Cars in Japan are so affordable. I know I had said this when I had talked about the Nissan Tiida, but it’s hard to believe that autos in this country are so cheap when compared to the exact same thing in Canada. Why does the Canadian government insist on charging several thousand dollars in tax on vehicles? Oh right … because they can. That aside, Reiko and I continued our search for our first family car, and this week it meant a trip to Honda Cars Gifu (岐阜) just down the street.

Today we took a look at three cars and settled on two potential candidates. The Fit, Freed and Stream. Of the three, we had really expected to only examine the first. The second we knew about, but I’m not a fan of the commercials with the curly haired foreigner and his high-pitched Japanese. The Stream was one I had only seen in magazines, and it was one that Reiko had seemed interested in the most … until the sticker price was shown. That said, here’s the run-down on the three.

The Honda Stream

A nice car, to say the least. I really liked the dashboard as it was very expansive and wasn’t blocked at all by the steering wheel. This means that it’s incredibly easy for back-seat passengers to let us know when we might be speeding, or going too slow through a school zone. On top of this, the hazard light toggle wasn’t larger than the cup holders (a common trait with cars in Japan), and the seats were comfortable. One of the things we didn’t like too much about it was that the car was clearly designed to be driven by a man. While this is no problem for me, Reiko is clearly not a man. The interior does have a few different configurations available, however, none of them are suited to most of the women I’ve seen.

Sticker Price: 2,200,000+ 円

The Honda Freed

For a mini-van, this is pretty nice. It comes with power sliding doors, 5 and 7-person seating configurations, and enough power to handle a drive over some of the local mountains. It’s certainly a great vehicle for people who regularly carpool, drive with elderly people, have two or more children, or just like carrying loads of stuff. The side-airbags were nicely designed and placed right where it’s most important, protecting people’s heads from hitting the glass in the case of a side impact or roll-over. Aside from the commercials, the only real fault I could find with the Freed was it’s infinitely long draping hood. The front of the car is about two meters from where the driver sits, and the edge of the hood cannot be seen by anyone inside the vehicle. This would make it very tricky to parallel park in a hurry, or squeeze out from a tight spot. That said, there are loads of cameras that can be installed on this thing to give anyone a 360 degree view of their surroundings.

Sticker Price: 2,869,655 円 for the model we liked.

The Honda Fit

This is the car we went to see. One of my co-workers had bought one of these shortly before I moved to Japan, and he absolutely loved it. The car was perfect for him, his wife, and two young children. While Reiko and I do not yet have kids, it’s something we’re seriously considering while car shopping. Just how big a car we should get is the main question. That said, the Honda Fit would serve us well for at least a decade, or until the kids become teenagers and don’t want to be seen in an embarrassingly old car :P

What I liked about the Fit was its size, and the amount of power it has. The engine has more than enough muscle to handle the trip over the mountains to Seki or Takayama, and is relatively good on gas. Like many other cars, this one can be decked out with seven cameras (which can be connected to a recording device for later viewing — great in an accident, so you can give irrefutable evidence to the police about your speed, the road conditions and anything else that’s recorded by the car). One thing that I found odd about this car was that a spare tire is considered an optional item. While this isn’t a deal breaker, I’d hate to call JAF for something I could do myself. This car was also clearly designed for males under the age of 30, as the steering wheel and dash are exactly what I’d look for in a car, but seem to turn off Reiko. While there are a few options, none really appeal to her. Again, this isn’t a deal breaker, but something that we’ll consider before making a final purchase.

Sticker Price: 2,127,715円 for the model we liked.

The Verdict

Honda has a solid reputation and the cars are certainly appealing to my senses. That said, we’re not too sure whether we would prefer a Fit, Freed or Nissan Tiida. Every one of these cars has quite a few features that we’re happy with, but none have grabbed our attention in any way to really sway us. The Honda models are definately more expensive, and we have already agreed that these cars are exceeding our allotted budget. However, like anything else in life, we get what we pay for. By getting a cheaper car, we may be dooming ourselves to a future of constant repairs or frequent disappointments.

The jury’s still out on this one.

What do you think of these cars? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.