"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
11/23/2013 at 13:04 • Filed to: Opporeviews
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"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
11/23/2013 at 13:04 • Filed to: Opporeviews | 1
| 6 |
For the past few months, this is the car I've been driving. The Alfa needed some work, the BMW stays crashed (can't find a front wing) and in my vast fleet there wasn't a single vehicle that could take me to work. Rather embarrassing I must say. So, my grandad lent me his 2.0l Honda Stream Sport , for which I am very grateful. I strongly suspect the 'sport' is ironic though...
Disclaimer: My grandad wanted me to drive this car so much he pretty much forced me to buy restoration projects rather than running cars and then sabotaged my Alfa. That's definitely how it happened. Yes.
Exterior: 6/10
It's actually not a bad looking thing. It's not going to adorn the bedroom walls of anyone but the most rabid Honda enthusiast, but neither is it offensive to look at. It does very well at just 'being a car'. If it wasn't for cars like this there'd be nothing for Lamborghinis to be juxtaposed against, and where would the world be then?
Interior: 7/10
Tons of space. Acres of it. We've been able to fit 7 people (albeit two of them younguns) and their luggage for a week in this car plus a top-box on a 6 hour car drive to France without anyone being murdered.
The quality of materials is generally above par. Nothing plush, but this is an honest car rather than a showboat. Plastics don't seem too cheap, and the contact points of the wheel and gearstick are covered in rather nice perforated leather. Ergonomics are nice too, if a bit upright compared to my usual sporty fare.
Acceleration: 4/10
It does that. Yup.
Braking: 5/10
It does that too. Without drama so far.
Ride: 6/10
The ride's rather good, but you'd expect that from the soft suspension settings. Fair amount of wind and tyre noise permeate into the cabin. It's not exactly a sensory deprivation pod, but I prefer it that way. It helps remind you that there is a real world outside, and cocking up won't result in 'game over' flashing up on the screen. Not to my knowledge at least.
Handling: 4/10
This thing rolls. It really does, but it will go round a corner believe it or not. Any 60mph sweeper that the Alfa will navigate comfortably the Honda will also navigate, albeit with a sense of impending doom. It does have a comical charm when you're hustling it along country roads though. Like a cow that's decided to have a go at show jumping.
Inducing tyre squeal and a worrying lean at 30mph round a mini roundabout made my little cousin giggle like a maniac. If that's not entertaining handling then I don't know what is.
Gearbox: 7/10
Really rather nice actually. It's one of those weird dash-mounted gearstick things, but it's in an ideal place and frees up space on the floor. Nice little action as well. Short throws and as close to snicky as a minivan dare get. There is a bit of a jump between 1 st and 2 nd though, which makes it tricky to get a smooth shift if you're not paying attention.
Audio: 6/10
Not sure whether it's just the head unit, but there doesn't seem to be a very fine selection of volume. You can either have it at 5 which is far too quiet, or 6 which is slightly too loud. Other than that it plays music just fine.
The engine does rev rather well, but I'd describe the noise it emits at the higher revs as 'distressed mooing'. It's not a sound-track that inspires you to push it, which is probably a good thing if I think about it…
Toys: 3/10
Err…it's got a radio that works. Is oodles of space a toy? I can fit lots of actual toys in it if that counts. No? Alright then.
Total: 48/100
I suppose it's a bit unfair to judge an MPV on the same scale as you would a sports car. If 'acceleration' and 'handling' were replaced with 'ability to carry all my things at once' and 'playing Classic FM' it'd be scored much more generously.
To be honest, it's really not bad at all. The telling thing is that I drove it for a good few months without trying to drive off a bridge in despair. In fact, and don't tell anyone else, there were times when I actually enjoyed it…
quarterlifecrisis
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
11/23/2013 at 13:10 |
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1. I've always wanted to drive something with a shifter in that location, same with an Alfa with the weird gear lever protruding from the dash.
2. Distressed mooing...I laughed at that much harder than I should've. Especially since I'm alone at the office on a Saturday afternoon.
duurtlang
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
11/23/2013 at 13:11 |
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Entertaining review. I do guess you'd have driven it off a cliff by now had it had a CVT in stead of that slick manual.
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> quarterlifecrisis
11/23/2013 at 13:22 |
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Me too, although I had hoped mine would be an Alfa too. Spitfires have it in the same position too, so maybe that.
Thanks :) it's true, like trying to push a cow up a staircase
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> duurtlang
11/23/2013 at 13:24 |
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Thanks :) I think you might be right. The constant lethargic mooing would have driven me insane.
rxe7en
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
11/27/2013 at 08:46 |
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Looks like the child of an Odyssey and a Fit. How does it compare sizewise to those two?
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> rxe7en
11/27/2013 at 10:51 |
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I don't think we get the Odyssey, but it probably fits quite nicely between them. Definitely much bigger than a Fit. Think an enlarged Civic of the same era, although I think the Euro and American Civics had diverged by then.