Honda just redesigned the Odyssey minivan in Japan and it comes with two cool and useful features that we wish we would get in the United States. The JDM-spec van is now available with gesture control power sliding door and reservation lock, two systems that make operating the van while having your hands full of groceries much easier.

As the name suggests, gesture control power sliding door is a technology that's very similar to those used on power tailgates, so you can open them with your foot. Thanks to an additional sensor, the sliding door "senses" that the key fob in your pocket is close to the car, enabling you to open it with a wave or by holding your elbow over it. This comes in handy when you're busy carrying shopping bags with both hands. Of course, this also applies when you're carrying a baby, looking to put him safely in the back seat.

Reservation lock is a new feature that automatically locks the car after all doors are closed. You can turn it on by activating a proximity sensor via a button on the door handle or the key fob, an operation you can do while the sliding doors or the tailgate are open. Once you're done loading everything in the car and the doors are closed, the car locks itself and emits an audible notification while flashing the lights. This way you no longer have to reach into your pocket for the key fob to lock the car while also holding several bags.

Life would be much easier if not only all minivans but all vehicles would be available with these features. Sadly, these simple technologies aren't even available on the U.S.-spec Odyssey, which is entirely different from its Japanese counterpart. The North American minivan was redesigned in 2018 and refreshed for the 2021 model year, so maybe these convenience features will become available on the next-gen Odyssey a couple of years from now.