USED Honda FR-V MPV (04 - 09)

My car

The valve on my diesel enginged FRV was replaced at 1200 miles and the fuel consumption rose drastically. The car has now covered 3700 miles and there has been no improvement.

During the first 1200 miles of gentle driving I averaged between 48 to 51 miles per gallon and since the recirc. valve was changed it is impossible to get more than 41.5 miles. I should stress that the car is used only as a weekend car and is never driven in town, so all the miles have been on dual carriageways at between 60 to 70 mph on trips of at least 100 miles.

There is no noticeable change in the engine’s performance since the valve was changed, other than when I once floored the accelerator pedal as I was being sandwiched by two articulated lorries and the engine failed to respond in anyway, forcing me ultimately to brake.

The car has been back to the Honda main dealer, who says that there is nothing wrong. I have telephoned Honda Customer Services many times and on each occasion they are unable to talk to me and insist that some one will call me back but no-one ever does. I have written to Honda Customer Services who have not bothered to reply.

I have always thought that Honda was a company famed for customer service and wonder, given the way I have been completely ignored, if there is a problem with the retro-fitted exhaust gas recirc. valves that Honda can’t fix.

My car

I've had the FRV for nine months now. It was bought as an ex-Honda fleet car with low miles. Fuel consumption has improved and it now averages about 48mpg driven sensibly. It can drop to 42-43mpg if thrashed. It doesn't use any oil between services and I've done about 18,000 miles so far, with no problems at all.

The kids love it, especially being able to sit in the front. There's sufficient room for six adults as there's plenty of legroom in the back. It can carry large loads with the seats folded down (easy to do).

I'm told there is a recall for a new EGR valve and a couple of other minor things but these are not an issue for me. The two local dealers are family run and both very helpful. Nothing has broken or fallen off despite the attentions of two lively kids, trips to builders' merchants, DIY shops, carrying furniture and the local tip.

Mine is fitted with park reverse sensors - essential with the high back. I'm thinking of having roof rails fitted because you can't fit a conventional bike rack to the boot because of the spoiler.

The only real downside is that the paintwork does seem to scratch easily round the door handles.

My car

I have had this car for about 2 months now. It was an ex-demonstrator model. The family of 4 are very happy with the interior space. Did a 3 hour journey with 6 people on board with every one feeling comfortable. Even with 6 people there is reasonable boot space. For entry level model it is well equipped compared to other MPV we looked at (Touran, Mazda5). The onboard computer tells me that it is doing around 37-38 mpg. This is my first MPV. On the road I feel the vehicle is bouncy. Not sure if this is particular to my vehicle or a characteristic of MPVs. Dealer say it is normal, which I am finding hard to believe. Road noise is high and the ride is firm. On the road you are made aware of all the cracks and imperfections of the road. I dont remember being so aware of the road surface before this vehicle.

if anyone is interested I would recommend a long test drive on all types of roads. I have been contemplating changing the vehicle due to issues with ride, but am held back because I like the cabin space and reliabity of the manufacturer. It is also going to cost me extra. The other 2 MPV which we looked only offer a comfortable ride for 4 passengers I feel. We want the flexibility of being able to carry 6 passengers comfortably. I will be investigating the possibility of fixing the ride issues. If I can't then I have to face a tough decision to change the car.

My car

We bought this as our family car to replace a Saab 9-3 whose engine ate itself.

With three kids, we wanted something practical that would allow us to have an additional person on occasion but was still reasonably good to look at. We chose this because it was the best compromise on all.

I've had the car for six months now and I'm generally very happy with it.

It's a deceptively big car (much more space than the Saab) and the seat options (fold-flat back row, push back middle seats) mean that you can normally come up with a configuration which is comfortable (we've had three adults in the front for a couple of hours at a time without any problem). Boot space is great even with all six seats up.

Its nice enough to drive although it does feel a bit van-like at times. The layout of the controls is very natural and it feels odd to go back to a "normal" car.

The engine is very thirsty (but not very quick) and the fuel tank is only 50 litres, which makes long range limited - but the cruise control helps with that.

Niggles that I have are: no rear sensors (can't tell where the back of the car is), strange concave side mirrors distort to make parking more difficult, no climate/ac for rear seats, odd fake wood on dash (trim on SE is nicer).

I've just had an emission sensor failure, but the Honda dealer is fixing under warranty with no issues.