Freed, the Honda Fit-based minivan, released in Japan
Although it doesn't look as we are going to see it Stateside, Honda has launched a Japanese minivan based on the Honda Fit platform. It's called Freed and in just 4.2 meters (165 inches) we can carry a complete family using a 1.5-liter unit mated to a CVT transmission that manages to get fuel consumption levels of about 6 l/100 km (39 mpg U. S.). The Freed got the fuel tank moved to the vehicle floor to give the interior as much room as possible and the rear doors are electric. Honda expects to sell about 4,000 units per month at a price between ¥1,639,000 and ¥2,215,000. The name comes as an abbreviation of "Freedom to create the perfect lifestyle." But of course.
Gallery: Honda Freed 2008
[Source: Honda]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joseph 11:45PM (5/31/2008)
It's eight inches longer than a Honda Fit, and it manages to fit in another row of seats. Pretty impressive.
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Kevin Nugent 9:06PM (5/31/2008)
Im pretty sure you wont be doing any towing of any kind , and you also may have to only haul skinny individuals in the car with that 1.5 liters. But seriously have any of you wondered how much weight a car carries in just humans alone.
Im a kid (16)and i weight 140 . and if my mom has 3 o4 4 poeple in the car and they all weight 140 ( for all intensive purposes we know very few of us weigh relatively so little )
140 * 6=840 That alot of human!! lol not to mention if the odyssey is loaded up
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MikeW 9:44PM (5/31/2008)
Gearing.
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Der Alte 10:34PM (5/31/2008)
Not for US market....yet press photos have a photo of the vehicle on a US freeway and with a white guy driving. I wonder what's up with that.
Seriously though, if Honda offered this I would buy it in a heartbeat. Its just what I'm looking for right now. I know we have the Mazda 5 in North America, but the 2.3 four banger is still not as frugal as I want. A 1.5 with a CVT is a bit more like it....even be better with a turbo. The big question is whether the interior room is practical or just a bit too small for our larger North American frames.
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Austin 11:58PM (5/31/2008)
That isn't on a US highway.
Those pictures were taken in Australia.
The cars are on the right side of the road, also they have Australian size license plates.
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Austin 11:59PM (5/31/2008)
My bad, the left side of the road.
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Ookuma 4:00AM (6/01/2008)
Kevin Nugent
I take it you haven't seen most Japanese people, or what they drive. They are quite the small people on average. I'd say that most of them don't weight more than 150lbs. I know, I'm generalizing, but being 6'3" and weighing 180, I'm huge in this country (Japan). And to comment on what they drive, most of their cars are powered by tiny 4 cylinder screaming beasts. At least the way they drive they scream. And for comparison, the Fit is quite big here, it is, by far, not the smallest car that you can buy. I've heard Japanese people refer to the Acura TSX as a full-size car and a Toyota Echo as mid-size. This was just casual conversation, mind you, but it shows the size comparison to what Americans drive.
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andrew 1:03PM (6/01/2008)
when the gas prices in the US hit $7.00 a gallon next year as they are predicted to... most americans will be looking for something like this...
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fred schumacher 3:13PM (6/01/2008)
Honda manages to put more space into a vehicle with less weight than any manufacturer selling in North America. I bet the Freed is much lighter than the Mazda 5, which, although small, is still porky. Fuel economy for the "little" Mazda is not that great because of its weight. Even my old 1993 Dodge Caravan with obsolete throttle-body fuel-injection 2.5 liter and 5-speed averages better fuel economy than the Mazda, weighs about the same, and has 40 more cubic feet of interior space.
This Honda Freed is more in the line of the Dacia (Renault/Nissan) Logan MCV, which seats 7 and also comes with a 1.5 liter diesel.
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Seth 4:09PM (6/01/2008)
Assuming it can pass US safety regs, and assuming it can fit a civic engine or a fit hybrid drivetrain it would be successful in the states. It may cannibalize sales from the Element, but it fits the bill for something between a CRV and an Odyssey.
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Rick 7:18PM (6/02/2008)
Fred- your caravan doesn't get much better fuel economy then the Mazda 5.
That being said, I am too intruigued about this little Honda and would be tempted to trade in our Mazda5 for it to get 39mpg.
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Jim McCullough 5:02PM (6/16/2008)
This could be the mini-wagon I’ve been waiting for since the Civic wagon disappeared after 1991. With a sport suspension and a dual-clutch automated manual tranny (DCT), this fun and efficient drive (if 50 MPG hybrid) would “Fit” in my garage. I’ll never own a belt-and-pulley CVT.
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