All-new Honda Freed MPV gets two different styling packages with detailed visual differences.
The new Honda Freed MPV has been revealed ahead of its market launch in Japan next month. The Honda Freed is a popular three-row minivan from the Japanese carmaker that’s sold in multiple international markets including a few in the ASEAN region. The Freed shares similar underpinnings with the Honda City sedan that we get here in India.
- Freed MPV gets petrol and hybrid powertrain options
- In 2012, an earlier generation of Freed was evaluated for India
- Freed shares its underpinnings with City sedan
Honda Freed: the India connection
The Freed MPV was being evaluated for India in 2012 as Honda’s answer to the Ertiga. The model would have had India-specific changes and was internally codenamed 2NH. It would have had a lot in common with the City and the Jazz of that time. If launched, the uniquely styled Freed MPV could have been a strong rival to the Ertiga, but Honda instead chose to bring in the heavily localized Mobilio MPV in India in 2014.
New Honda Freed: exterior and interior
The Freed has been completely overhauled for 2024 and first details shared by Honda show that the MPV will get two distinct styling packages.
The standard Freed gets a simple and practical design with horizontal lines, a large glasshouse and an overall uncluttered look upfront and at the back. The more rugged looking Freed Crosstar gets a different grille and bumper design, more faux brushed aluminum inserts all around, a different alloy wheel design and slightly altered headlamps.
The new Freed is 4.3 meters long and has a wheelbase of around 2.74 meters which is longer than the City sedan that we get in India. It gets a three row cabin and a long list of creature comforts. The cabin has a flip-up third row and the Freed Crosstar gets a five-seat option too with more focus on boot space. The dashboard gets a large free standing infotainment screen and a digital instrument cluster for the driver. It gets roof mounted climate vents for the second row passengers.
New Honda Freed: powertrain details
The new Freed gets petrol and petrol-hybrid powertrain options. Honda has not released full powertrain details yet, but what is known currently is that the Freed will get Honda’s e:HEV hybrid technology comprising a 1.5-litre petrol engine and two electric motors. The entry-level Freed will feature a naturally aspirated 1.5-liter four-cylinder petrol, mated to a CVT gearbox.
Honda Freed: will it come to India?
As mentioned above, the Freed almost made it to India about a decade ago. However, Honda currently is focused on the City and the Elevate SUV for the Indian market. The brand will introduce the new Amaze later this year and is also working on an Elevate EV for a future launch.
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