That was totally a deal breaker for me. I had to have the touring for that feature. If I've got a kid in my hands etc it is so nice to pop the trunk remotely or close it via remote.

The 2009 EX-L has remote trunk access and power doors!

[hellokitty1]

The 2009 EX-L has remote trunk access and power doors!

we have the '08 ex-l with nav and res. it has power doors butt no power trunk. i wanted power trunk but heard the tires were $$ to replace and i could not justify the price difference. it's a bummer they changed this for '09. :-( if i could just have power trubk w/out pax, id probably do it bc i think touring also has seat memory.

[deannanb]

GET THE POWER TRUNK!!!!!
Every day I get in my car and every day I open the trunk and think to myself - If we had only spent $2k (or something like that) more I could have had that power trunk - and since we are not getting a new car for another 8-10 years - I will be saying that for a long time!

I Love Love Love :love5: my navigation system. It is used on a regular basis and I am so glad I did not listen to my parents when they suggested just using a hand-held system - (do make sure they have installed the most current version - I think the did not update miine when I got the car - and some very common places which had been well established before I got my car are not in the software)

[WatchingThemGrow]

So, do I understand the 2009 EX-L would have the power trunk, but to get the memory seats, you have to get Touring?

We drove one last week, but had both DC, so we didn't do much research. We were just trying to prove we didn't want a van, LOL. Now we think we want a van.

Just have to keep reminding ourselves we don't have a garage and the last van that was parked near our driveway overnight was hotwired and stolen...

[Bean606]

Thanks everyone. Yes, you can now get the Touring without the PAX tires, and we are not considering those tires for all the reasons everyone said. We have gotten some great prices, but we are meeting with the Costco dealer on Friday, and supposedly they have the best deals, with no haggling, so we'll see what happens.