The Honda Odyssey was updated for the 2021 model year, which included updated interior and exterior and, more importantly, updated safety tech. While the Odyssey has always been known for its renowned reputation for both reliability and safety, Honda kicked it up a notch for the new model year and it paid off in spades as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gave the revised minivan a Top Safety Pick Plus award.

The Honda Odyssey is the safest in its segment

Minivans have always been among the safest vehicles that you can buy, but the 2021 Honda Odyssey takes it a step further by scoring high marks on the IIHS’s requirements for the Top Safety Pick Plus award. The Odyssey is actually the first minivan to earn the award, so it’s technically the safest in the segment. In order to qualify for the award, a vehicle needs to achieve a “good” rating in six different crashworthiness tests, a score of “superior” or “advanced” in the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian tests, and an “acceptable” rating in the headlights category.

The 2021 Honda Odyssey passed with flying colors as it scored a “good” rating in all six of the crash tests, a “superior” rating the vehicle-to-vehicle and pedestrian tests, and an “acceptable” rating for its headlights.

According to the IIHS, “In the vehicle-to-vehicle evaluation, the Odyssey avoided collisions at 12 and 25 mph. In the vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluation, it avoided collisions or substantially slowed, mitigating the force of the impact, in tests designed to simulate three common pedestrian crash scenarios.”

The headlights made all the difference

While the latest iteration of the Odyssey stole the safety spotlight for this year, let it be known that the 2020 version did come close. Last year’s Honda Odyssey did take home a Top Safety Pick rating, however, it missed out on the “plus” designation due to its headlights. Three different headlights designs were offered on the 2020 Odyssey, but none of them scored a “good” rating so it narrowly missed out on the highest award.

The new Odyssey now comes standard with LED headlights that scored it an “acceptable” rating in that category and allowed it to take home the award. In addition to the updated headlamps, the Odyssey also comes standard with the Honda Sensing suite of driver-assist aids that includes features like adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection.

Other features on the 2021 Odyssey

Aside from the updated safety technologies, the 2021 Odyssey also has a host of other new features that make it the best in its class. The second-row Magic seats slide side-to-side and fore and aft to allow for a multitude of seating configurations and there is also an available in-cabin camera that allows you to keep an eye on second and third-row passengers. And when it’s time to clean up after everyone, the hand HondaVac will be there in a pinch to vacuum up all of the dirt and debris that’s left behind.