Tag Archives: Canada

Inequality Among Minivans? Canuck Buyers Face a Pricier Honda Odyssey

honda

Facing off against a stalwart Chrysler Pacifica and reborn Voyager, all-new Kia Sedona, and newly hybridized Toyota Sienna, the 2021 Honda Odyssey lopes into the coming model year with a mild refresh in tow.

Minor trim and content enhancements complete the mid-cycle overhaul, but Odyssey aficionados living north of the border are in for a shock.

You see, pricing for the U.S. model has already been relayed (the model, in base LX guise, starts at $32,910), but Honda’s Canadian arm has only just gotten around to pricing the fresh-faced minivan. Something’s missing, however. Namely, a base model.

(h/t to TTAC analyst Tim Cain)

For ’21, Honda lists EX-RES as the bottom rung of the Odyssey trim/pricing ladder, erasing last year’s EX. American customers can choose from both LX and EX ($36,310).

While higher trims provide more goodies, the ’21 Odyssey added standard driver-assist features to the base LX, making for a compelling buy.

In Canada, the elimination of even the EX means the model starts, after destination, at $44,645 — a significant jump from last year’s $41,530 entry model. Not only that, but the current base trim, EX-RES, listed for $43,030 in 2020. That’s a $1,615 climb.

It’s worth noting that, given the cash Chrysler’s throwing at minivan buyers, Canadians can get into a midlevel 2020 Pacifica Touring-L for $42,208 after destination. A base L model can be had, after discounts, for $36,555.

That said, the Odyssey’s not a carryover (second-row outboard seats now fold nearly flat, lumbar support arrives for the front seat passenger, new hooks and cargo cubbies abound, and the infotainment interface sees an upgrade), so buyers aren’t simply paying for the same stuff. Still, the elimination of the EX, to say nothing of the LX, likely won’t help the Odyssey’s presence on Canadian highways.

In 2019, Canadian buyers took home just 9,250 Odysseys — the model’s lowest sales volume since 2009. While the pandemic-related lockdown dried up sales this spring, the minivan’s sales remain depressed on monthly, year-over-year basis, with just 3,265 units sold through July.

[Image: Honda]

Hyundai’s 2021 Veloster Comes in Three Flavors, but North of the Border, It’s a Very Different Story

The Hyundai Veloster remains an automotive oddity in a vehicle landscape rapidly shunning nonconformity, and for that, we give Hyundai credit. The car still exists. You author can still recall the first time he ever encountered one in the wild — in historic Vieux-Québec, with the “three-door” hatchback resting quietly under a streetlamp on those cobblestone streets.

A second-generation model landed in the latter part of 2018, with newfound power coming by way of the first N-badged Hyundai. With 250 horses and 260 lb-ft of torque, the Veloster N was a vehicle worthy of the hot hatch banner. And come 2021, it’ll be the only Veloster offered north of the border.

As reported by Driving, the base and mid-level Velosters will disappear from Canadian dealerships for the upcoming model year. That means buyers will no longer have the choice to outfit their oddball hatch with a fairly tepid entry-level 2.0-liter (147 hp, 132 lb-ft) or stouter 1.6-liter turbo (201 hp, 195 lb-ft).

In Canada, the Veloster will only exist to enhance the brand’s performance cred. And performance buyers shall receive, as the 275 hp Performance Package becomes standard for the coming year.

<img data-attachment-id="1608572" data-permalink="https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2018/07/new-details-spilled-on-hyundai-veloster-n-additional-performance-variants-to-wear-n-badge/large-31074-2019velostern/" data-orig-file="https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Large-31074-2019VelosterN-e1516039100436.jpg" data-orig-size="3429,2160" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"11","credit":"Bruce Benedict","camera":"Canon EOS 5DS R","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1513094385","copyright":"\u00a9 Bruce Benedict 2017","focal_length":"59","iso":"125","shutter_speed":"0.125","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Hyundai Veloster N" data-image-description="

Image: Hyundai

” data-medium-file=”http://ghostridermotorcycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/hyundais-2021-veloster-comes-in-three-flavors-but-north-of-the-border-its-a-very-different-story-2.jpg” data-large-file=”http://ghostridermotorcycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/hyundais-2021-veloster-comes-in-three-flavors-but-north-of-the-border-its-a-very-different-story.jpg” class=”aligncenter size-large wp-image-1608572″ src=”http://ghostridermotorcycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/hyundais-2021-veloster-comes-in-three-flavors-but-north-of-the-border-its-a-very-different-story.jpg” alt=”Hyundai Veloster N” width=”610″ height=”384″ srcset=”http://ghostridermotorcycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/hyundais-2021-veloster-comes-in-three-flavors-but-north-of-the-border-its-a-very-different-story.jpg 610w, http://ghostridermotorcycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/hyundais-2021-veloster-comes-in-three-flavors-but-north-of-the-border-its-a-very-different-story-1.jpg 75w, http://ghostridermotorcycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/hyundais-2021-veloster-comes-in-three-flavors-but-north-of-the-border-its-a-very-different-story-2.jpg 450w, http://ghostridermotorcycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/hyundais-2021-veloster-comes-in-three-flavors-but-north-of-the-border-its-a-very-different-story-3.jpg 768w, http://ghostridermotorcycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/hyundais-2021-veloster-comes-in-three-flavors-but-north-of-the-border-its-a-very-different-story-4.jpg 120w” sizes=”(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px”>

Reasons? Hyundai isn’t saying, but one needs only look at the model’s sales figures to guess why. In all of 2019, Hyundai Canada sold just 1,420 Velosters. Compare that to the model’s debut year, where 5,741 Canucks lined up to look offbeat — and that was in the absence of any N-derived heat. In the first seven months of 2020, Veloster sales amounted to just 572 vehicles.

With an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic arriving for 2021, the hottest of Hyundai’s hatches opens itself up to buyers who never wanted, or never learned, to row their own. Sadly, the elimination of the lower-end Veloster comes at the same time as two other discontinuations in that northern market. The Accent, available only in five-door hatch form in Canada, vanishes from that market come 2021 (the sedan-only model remains in the U.S.), and the same goes for the Elantra GT in North America as a whole.

The latter model was available in turbocharged N Line guise, replacing the identically-equipped Sport model. Replacing all of these affordable hatchbacks? An affordable crossover of diminutive proportions (and power). For an automotive brand that introduced itself to the North American market through its hatchbacks, Hyundai seems to want to get rid of them in a hurry.

[Images: Hyundai]