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.

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

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.

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?

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?

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

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?

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.

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

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: !!!

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Love this compact MPV!

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!

Hip hip hooray!! :yahoo:

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/

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