The Most Luxurious Honda That You’ve Never Heard Of

Honda has since maintained its original mission of building some of the most affordable mass-produced cars on the planet. Alongside other Japanese giants like Nissan and Toyota, Honda has established itself as one of the leading automakers in the world. This is backed by global sales of more than four million cars in 2022 alone.

The cars Honda makes are generally mean to be affordable, efficient, and easy to maintain with few luxury features. If you want a luxury car, you turn to Acura, which is Honda’s luxury and performance division made to cater to buyers at the higher end of the affordable luxury car market. But like most Japanese automakers Honda does offer high-end luxury cars in certain markets that aren’t available globally or, in this case, even in Japan. The Honda Elysion is on of these vehicles. It is a luxury vehicle with a Honda badge, and there’s a good chance that you’ve never heard of it.

The Elysion Was Built To Be A Luxury Vehicle From The Onset

The Honda Elysion is a seven/eight passenger Minivan that was first introduced in 2004. It was a rival to the Toyota Alphard and Nissan Elgrand which were both built as luxury minivans. Honda wanted a piece of this luxury minivan market and this brought about the Elysion. It shared the same underpinnings as the Third-gen JDM Honda Odyssey but had a completely different exterior design and better interior materials. It had wood trim and leather all over the interior if you opted for higher trims like the prestige edition.

The second-generation Elysion is now based on the fifth-gen JDM Honda Odyssey which is already more luxurious than the U.S.-spec versions. This Elysion may be based on the Honda Odyssey but is now being produced and sold exclusively in China. It was first released in 2015 and later became a hybrid in 2019 with a facelift.

RELATED: Why Acura Cars Are Worth The Premium Over Honda

The Elysion Features Maybach Levels Of Luxury

The Current Odyssey is a great vehicle inside with the option of leather-trimmed seats and configuration for up to eight passengers. It was built to be a family hauler with ample space in the second and third-row seats. But the Elysion takes it a step further with a more luxurious interior and seating for a maximum of seven people.

Leather can be found on almost every surface with quilted patterns on the door inserts and the top half of the first and second-row seats. Second-row seats are the most luxurious with a few extra comfort features

Standout Features Of The Eltsion

• Extended leather inserts on the door panels on all three rows.
• Leather-wrapped center console.
• Second-row first-class seats with armrests on each side.
• Second-row extra headrest padding with side supports.
• Second row lounge seating with under-thigh support.

The first-class seat configuration in the Elysion is similar to what is found in a Mercedes-Maybach S-class. The leather could also be had in three colors which are red, black, and white, the quilted design patterns on the seats and doors are not usually what you see in regular minivans. While leather can be had on other minivans they do not have special stitch patterns and can be had with cloth seats, the Elysion is offered with leather only.

The intent of the Elysion was not just to be a luxury family car but a great executive vehicle suitable to hauling around business executives. This is why the second row was built to be the most comfortable row in the Elysion.

A Minivan Packed With Technology

Having the latest technology is no new feat as most economy cars at least have some of the latest interfaces. The Elysion has a fully digital seven-inch LCD instrument cluster with a 10.1-inch infotainment display. The gear selectors are buttons that make the process easy with a smaller screen just beside it dedicated to the operation of the climate control. No need to dig into the infotainment for this function as it’s available at your fingertips.

Some convenience features include dual-zone climate control, a panoramic roof, a wireless charging pad, and automatic sliding doors with hand gestures. The Elysion also features the latest Honda Connect 3.0 which is designed to integrate into every part of the vehicle and can be accessible through your mobile phone.

Honda Connect 3.0 Features

• Speed Alert: When driven by someone else
• Security Alarm Detection
• Automatic Collision Detection: Calls for help in an accident
• Find My Car
• Geo-Fencing Alert
• Car Status: Diagnostics, fuel, battery, airbags etc
• Remote Vehicle Control: Stop/start, air conditioning, and light controls.
• Service Reminder.

It also features Honda Sensing which is Honda’s advanced safety features. They work in harmony to assist the driver and keep the occupants of the vehicles safe.

Honda Sense Features

• Road Departure Mitigation (RDM)
• Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS)
• Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) With Low-speed Follow
• Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS)
• Multi-view Camera System
• Wide-angle Rearview Camera System
• Parking Sensor System
• Backing Out Support

The Elysion Is A Hybrid Minivan

For smooth power delivery, the Elysion makes use of a hybrid four-cylinder powertrain. This enables the Elysion to have an ample amount of torque at slow city speeds where it would need it the most. This makes for an effortless feeling ride and combined with the CVT transmission, the power is perfectly seamless with no interruption in shifts.

Specifications

(Sourced from Honda)

Official combined power figures have not been confirmed for this model, but the individual figures suggest around 300 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque to the front wheels.

The Honda Elysion Is Not Available In The U.S.

Upon its launch in 2004, the Elysion was sold exclusively in Japan as a rival to the aforementioned and equally luxurious Toyota Alphard, which were all Japanese domestic vehicles. It was later introduced to the Chinese market in 2012. The current generation has been in production since 2015 and is no longer being produced in Japan. It is now being made in China by Dongfeng Honda which is a joint venture by Honda and Dongfeng.

The JDM Odyssey has also met the same fate as the Elysion as it is no longer produced in Japan but in China by Guangqi Honda. The Odyssey was discontinued in 2021 and will now be imported from China in 2023. It now hass the same powertrain and underpinnings as the Elysion. It is now known as the Honda Odyssey e:Hev Sport Hybrid and will be sold alongside its slightly more luxurious Elysion sibling.

Outside Japan or China, the only way to get the Elysion would be to import one. It has a starting price of 280,000 Yuan, which is around $40,000 for the base spec, higher trims include the Deluxe, Extreme, and Black Edition. The next best thing is the Honda Odyssey sibling which is completely different from the US-spec Honda Odyssey.