Honda Odyssey Touring Elite vs. Tartan Prancer LE

It’s a battle no one was expecting. A surprise challenge to the minivan throne.

The Honda Odyssey has long been the benevolent king of the minivans: Camelot on a 118.1-inch wheelbase. It’s a moving palace for kids who’ve never ridden on a bias ply tire, listened to AM radio or shifted a manual transmission. It’s an isolation chamber in which they can ride in blissful ignorance. The Odyssey is a vehicle so comprehensively competent, so overwhelmingly dependable, they don’t have to know anything about it. And they don’t want to know.

Then, surprising every observer, here comes the 2015 Tartan Motors Prancer LE roaring out of the Balkans to upend every expectation. Other than the fact that it looks similar to other minivans, it’s nothing like them. It leverages tomorrow’s advanced technologies to re-create the adventurous inconsistency of yesterday’s cars, trucks and vans. It’s not merely a road appliance, but an exploration of how far we should have never advanced. Where the Kia Sedona and Toyota Sienna have tried to take the Odyssey on feature for feature, the Prancer hits the Honda where it ain’t.

The Prancer’s challenging appearance and obscure talents take on obvious excellence in a battle to claim the title of the world’s greatest minivan. Here it is: The dignified Odyssey takes on the brawling Prancer.

The All-New Prancer LE

The Honda Odyssey is assembled in Alabama and the Tartan Prancer in Albania. And those two places are close to each other — alphabetically.

With the new Prancer, Albania’s auto industry has entered the North American market heading both forward and backward. In fact, the most immediately apparent innovation featured on the Prancer is that it looks much the same from either the back or front. That includes side rearview mirrors for both nose and tail — whichever might be which.

It’s that daring to be different that defines the Prancer as something special. Forget leather: The upholstery brings back the luxurious ribbing of corduroy alongside the classic fabric patterns of a 1970s shower curtain. Even the simplest controls are marked cryptically; the driver never knows what will happen by pressing a button marked with a rabbit. Or a T-shirt. Or a duck. Or a sailboat.

What does happen? Honestly, not much. Which makes the Prancer that much more intriguing. But pressing the knife and fork did elicit hunger pangs. And really, considering the van’s name, shouldn’t one of the buttons be a reindeer?

Still, the most ambiguous Prancer feature is the drivetrain itself. It’s described as a “V8 Dual-Tank Electric,” on the door tag, but that’s about as specific as anyone could get.

There are three fueling ports on the vehicle: one for gasoline, diesel fuel and electricity. During Edmunds.com’s time with the vehicle at a secure and sequestered test facility, it was never apparent exactly which part of the Tri-Element Hybrid drivetrain was operating at any time. Or what happened to any of the fuel the Prancer was apparently ingesting. A closer inspection of the powertrain was frustrated when it was discovered the hood was welded shut. That’s mechanical confidence on the part of Tartan — and why it’s known as the “Honda of Albania.”

The lack of an owner’s manual, or support or explanation from any Tartan Motors representative, added to the captivating mystery. The bottom line is this: The Prancer is self-propelled…and that’s always thrilling.

Familiarity and Excellence Are Expected
The Honda Odyssey built for North America is in its fourth generation, and that generation has been around since 2011. It’s such a familiar presence in family life that it’s easy to take its excellence for granted. But is it a coincidence that both the words “excellence” and “ennui” start with the letter “e?”

Justly or not, questions like that haunt the Odyssey. Every surface of the Odyssey’s interior is finished with precision, and the leather upholstery feels like it’s been stitched from the hides of cows that volunteered for the duty. Every switch is intuitively marked and positioned, and works with NASA-like precision. The onboard entertainment system includes a drop-down widescreen monitor. It’s all so relentlessly logical and, well, expected. And “expected” is another word that begins with the letter “e.”

There’s nothing mystifying about how the Odyssey works. Up front under the hinged hood is Honda’s familiar 3.5-liter V6 incorporating Honda’s signature i-VTEC variable valve timing system. It’s so sweet and refined that the only exhaust it should produce is sucrose. The thoroughly conventional V6 pumps 248 horsepower out to a six-speed transaxle that churns the front wheels. It’s everything anyone wants in a van. And “everything” is another “e” word.