Honda Freed, 4 seater + IDEAS?

The new Honda Freed from Honda Malaysia is possibly a car targeted for the young urban city dweller, and definitely with a family in mind. Identifying a segment like this, probably took some courageous product and management team to decide to build a car like this. If one can recall correctly they have many variants of MPVs or vehicles that sit beyond 5 people. So what is this FREED about?

The car is an urban automobile. The Malaysian automobile market is a very weird segment, we have cars that costs cheap with differing badges, grey imports that costs the same as newly imported cars, and to top things off, people still buy cars. The Honda Freed is purportedly targeted (price range / model specifications ) just below the Toyota Estima and slightly above the Nissan Lavina. The Toyota Avanza is not included as the pricing bracket is not within that range, same goes for the Perodua Alza. So in my reckoning, it is a car that sits in a wide gap within the market segment for MPVs in that range, which I would say an ‘up-market’ MPV segment.

The car has enough room for 7 occupants, full walkthrough cabin, two captain seats in the middle row, loads of cup holders, and the best two automatic powered sliding doors ever built. The car is powered by a 1.5litre i-VTEC Engine. Max power is at 188ps at 6,600 rpm and max torque is at 146Nm at 4,800rpm. The car moves off pretty gently when you accelerate, and has a nice whirring noise when the i-VTEC kicks in. The power delivery is very linear and during passenger ferrying, one may want the comfort instead of jerkiness trying to keep your footing leveled; this car delivers just that. The ease of keeping the car on the go is apparent; one will not feel the ability of losing power during cruising modes. You will not need to constantly throttle on and off to keep it cruising. This all attributed to its Drive-By-Wire technology that has a built-in-close-coupled catalytic converter which meets high accuracy air fuel ratio and EURO 4 emission standards.

The FREED has a lot of engineering refinements to make this car an ideal choice for any urban mobility. The car has a high rigidity structure and one will not feel any chassis flexing during hard cornering. Though the car’s ability is not designed to be like any sports hatch, however taking this car around some bends, it really raised the bar in terms of handling and chassis integrity. The FREED gives you a tight and confident feeling around corners. The front dampers are fully independent front suspension and with an H-Shape Torsion beam on the rear to handle the weight during full cargo loads.

The interior of the FREED is a 4-Seater + space. The FREED has a very nice setup, with a flat floor bed, a walk through rear cabin which gives you the freedom of expandability and versatility. Captain seats are on the mid row section, and the rear seats, can be folded up or onto the side to increase space in the rear section. The interior has blacked out vinyl seat which are really good for family robustness, especially for young kids who loves to jump around during long travels. Good enough for the family, this car emulates the features of any MPV, but stands out with two features that I really like ; the 2nd row captain seats, and two power sliding doors. Imagine holding a baby or moving groceries into the car and having to pull open a heavy sliding door. This car beats any other MPV ‘hands down’ (or off) in this price range. Basically there is no other vehicle in this price range with this feature. The sliding doors can be remotely controlled by the key module directly or by button on the inside.

Much engineering thoughts have been redefined into this car, including a forward 7 degree tilting hinge front doors. It is designed to reduce the chances of knocks on the passengers head and also to increase ease of getting in. Even the rear tailgate opening has a 600mm clearance, allowing easy load and unloading of cargo. The FREED’s added advantage also includes a foot-parking brake. A feature normally found in luxury vehicles thus giving this car a very nice foot well space in the front.

The FREED comes standard with ABS and EBD, along with Brake Assist to give one the added edge in braking. The fuel lid also has a safety mechanism that stops the sliding door from opening if the lid is left open. Two front airbags sit on the front for major impacts including Honda’s G-Force Control Technology that disperses the force over the frame and better crash compatibility with other cars.

The final verdict is that the FREED is a great car for the urban mover, easy to drive, lots of space and functionality, and the only car at this price with power sliding doors. Priced at RM112, 980.00 do log onto www.honda.com.my to find out more about this wonderful MPV. - iK

Click here to view more photos of Honda Freed >