Does the Mobilio Move you? The exact moment that the new Honda Mobilio moves you – in an emotional, or intellectual sense – happens when you decide, okay, so let’s see just how accessible that third row of seats really is.

Practicality

With the rear door open – a nice wide aperture, because Honda are naturally going to take care of the basics on what is essentially a basics-specific vehicle – you reach in to the second-row backrest and tug the lever, half expecting a kind of tug-of-war to ensue as something sticks, or there is indeed a secondary lever you have to push or, how exactly do these things work?

So, getting back to the Mobilio’s essence. Tug the lever, and the backrest doesn’t just fold down, but in one fluid movement the folded backrest and cushion tumbles forward to allow easy access to that rear seat by even the lumpiest of humans. We first saw Honda’s packaging genius on the Jazz about a decade back, and this Japanese company has been doing the people-orientated mobility gig ever since – and in such a pleasant, intriguing way.

MPV Market for Mobilio

Honda is not unaware that the MPV market has been eroded to a large extent by the mass switch to SUVs over the past decade, but Honda Motor Southern Africa’s Director of Automobiles Graham Eagle notes the market has bottomed out, and there is still a very relevant niche here, for families and for the likes of guest houses and companies who need to transport bunches of people in large quantities. Honda SA expects to sell about 80 Mobilios a month.

The Mobilio’s focus is thus very much passenger-orientated. It has enough leg room for someone of my height (1.83 m) to sit in row two without bashing his knees or head, and also in row three. Sure, with the third row upright for action, luggage space is not huge, but it’s not awful. There’s 223-litres of luggage space with seven people seated, and if you merely fold the third backrest down, this increases to 521-litres, which is plenty.

There are two trim levels on offer, a Trend and Comfort and both these models use Honda’s 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol engine, which produces 88 kW and 145 Nm of torque, driving the front-wheels through a five-speed gearbox. The Trend costs a reasonable R179990, while the Comfort is some R19000 more expensive at R198990. This pricing places it slightly above its competition – think Suzuki’s Ertiga – but then Honda has for some time positioned itself as a premium Japanese manufacturer.

Specification and features

The basic Mobilio Trend offers air-con, central locking, electric windows and that’s about it, on the creature pampering front. No audio at this level, and airbags only for the driver and front passenger. There is ABS and EBD (electronic brake force distribution) in the interests of stability under duress, but no traction control or corner-assist. Presumably Honda’s market analysts sussed that at this level of power, wheel-spin is not going to be too much of a problem, and that drivers aren’t going to be pushing the adhesion limits while shuttling a tour party of pensioners to the nearest casino.

The Comfort model, which is expected to make up the bulk of Mobilio sales, offers quite a bit more for that extra R19k. You get an audio system with MP3/USB compatibility, and a multi-function steering wheel to control volume and radio station seeking at your fingertips. The rear passengers will appreciate the extra air vents for rows two and three for air-conditioning, and there is height adjustment for the driver’s seat. All these things are pretty much taken for granted in even entry level models in today’s hatch-back market, but in a utility vehicle such as the Mobilio, they still count as gratifying comfort aids.

Another gratifying aspect of the Mobilio, which Honda sales people will no doubt be pointing out, is that this car is eminently more park-able than your average SUV in underground shopping mall parkades. An overall length of 4385 mm, with a width of 1683 mm is just a tad longer than your average hatchback.

For now, there’s only the one engine option with manual transmission, although a CVT version is coming in March 2015.