Japan has some quirky yet practical cars, a side-effect of the country’s unique culture as well as obsession with making life easier, be it with robots, gadgets or hugely-spacious cars with tiny wheelbases. Of course, we’re not getting 660cc “kei” cars on the streets of Dubai any time soon. What we have here is the 4-cylinder Honda Odyssey J, the slightly-smaller Japanese-built cousin of the full-size V6-powered American-built Odyssey minivan.
Honda launched the new Odyssey in 2011, claiming to gain ground quickly on their main rivals in the past 4 years. But according to their market research, the main reason some people were deterred from buying it was the steep price tag. They hope to change that now with the introduction of the Japanese-made Odyssey J as it comes under a much lower price range. Also, it will be sold alongside the US-made V6-engined Odyssey, making the Middle East the only region to have both models offered in the same market. If you are wondering what the “J”