Three’s company: Honda S660, BR-V and Jade RS

ON THE fifth day of our nine-day journey to Japan for the 44th Tokyo Motor Show (TMS) at the invitation of Honda Cars Philippines Inc., we journalists were treated to test-drive sessions with three new Honda cars at Twin Ring Motegi.

Honda opened Twin Ring Motegi in eastern Tochigi prefecture in 1997 as part of its effort to bring the IndyCar Series to Japan. Its name originates from its having two race tracks: a 2.943-kilometer oval and a 4.8-km road course.

Surrounded by forests amid the Hakko mountains, Twin Ring Motegi is about three hours’ drive by coach from Tokyo. Its main attractions are the major motorsports events that take place there, such as the MotoGP and the Honda Collection Hall which exhibits about 300 vehicles such as Honda’s commercial two-wheel and four-wheeled vehicles, general purpose products and racing machines. Also on display is the history of Asimo, the two-legged walking robot and the development of its mechanisms. In the Honda Collection Hall, the company’s great efforts to make the environment better are seen.”

Together with journalists from Other Asean countries, we attended a briefing and technical presentation in a function room of the hotel. Then we were brought to the South Course to drive the S660 and Jade RS and after lunch, to the Active Safety Training Park for the BR-V Prototype.
Each journalist was limited to driving two laps per test car and then switching places with the front seat passenger. Speed limit signs were posted along the course to prevent untoward incidents.

Honda BR-V prototype

The BR-V is a crossover developed for the Asean market. It has three rows of seats and is touted to be a class leader in terms of space.

Propelled by a 1.5-liter SOHC i-VTEC engine mated to a new CVT (continuously variable transmission) for small cars or a six-speed manual transmission, it proved to be nimble on the road, even during the short time each of us had at the wheel.

Honda may bring the BR-V to the Philippines if marketing plans are prepared to do so. A few of us asked the project leader, Atsushi Arisaka, whether the BR-V would grab market share from other Honda crossovers such as the HR-V and Mobilio.

But he said the BR-V targets a different market with its retail price, outstanding utility, ground clearance and class-leading spaciousness for the active family.

Honda S660

Ryo Mukumoto, large project leader of the S660, said that its design was inspired by the Honda Monkey bike. Its platform was developed from scratch.
The cutesy, sports car looks and bright yellow color of the top-down S660 coupe drew more photography than the other test cars.

Smaller than a Miata or MINI Cooper, it is equipped with a 660-cc DOHC turbo powerplant delivering 63.12 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 104 Nm peak torque at 2,600 rpm.

The transmission is either a CVT or 6-speed manual. On the road, the S660 was fun to drive despite its limited horsepower.

The S660 was one of the new cars exhibited by Honda at the 44th TMS that attracted crowds. Its value seems to be its fuel efficiency, claimed to average 24.2 km per liter with the CVT and 21.2 kpl with the MT.

The S660 would surely be a hit as Honda’s pocket rocket if it were sold in the Philippines.

Jade RS

Daihei Tashima, the powertrain project leader of the Jade RS multipurpose vehicle, said the front side platform of the Jade RS came from the European version of the Civic.

Launched in Japan last May, the Jade MPV comes in two variants: a hybrid and the sporty RS with CVT.

The 1.5-liter DOHC turbo aluminum engine of the Jade RS packs 147.95 HP/5,500 rpm and 203 Nm/1,600-5,000 rpm max torque which explains its sporty driving performance.

Tashima said the Jade RS averages 18 kpl and has 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels.

The Jade RS uses three key technologies: highly efficient rapid combustion, optimized valve timing and powerful torque from the low rpm range.
The elegant-looking Jade RS would give other compact multipurpose vehicles a run for their money if it were brought to the Philippines.

At the end of the test-drive sessions, most of us wished that we were allowed more laps with the new Honda cars.

Also, it would have been great if the new Civic Type R were included among the test cars.
Just the same, we all enjoyed our stay in Tochigi.