Minivan market is weirdly fierce: Putting 6 to the test - USATODAY.com

The 2011 Honda Odyssey was just named the Ultimate Minivan by the editors at Cars.com, USA Today and "MotorWeek."

All of the redesigned minivans faced off this spring in a head-to-head shootout to determine which was best and the Odyssey beat out all of its competitors.

Cars.com and the MotorWeek TV show convened the Ultimate Minivan Shootout, a comparison test among well-equipped vans priced from about $34,000 to $43,000, without shipping charges.

A suburban Atlanta family was recruited to help judge the vans, ensuring that real-world considerations weren't overlooked. And the family — Travis and Heather Weatherby and their three children ranging from 15 down to 1 year old — made the point about high-price vans perfectly.

In the end, their highest scores went to the Honda Odyssey.

HOW THE ULTIMATE MINIVAN SHOOTOUT WAS DONE:

The setup.
Cars.com, USA TODAY and MotorWeek TV tested six new full-size minivans in the Ultimate Minivan Shootout — "ultimate" because we gave automakers a price ceiling of $45,000, before shipping was added. Typical selling price nowadays for minivans: about $33,000.

Testing was done over three days in and around Atlanta.

The testers.
As with all our Shootouts, the vehicles were rated in a variety of areas — from first impressions to handling and comfort — by experts and by consumers.

Expert testers were USA TODAY's James R. Healey, Cars.com writers David Thomas, Kristin Varela and Jennifer Newman, MotorWeek producer Brian Robinson.

The family testers were Travis and Heather Weatherby of suburban Atlanta and their three children.

The scoring.
Experts' total scores made up 65% of the final score; the family's, 25%; real-world gas mileage in our highway tests, 10%. A perfect score would be 1,000 points.

Though scores in individual categories varied widely, overall scores for the vehicles were clustered closer, from a lowest of 715.15 points to the top of 854.55.

The test drives.
One-day gas mileage drive of roughly 175 miles, mainly highway and interstate travel, rotating drivers. One day of features comparisons and test driving by experts, over a prescribed suburban Atlanta route. One day of family testing in which the Weatherby family compared features and cargo space and then drove each van over a prescribed suburban route.

Source: USAToday