In the market for a people carrier? Well, thanks to a spate of recent entrants into the South African market over the last 12 months, choice is no longer an issue. In the larger MPV category, the Nissan NV200 and VW Cross Caddy are relative newcomers, while the Suzuki Ertiga (tested in the November 2014 issue) and now the Honda Mobilio are smaller and more affordable seven-seater offerings.
Sourced from India, the Mobilio is a totally different package to one of our favourite-ever Hondas, the defunct FR-V. Instead of two rows of three seats like that vehicle, the Mobilio uses the more conventional two-plus-three-plus-two layout. The second row is split 60:40 and it can fold and tumble to allow easy access to the seats behind. This row also slides to adjust the legroom ratio to the rearmost bench. The last row splits 50:50 and the backrests fold and cushions tumble to provide luggage space in lieu of the sixth and seventh occupants.
Black cloth upholstery provides sufficient comfort and won’t show staining easily, and there’s impressive legroom all-round and a reasonable 140 dm3 behind the third row for luggage (the latter figure is the largest of the three competitors). This expands to 352 dm3 with the last row folded, giving a utility figure of 1 232 dm3 (both the Avanza and Ertiga offer quite a bit more load-lugging room).
Interior space is naturally the key credential of any MPV, but what about the styling? Good looks are not usually associated with this type of vehicle and it’s no secret that Hondas rarely win beauty contests. The Mobilio, however, is an exception to the rule. This one is decently attractive and makes clever use of multiple swoops, crease lines and glass to add some panache. This despite the Mobilio measuring a chunky 4 385 mm long (which, of course, helps the impressive interior legroom
we mentioned).
To keep the costs down, the Mobilio offers steel wheels fitted with plastic wheel trims. The full-size spare is mounted underneath the bodywork at the rear and is lowered by loosening a bolt inside the luggage area.
The engine is shared with its Jazz stablemate and is an excellent match here, providing 88 kW of peppy i-VTEC power combined with 145 N.m of spread-out torque. This gives useful performance, with a sprint acceleration time to 100 km/h of 10,20 seconds (although, with a full complement of people, you can expect it to struggle a bit).
One worrying aspect in everyday driving conditions is wheelspin, which occurs even when trying to pull away gently. The tyres also even in second gear. We thought that this might be due to the extended body giving a mass distribution biased towards the rear, but our load scales showed the mass is concentrated at the front (56% of it, to be exact).
Gearshifting is typically Honda precise, except for an annoying tendency to baulk when changing from first into second. With a fuel index of 8,78 litres/100 km, the range is about 480 km on the 42-litre tank.
The one feature of the Mobilio that drew universal criticism is the steering. The electrically assisted system is simply too light and creates the impression of poor directional stability, especially in windy conditions. For city commuting, though, it is acceptable. Perhaps the number of turns lock to lock – 3,6 – could have been reduced. For reference, the Ertiga has a ratio of 3,1 and the Avanza 2,8.
The suspension is set up to cope with poor-quality roads – an aspect of daily commuting shared between South Africa and India – and therefore the ride is absorbent. The downside, of course, is body sway when making sudden lane changes.
Safety features include two airbags and ABS plus EBD. Like the Mobilio’s rivals, the second row’s middle seat has only a lap belt. A few more small criticisms include the lack of a centre armrest up front, air-con that battled a bit with hot weather and no auto door-locking facility.
