2022 Honda Odyssey vs 2022 Lexus RX

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. The Odyssey offered a spacious and comfortable third-row seat, accommodating additional passengers without hassle. With its ample cargo space, the Odyssey could transform into a cargo hauler by folding down the third-row seat and removing the second-row seats. Despite its utilitarian nature, the Odyssey maintained a sense of style with its kinked sliding doors and dark grey 19-inch aluminum alloy wheels on the Touring trim. The interior featured quality leather upholstery and a classic open-concept design, providing a comfortable and functional environment for families.

The 2022 Lexus RX, on the other hand, presented a modern and sporty design with its aggressive exterior styling. The RX featured sharp character lines and angular features, creating an eye-catching appearance. The F Sport models added a touch of athleticism with 20-inch wheels, black-housing mirrors, and unique front fascia. Inside, the RX offered a luxurious cabin with soft-touch surfaces and high-quality materials. The F Sport models added sporty elements like Scored Aluminum trim and NuLuxe synthetic leather. However, the centre stack felt a bit dated, and the infotainment system's touchpad was frustrating to use. Despite these drawbacks, the RX provided a comfortable and quiet ride, making it a suitable companion for long drives.

The 2022 Honda Odyssey was equipped with a 3.5-litre V6 engine producing 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 all-wheel drive and hybrid options, the Odyssey delivered 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 offered a pleasant driving experience, with quick acceleration and responsive handling. However, repeated use of the brakes on downhill grades led to pedal vibration and audible grumbling, indicating a need for more heat-resistant brakes.

The 2022 Lexus RX 350 came with a 3.5-litre V6 engine generating 295 horsepower and 267 pound-feet of torque. The hybrid RX 450h added two electric motors for a combined output of 308 hp. All RX models featured an 8-speed automatic transmission and standard all-wheel drive in Canada. Despite its sporty appearance, the RX's performance was underwhelming, with a lack of engine growl and unimpressive acceleration. The F Sport models included adaptive variable suspension and Sport+ drive mode, but the differences in driving dynamics were minimal. The RX excelled in comfort and cabin quietness, absorbing road imperfections and providing a serene driving experience. Fuel consumption for the RX 350 was estimated at 10.8 L/100 km combined, while the RX 450h hybrid achieved 7.9 L/100 km.

The 2022 Honda Odyssey offered easy access with wide-opening doors and a lower ride height. Inside, the Odyssey Touring featured quality leather, power-adjustable front seats, and a tri-zone climate control system. The minivan provided ample storage space, including shelving in the door panels and a floor tray. The second-row seats were comfortable, with the Magic Slide feature allowing for flexible seating arrangements. The third-row seat was spacious and comfortable for adults, with 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 provided a maximum volume of 3,984 litres.

The 2022 Lexus RX offered 2,826 litres of passenger volume in the standard two-row model, comfortably seating four adults. The three-row L models had limited space, with only 210 litres of cargo capacity behind the third row. Folding the third row increased cargo space to 651 litres, and folding both back rows provided 1,657 litres. The RX featured thoughtful interior features like a smartphone slot, adjustable-height cup holder, and a flat-bottomed cargo net. However, the rear seats did not fold completely flat, and the high load-in height made loading cargo challenging.

The 2022 Honda Odyssey Touring was equipped with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment display, satellite radio, Bluetooth, and smartphone connectivity. The Touring trim added navigation, HondaLink connected services, and a rear entertainment system with a 10.2-inch display. CabinWatch and CabinTalk technologies allowed the driver to monitor and communicate with rear passengers. However, the infotainment system felt outdated, with a small screen and lack of a tuning knob. The embedded navigation system required specific voice commands and was less intuitive than smartphone-based navigation.

The 2022 Lexus RX featured an 8-inch touchscreen display, with a 12.3-inch version available. The infotainment system was responsive but had ergonomic issues due to its placement. The touchpad was hypersensitive and unintuitive, making it frustrating to use. The RX offered a range of tech features, including six USB ports, smartphone integration, wireless charging, and premium audio systems. The Lexus App provided additional connectivity options, such as remote engine start and vehicle settings.

The 2022 Honda Odyssey came with Honda Sensing, a suite of advanced safety features including adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and lane-keeping assist. The Odyssey also had automatic high-beam headlights and a rear-seat reminder system. However, Honda Sensing lacked refinement, with occasional false warnings and abrupt responses. The blind-spot monitoring system's warning light was poorly positioned, and the radar coverage was limited. The Odyssey received a five-star rating from the NHTSA and a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS.

The 2022 Lexus RX was equipped with the Lexus Safety System 2.0+, which included adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, road-sign recognition, and a pre-collision system. Additional safety features included blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and a head-up display. The RX received a Top Safety Pick rating from the IIHS, but only with optional triple-beam LED headlights. It scored four stars overall from the NHTSA, with five stars in side crash tests and four stars in frontal crashes and rollover resistance.