Honda Freed – The TEST DRIVE

For a person driving a 850cc Kancil of manual transmission aged 13 years old, I wasn’t too sure about being behind the wheels of a MPV.

The Honda Freed –  equipped with the Modulo kit.

honda freed wtw5000 -

And yet I was. Though at first apprehensive; I found myself zooming at 140km/hr heading towards Putrajaya on a fine Saturday morning.

back of the wheel

I must admit I certainly put the brakes [Antilock Braking System, Electronic Brake Distribution and Brake Assist (ABS, EBD and BA) ] to good use  😉
Panicking at some parts, for the Honda Freed is certainly smooth on the road & more powerful than my usual ride, I emergency braked a few times & got my team mates, Ee -Van, Jason & Leonard exclaiming “Wahh..very good brakes! PASS!!! “ . LOL.

Driving the Honda Freed, a Premium Compact MPV recently launched by Honda Malaysia in April 2010 is a breeze.
The gear box is at almost eye level, the “handbrake” is now another footbrake at the leftmost side of the usual footbrake.

honda freed - dashboard1

no handbrake

There is no gearbox obscuring the space between the passenger seat & the driver’s and I certainly liked that. Not sure why, but it does adds a sense of “spaciousness”. Also makes it easy for the passenger from the front to move to the back should there be any situation that requires it. I’m thinking that since this is a urban family oriented MVP, it’s probably for the mum?

jason - walkin to the back

Asthetics – wise (which IMHO is a very important factor for the target market of young urbanites), it is certainly passable. I like the front cos I like cars with low slope – downwards bonnets. Gives it a sleek look doesn’t it?

honda freed - slope front

The back..the rear..whatever you may call it.. is not exactly my preferred shape. It’s so SQUARE!

honda freed - the back

But of course, I have to be reasonable. It’s a MPV, hence the need for a fat ass. Which also translates to ample “boot” space.

Suitable for transporting picnic boxes, baby strollers, wheelchairs (disable – friendly), baby bags of milk bottles etc. (think becky, think! family stuffs…err..) groceries, DOG CAGES, school bags, hhmm..what else?

back of the freed

Honda_Freed_stufs

Or for young single partying urbanites, (oh yes, this is more up my area of expertise) CRATES of beer/wine, coleman full of MORE beer (what else), mobile BBQ pit, racing bicycle (for the sports – inclined), golf clubs, diving gears..etc.
Yup, perfect for those outdoor-sy people too, and a single car that could fit up to 4 if the back 2 seats are lifted up means better usage of resources for car-pooling purposes.

Honda_Freed_sports

Honda_Freed_Sea travel

Honda_Freed_picnic

Or even a body bag………….. (ok, just joking).

Honda Freed - fits a 5 footer

And even for office use, as a company car to ferry staff to & fro; for the fuel consumption is 13 – 14km/litre of petrol. A full tanks of 42litres yields an average of 450 km (depending on your driving habits of course.)

below: the screen tells you your average fuel consumption. :good: !!!

honda freed - 13km litre

The wheels are 15-incher shod with Dunlop tires. It did not look out of place as the Freed is pretty large.

Wheels

Honda specifically mentioned that the lowered height for the Honda Freed is specially so as they wanted to make it as family friendly as possible. Undeniably, it does eases kids, elderly and pregnant women, (or even fat people 😉 ) to climb into the MPV.

honda freed - low floor

Both rear doors at the side is auto! So cool. Pull the handle and it slides back smooth & sleek.

I didn’t really think it’s a big deal, but I would have preferred the seats at the back to have arm rest on BOTH sides, for there were no arm rest on the sides that faces the door.

Another thing I noticed about the dashboard was (wheee! ) I can put my laptop and work on the go! (the death of a workaholic). Not only that, I can snack easily since there are plenty of space for my bottles of drinks & tupperwares of food.

on the go

Also, there is a lot of space for my junk! Small compartments, indented space on the dashboard for papers, cards, etc.

honda freed - dashboard1

Hook

Even the passenger seat glove compartment is nicely segment-ised. There’s a little slot for cards (BonusLink, Mesra card petrol card, Touch & Go..etc). Nice & neat I would say.

The engine.

Honda Freed - iVtec engine

Very smooth ride, steady enough to apply mascara! :good:

honda freed - mascara at 110

Love this compact MPV!

Honda Freed and kisses

PS: I have seen the Honda Freed before in Siam Paragon, Bangkok when I was there in June. Didn’t think that I would be driving it one day! Thanks to Honda Malaysia for making it happen for us!

honda freed - thailand

honda freed - thailand1

Hip hip hooray!! :yahoo:

group pic - honda freed

Honda Freed on the road with insurance – RM112,980.00 Modulo kit is another RM2,200.
Warranty is 3 years or 100,000km (whichever comes first) and 6 months free service or 10,000km (whichever comes first) is provided too.

More technical details: http://www.honda.com.my/freed/overview/

This Post Has 18 Comments

  1. Sean

    140km/hr?! eh, putrajaya area also got speed trap, y’know. heheh.
    yep, it looks like that back seat area could fit eight of you (or five of me) 😀

    1. rebeccasaw

      Haha.. hope there’s no saman sent to Honda!
      8?? can maybe if stacked up on each other!

    1. rebeccasaw

      Perfect match really! We are ‘stuck’ with each other! 😉

  2. hApPy HaPpY

    the GPS screen is supposed to be at the CD/Audio, we don’t have it malaysia. How nice if we can fix one and good for cari makan2

  3. unkaleong

    That’s pretty decent Fuel Consumption, given that it’s an MPV :yes:

    1. Rebecca

      yes horrr…buyin me one dear?? ;p

  4. anieza

    i’m interested to have one…but when i asked my friends they doesn’t know about this honda freed…is this car had been launced in malaysia especially in kedah…

    1. rebeccasaw

      Hey Anieza!
      Yes it is launched country wide already!
      Has your friend tried visiting a Honda Showroom in Kedah?

  5. vacuum cleaner

    I don’t even know how I finished up right here, but I thought this post was once great. I don’t recognize who you’re however definitely you’re going to a well-known blogger when you are not already. Cheers!

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