The new Freed was released in Indonesia last year and Honda used the tagline “It’s a New Life, Let’s FREED!” The Freed was first unveiled in Japan in 2008 and Indonesia became the first country outside Japan to have this car. Offering new style, space, atmosphere, level of luxury and comfort and such, this car surely is one gem. The Freed comes in 2 versions were the first is a standard one while the other one is a full specification version. Both versions come with very good safety features including ABS, EBD and BA, Side Impact beams, Neck Shock Mitigation Seats and such. The full specs version also comes with a power sliding door, chrome grilles, arm rest for the driver and dual airbags as well.
Under the hood, you will get Honda’s trademark 1.5 liter i-VTEC engine that gets you 118 PS at 6,600rpm and toque of 144Nm at4,800rpm. This would be the same engine fitted into the new Honda Jazz as well as the City. There are 6 colour choices to choose from which are Luminous Blue Pearl, Alabaster Silver Metallic, Brilliant White Pearl, Basque Red Pearl, Crystal Black Pearl, and Polished Metal Metallic. Since the car will be made in Indonesia, this means that there would be likelihood that it might just make it to Malaysia. After all, they have announced that it is getting into Thailand. Positioned below the Stream, this would be the cheaper version of MPV to come from Honda, very much like how Toyota is marketing the Avanza. What more with a 2+3+3 version, an 8 seater would surely change the mindset of anyone thinking of buying an MPV. 8 would surely be better than 7.
While sitting 8 passengers is good news, the power that comes with it might just be a concern among buyers. What with a 1.5 liter engine which is great for the Jazz or the City but on an MPV, that might just be an issue to consider. But that was what many perceived when the Avanza was first launched with a 1.3 liter engine. and so is the Alza, so let’s hope it gets here and then perhaps the drivers could decide.
