Honda Freed MPV

The latest offering from Honda Malaysia, the Freed MPV was launched in Kuala Lumpur today.The Freed is built on the versatile Jazz platform, featuring a flat floor design which allows for several different seating arrangements, and automatic sliding doors fitted on either side of the vehicle.

Honda says that the Freed is squarely aimed at the new generation family, which it defines as small, modern, lifestyle driven, practical and technologically savvy. Honda Malaysia will only be offering in the seven-seater version for the Malaysian market. This version boasts individual captain seats for the second row of seating, while a bench commodious enough for three abreast seating can be found in the back.

Being 300mm longer than the Jazz, at 4.2 metres in length, there is adequate room for average height individuals in the rear seats with 142 litres (according to Verband Der Automobile Industries measurements) of luggage space behind the rear seats.

Instead of folding down, the split folding rear bench is folded up and kept neatly aside.

This allows the seats to be thickly padded and yet easily stowed away without the need for a raised floor, giving the Freed a luggage capacity of 672 litres with the rear bench folded.

Thanks to its high roofline, the Freed has ample headroom, and allows for the packaging to be more compact without limiting passenger space.Honda claims that its high efficiency air conditioner unit allows it to operate from its front vents without the need for rear vents for rear seat occupants.

Powered by the same 1.5-litre SOHC i-VTEC engine as the one found in the Jazz hatchback, the engine in the Freed produces just 1Nm of torque more but 2hp less than the engine in the Jazz, with a minor ECU tune.

Working with just 116hp and 146Nm of torque, acceleration is still brisk, and performance is decent, but the engine does feel strained when carrying a full load of passengers along the long straights.

With a sales target of 130 per month, the Freed carries a base-price tag of RM109,490.50, and OTR it would cost RM12,980.00 with comprehensive insurance coverage, whilst the Modulo accessorised model would set you back by RM115,180.00.

Read more in Cars Bikes Trucks this Sunday's NST 25th April 10.

specifications:

Engine: 1,497cc, inline-4, SOHC i-VTEC with Torque Boost Resonator

Max power: 116hp @ 6,600rpm

Max torque: 146Nm @ 4,800rpm

Transmission: 5-speed automatic with Shift Hold Control

Features: Dual airbags, ABS with electronic brake force distribution (EBD) and brake assist, automatic sliding doors with remote control and anti-pinch function. www.cbt.com.my