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Minivan shoppers who prioritize safety should check out the 2011 Honda Odyssey, the only minivan thus far to earn a five-star overall safety rating from the federal government. “The all-new 2011 Honda Odyssey has earned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) best-possible Overall Vehicle Score of five stars and is one of the first two vehicles ever to earn five stars in each seating position for all three crash tests, each crash test category and the overall rating,” writes Honda. “The Odyssey joins the 2011 Accord Sedan as one of the few vehicles to date that achieves the federal government’s best-possible five-star Overall Vehicle Score and five stars in the combined frontal and side crash safety ratings.&rdquo.

In the past, the NHTSA didn’t give an overall score, crash testing vehicles for front-driver and passenger, side front- and side rear-passenger and rollover safety. The new requirements are tougher, and test these areas. Detroit News writes, “The Overall Vehicle Score represents the results of the ratings from front- and side-crash tests and the rollover-resistance test, combined into one score ranging from one to five stars.”

The high rating is a big win for Honda, especially since the tests are harder. “In the past NHTSA gave out five-star ratings like they were ‘massage’ pamphlets on the Vegas strip, but the new regulations have led to only 11 five-star Overall Vehicle Scores out of 50 vehicles,” says Autoblog. “So with that in mind it’s big news for Honda that the all-new 2011 Odyssey has earned an overall five-star rating for all three crash tests, test category and overall.”

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