Honda

I had the age old dilemma today of whether to intentionally put myself through discomfort in a bid to save a life. Bit dramatic I’m sure you’ll agree, but as the television keeps telling me if I give blood I am, in essence a lifesaver. Every six months a very attractive young lady comes into my office and asks me if I’d like to donate part of my soul and not wishing to be seen as a wimp I manfully reply “Of course, I’m a regular”. This is true but every time I sign the forms I’m instantly transported to the back seat of my Dad’s Honda, circa 2000.

Turning sixteen I thought I’d follow in my Dad’s footsteps and become a walking blood bank, saving more lives than the airbag. The first outing didn’t go to plan however. Looking at my lanky frame the nurse asked repeatedly if I was sure I could cope without a sixth of the sticky red stuff. She may not have been attractive, but my Dad was there so once again not wishing to be a wimp I manfully replied “Yeah sure”. Worried for my health they sneakily only took ¾ of a pint and kept me behind for longer than normal.

Unfortunately none of this made a jot of difference as five minutes after leaving I found myself out of my mind on the back seat of that Honda. Anyone familiar with Hunter S Thompson’s magnum opus Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas will relate to me when I said the road ahead turned into a black abyss and the walls of the car seemed to be closing in on me. I made it to the front door of my grandparents before collapsing through it, thankfully being caught by my granddad and even more thankfully not causing him a heart attack.

So today, despite being a double figures donator I always get a wee bit sweaty under the collar when I make the trip from relaxing office, to a room with people strewn left and right with more needles than a Guns ‘N’ Roses reunion. Today was even worse. Not content with taking the usual pint, extra was taken to be sampled for my compatibility as a bone marrow match. As I write this the computer screen keeps closing in and the house looks untidy. Perhaps the second one is pushing your sympathy.

Spare a thought for my mate who is built like $@&% and is a Territorial Army member who proclaimed: “If my fiancé can give birth last week, I can give blood for the first time”. I thought it odd when I left that he didn’t respond to me from the precariously high ‘recovery’ beds they had for us. That lack of response was followed by the loudest thump I’ve heard a human make as he fell unconscious onto the floor. Blimey, there has to be an easier, less painful way to save life than this surely. I believe there is and Honda is once again inexorably linked.

It’s highly likely that at some stage of your driving life you’ll have some idiot screech into the back of you. This might be great for the accident compensation companies who’ll get their whiplash guidance manuals out, but a serious inconvenience to you and your car’s rear end. With Britain’s ever increasing population I’ve always worried about the cars with families in, particularly if there are people in essentially the boot. Yes MPVs have seats for up to seven but two are always where the shopping should live, a two, three, two formation if you will. Honda has solved this with their MPV, the FR-V by simply having three in the front and three in the back. If you’ve got seven to seat, well you should’ve considered contraception by child number four.

The Honda FR-V isn’t just a safety advertisement but a genuinely good MPV. Like so many Japanese products, Honda has conceived the 3X3 seating idea from someone else, in this case Fiat’s ugly as sin Multipla. Honda however have then refined everything to enhance the driving experience, from the way it handles, to the 2.0 litre 148bhp engine option to satisfy drivers that still want some speed as well as a family.

From new the sport model with the 2.0 litre engine, climate control and alloy wheels comes in at a very reasonable £16,400. A three year old model will have not depreciated massively and can therefore be picked up for roughly £10,000. This may not be ideal for the buyer, but evidences the FR-V’s proven track record. Right I better go and pick my mate up off the floor.

Mark Creese is a writer and a car enthusisast. Here he discusses the Honda FRV.

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