Honda's 2018 Odyssey coming Thursday with Apple CarPlay support

Honda's latest vehicle with Apple CarPlay, the 2018 Odyssey minivan, will officially begin arriving at U.S. dealerships on Thursday.

The base LX trim of the new Odyssey costs $29,990 — people wanting to use CarPlay or Android Auto, however, will have to upgrade to the $33,860 EX, which includes other extras like SiriusXM radio, driver-assist technologies, and support for Honda's CabinControl app for iPhone and Android. The latter lets users interact with audio, climate, and navigation systems.

For the expense, people will also get to use CarPlay on an 8-inch touchscreen, roughly the size of Apple's iPad mini.

Honda was originally slow to adopt CarPlay, but has been accelerating support since 2016, bringing lines like the Accord, Civic, and CR-V onboard. Recently it revealed that its cutting-edge Clarity Electric and Plug-in Hybrid models will support the technology.

The automaker will have some work to do to catch up with companies like Kia, Chevrolet, and Volkswagen, which have many more compatible models. Ford recently updated its SYNC 3-equipped 2016 vehicles with CarPlay support, including inexpensive models like the Focus and Fiesta.

9 Comments

Soli 9981 comments · 9 Years

About 7 years ago

Is there a place where CarPlay usability is tested across vendors?

Just because the UI and processing are being pushed from the iPhone itself doesn't mean that the experience is the same. I've tested several and the lag can be significant because of the proficiency of the automobile manufacture's infotainment* setup that allows for the UI-passthrough.* Infotainment is a horrible word. If anyone has a better term I'm very open to adopting it.

512ke 781 comments · 19 Years

I applaud Honda for putting CarPlay in the Odyssey but I fault them for a) using CarPlay as a lure to make you shell out an extra $4K for a minivan, and 2) making somewhat crappy transmissions for the Odyssey.

512ke said:

I applaud Honda for putting CarPlay in the Odyssey but I fault them for a) using CarPlay as a lure to make you shell out an extra $4K for a minivan, and 2) making somewhat crappy transmissions for the Odyssey.

I think Hyundai is including CarPlay with nearly every model that has a large color display, and at no additional cost.

https://www.theverge.com/2016/5/26/11785996/hyundai-android-auto-carplay-diy-update

I think I saw an article recently where it'll be standard with an entire model line, even with the base unit.

wood1208 2932 comments · 10 Years

Good for Honda customers. Waiting for wireless CarPlay. Where does that idiot Toyota stand on CarPlay ? Unfortunately Toyota is always few years behind Honda and others implementing useful technology. But, instead of forcing customers to upgrade to EX model, why not Honda offers CarPlay as standard feature on all models of Odyssey ?

pscooter63 1072 comments · 13 Years

512ke said:

I applaud Honda for putting CarPlay in the Odyssey but I fault them for a) using CarPlay as a lure to make you shell out an extra $4K for a minivan, and 2) making somewhat crappy transmissions for the Odyssey.

Since we're talking about bundled options (you can't get CarPlay a la carte), it might make more sense to compare the cost of last year's technology bundle to this year's. But since it's still a bundle, even that's not really definitive.

Generally, though, this really isn't anything new. Car makers used to feature, say, Bose in some upgraded sound systems. Did that upset you too?