Many friends will say that the relationship between Honda Odyssey and Elysion is like that of CRV and Haoying, just sister cars belonging to the two channels of Guangzhou Honda and Dongfeng Honda. In fact, this statement is only 50% true. The real Elysion has a very short history, with only two generations of models launched in 8 years, and the Elysion seen in China today just follows the name. Let's take a closer look at the history of this car.
Odyssey and Elysian
Elysion Birth Background
Nissan Motor launched a luxury MPV called the Elgrand in 1997. Positioned as a luxury MPV, the car sold more than 100,000 units in about a year and a half after its launch, and was one of the key contributors to Nissan's success in overcoming the crisis.
The first generation of the Nissan Elgrand
At this time, the Honda Odyssey developed into the second generation, and although it was a great success in the international market, the model was actually one level lower than the Junjue. In this situation, Honda wanted to develop a more luxurious model based on the Odyssey to compete with the Nissan Junjue.
The 2nd Generation Odyssey (Japanese Version)
In October 2003, Honda unveiled the Honda ASM Concept, an eight-seater hybrid MPV concept car at the 37th Tokyo International Motor Show.
Honda ASM Concept
Honda ASM Concept
The exterior of this car borrows the design style of the first-generation American version of the Odyssey, with a body size of 4840×1830×1790mm and a wheelbase of 2900mm.
The first American version of the Odyssey
The interior is designed in the style of a yacht and is decorated with wood grain trim. In order to deduce the decorative effect, LED indoor lights are used, and the overall appearance is particularly luxurious.
Interior
Interior
1st generation Elysion (2004-2006)
On May 13, 2004, the production version of the Honda ASM Concept was officially launched in Japan, and Honda named it the "Elysion".
第一代Elysion
Compared to the concept car, some details have been adjusted, and the headlights have become more rounded and slender, resulting in a more sleek front look.
The interior retains all the design elements of the concept car, and the dashboard throughout the dashboard looks very sci-fi in its era. In addition, it adopts an 8-seat layout of 2+3+3.
It is powered by a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder i-VTEC engine with a maximum power of 160Ps and a peak torque of 218Nm, and a 3.0-liter V6 i-VTEC engine with a maximum power of 256Ps and a peak torque of 309Nm. Both engines are mated to Honda's classic parallel-shaft 5AT gearbox.
The first-generation Elysion is aimed at the high-end MPV market, and directly uses the second-generation Nissan Junjue as the benchmark model. At this time, Toyota also joined the "battlefield" and launched the first generation of Alpha. So Nissan Junjue, Honda Elysion, Toyota Alpha, these three cars represent the ceiling of Japanese MPVs.
The second generation of Nissan Monarch
The first generation Toyota Alpha
2nd Generation Elysion (2006-2013)
In December 2006, Honda launched the second-generation Elysion in the Japanese market.
第二代Elysion
The exterior design of this car adopts the same new family style as the American version of the Odyssey, which is more stylish and domineering, and the body size has been further increased, reaching 4920×1845×1810mm, and the wheelbase is 2900mm.
第二代Elysion
The American version of Odyssey
The interior has not changed much from the previous model, except for the addition of a larger area of solid wood trim for a more luxurious look.
In order to compete with Nissan Junjue and Toyota Alpha, in addition to retaining the 2.4-liter and 3.0-liter engines of the previous model, the power also added a 3.5-liter V6 engine codenamed J35A, with a maximum power of 300Ps, but the gearbox is still matched with a 5AT automatic transmission.
J35A engine
After the launch of the second-generation Elysion, it still could not shake the position of Nissan Junjue and Toyota Alpha in the high-end MPV market, and sales have been very sluggish, and Honda had to discontinue the production of the Elysion in 2013.
Elysion(艾力绅)在国内
Dongfeng Honda introduced the second-generation Elysion as its first MPV in China, and unveiled a concept car for the locally-produced Elysion at the 2011 Guangzhou Motor Show.
At the 2012 Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao International Auto Show, Dongfeng Honda officially released the production version of the model, named "Ailishen".
Domestic Ailishen
All models are equipped with a 2.4-liter i-VTEC engine from the Spiri. In that year, the VTi Comfort Edition, VTi Luxury Edition, and VTi-S Premium Edition were priced at 283,800 yuan, 293,800 yuan, and 319,800 yuan, respectively.
Since Honda has discontinued the Elysion in 2013. Therefore, since the 2016 model, the domestic Elysian has been sold as a sister model of the Odyssey and has become a special car for China.
2016 Ailishen