2022 Honda Odyssey vs 2022 Hyundai Kona

The 2022 Honda Odyssey was a minivan that catered to families with its practical design and thoughtful features. Its sliding side doors made it easy to load children into car seats, even in tight parking spaces, and the spacious third-row seat comfortably accommodated additional passengers like grandparents or carpool buddies. The Odyssey's cargo space was impressive, offering ample room for gear and groceries, and when the third-row seat was folded down, it rivaled the cargo capacity of a Chevrolet Suburban. Despite its utilitarian nature, the Odyssey managed to maintain a sense of style with its kinked sliding doors and dark grey 19-inch aluminum alloy wheels on the Touring trim. Inside, the minivan featured a classic open-concept design with quality leather upholstery and a user-friendly centre stack.

The 2022 Hyundai Kona, while not a complete redesign, received a significant makeover that enhanced its sophistication and sportiness. The Kona's exterior was marked by a revised grille, new LED lighting, and sporty character lines, complemented by new alloy wheel designs. Inside, the Kona's instrument panel and centre console were separated to create a more spacious look, and ambient lighting added a touch of elegance. The introduction of the N Line and Kona N trims brought unique styling elements and performance features, making the Kona look more athletic. The N Line's interior featured exclusive black seats with red stitching and alloy sport pedals, while the Kona N boasted sport bucket seats and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Overall, the Kona's refreshed design and sporty trims made it a standout in the subcompact SUV segment.

The 2022 Honda Odyssey was powered by a 3.5-litre V6 engine, delivering 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. It featured a front-wheel-drive system and a 10-speed automatic transmission with pushbutton controls. While it lacked the all-wheel drive and hybrid options available in competitors like the Chrysler Pacifica and Toyota Sienna, the Odyssey offered a Natural Resources Canada fuel consumption estimate of 10.6 litres per 100 kilometres in combined driving. During testing, the Odyssey averaged 10.4 L/100 km. The minivan was praised for its driving character, offering quick acceleration and responsive handling, although its brakes were noted to heat up during downhill driving, leading to pedal vibration.

The 2022 Hyundai Kona offered a variety of powertrains across its lineup. The Essential and Preferred trims featured a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque, paired with a CVT. The N Line trim boasted a turbocharged 1.6-litre engine with 195 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque, coupled with a seven-speed DCT. The Kona N, with its turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, delivered 276 horsepower and 289 pound-feet of torque, paired with an N eight-speed wet DCT. The Kona N also featured performance enhancements like launch control and an electronic limited-slip differential. The Kona N Line, tested with AWD, provided ample power and agility, making it enjoyable to drive in both city and highway settings. The Kona's handling was composed, with a low centre of gravity contributing to its stability.

The 2022 Honda Odyssey offered easy access with wide-opening doors and a low ride height. Inside, the Odyssey Touring featured quality leather seats with power adjustments, heating, and ventilation, along with a tri-zone climate control system. Storage was abundant, with various compartments and a centre console tray. The second-row Magic Slide seats allowed for flexible configurations, enhancing safety and convenience. The third-row seat was comfortable for adults, and the Odyssey provided 929 litres of cargo space behind it. Folding the third-row seat increased cargo capacity to 2,452 litres, and removing the second-row seats expanded it to 3,984 litres, rivaling a Chevrolet Suburban.

The 2022 Hyundai Kona, despite its compact size, offered a comfortable front-seat experience with ample headroom and legroom. The N Line's front seats provided good support during spirited driving. However, rear-seat occupants faced limited space, with small door openings and compromised head- and legroom. Cargo space was tight, with 544 litres available with all seats up, expanding to 1,296 litres with the rear seats folded. The Kona's compact dimensions limited its practicality for rear passengers and cargo, but it remained a versatile option for urban driving.

The 2022 Honda Odyssey Touring was equipped with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, satellite radio, Bluetooth, and smartphone connectivity. The Touring trim added navigation, HondaLink services, and CabinWatch and CabinTalk technologies. The rear entertainment system featured a 10.2-inch screen with media playback options, but it was considered outdated. The Odyssey's infotainment system was user-friendly but lacked a larger screen and a tuning knob. The embedded navigation system required specific voice commands, making smartphone navigation a better option.

The 2022 Hyundai Kona featured an 8-inch display on the base trim, with a 10.25-inch touchscreen available on higher trims. The Kona N Line and Kona N offered a premium audio system and digital instrument cluster. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay were standard with the base screen, while the larger screen required wired connections. Hyundai BlueLink services were available on most trims, providing remote access and convenience features. The Kona's infotainment system was intuitive and easy to use, offering modern connectivity options.

The 2022 Honda Odyssey came standard with Honda Sensing, which included adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and lane-keeping assist. The Odyssey also featured automatic high-beam headlights and a rear-seat reminder system. However, the safety systems were noted for their lack of refinement, with occasional false warnings and abrupt responses. The Odyssey received a five-star overall rating from the NHTSA and a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS.

The 2022 Hyundai Kona offered standard safety features like automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assistance, and rear occupant alert. Available technologies included adaptive cruise control, blind-spot warning, and rear cross-traffic alert. The Kona received a five-star overall rating from the NHTSA and "Good" ratings in all IIHS crashworthiness tests. The Kona's optional forward collision-avoidance system received high ratings, but its child-seat anchors were rated "Marginal."