Compare the2018 Chevrolet TraverseVS 2018 Honda Odyssey

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Traverse are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Odyssey doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Traverse has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Odyssey doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Traverse offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Odyssey doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The Traverse LT Leather/RS/Premier/High Country has a standard Surround Vision to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Odyssey only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Traverse and the Odyssey have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The Traverse’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Odyssey’s (6 vs. 5 years).

Chevrolet pays for scheduled maintenance on the Traverse for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Chevrolet will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance (up to 2 oil changes). Honda doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Odyssey.

There are almost 3 times as many Chevrolet dealers as there are Honda dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Traverse’s warranty.

The camshafts in the Traverse’s engine are driven by a hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs. The Odyssey’s camshafts are driven by a rubber belt that needs periodic replacement. If the Odyssey’s cam drive belt breaks the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Traverse has a standard 170-amp alternator (155-amp - Traverse RS). The Odyssey’s 150-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2017 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet 6th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 17 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 20th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2018 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet 6th in reliability, above the industry average. With 16 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 12th.

The Traverse RS’ standard 2.0 turbo 4 cyl. produces 33 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 262) than the Odyssey’s 3.5 SOHC V6. The Traverse’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 30 more horsepower (310 vs. 280) and 4 lbs.-ft. more torque (266 vs. 262) than the Odyssey’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

As tested in Car and Driver the Chevrolet Traverse V6 is faster than the Honda Odyssey:

Regardless of its engine, the Traverse’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. (Start/Stop isn’t accounted in present EPA fuel mileage tests.) Honda only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Odyssey Touring/Elite.

The Traverse AWD’s standard fuel tank has 2.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Odyssey (21.7 vs. 19.5 gallons).

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Chevrolet Traverse higher (5 out of 10) than the Honda Odyssey (3). This means the Traverse produces up to 16.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Odyssey every 15,000 miles.

The Traverse stops shorter than the Odyssey:

For better traction, the Traverse has larger tires than the Odyssey (255/65R18 vs. 235/60R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Traverse LT Leather/RS/Premier/High Country has standard 20-inch wheels. The Odyssey’s largest wheels are only 19-inches.

The Chevrolet Traverse’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Honda Odyssey only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Traverse has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Odyssey doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Traverse’s wheelbase is 2.8 inches longer than on the Odyssey (120.9 inches vs. 118.1 inches).

For better maneuverability, the Traverse’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Odyssey’s (39 feet vs. 39.6 feet).

The Traverse has .6 inches more front headroom, .1 inches more front legroom, .5 inches more rear headroom, .6 inches more rear shoulder room and .1 inches more third row hip room than the Odyssey.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers or raises the Traverse High Country’s third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The Odyssey doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Traverse uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Odyssey uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The power windows standard on both the Traverse and the Odyssey have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Traverse is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Odyssey prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Traverse LS/LT/RS/Premier/High Country’s available exterior keypad. The Odyssey doesn’t offer an exterior keypad entry system.

The Traverse has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. The Odyssey has an automatic headlight on/off feature standard only on the EX/EX-L/Touring/Elite.

The Traverse’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Honda only offers heated mirrors on the Odyssey EX/EX-L/Touring/Elite.

The Traverse Premier/High Country has standard automatic dimming rear and side view mirrors which automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Odyssey offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Traverse and the Odyssey offer available heated front seats. The Traverse Premier/High Country also has standard heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated second row seats aren’t available in the Odyssey.

The Traverse has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Odyssey EX/EX-L/Touring/Elite.

The Chevrolet Traverse outsold the Honda Odyssey by 23% during 2017.