The Sunday News
Lovert Mafukure
HONDA Elysion, a big seven seater mini-van produced to compete with the likes of the Elgrand and the Toyota Alphard.
It is the big brother to the Honda Odyssey. It’s huge just like the Elgrand, it’s got a big engine, though not as extravagant as the Elgrand. It has the power, it sits seven and it has that Honda durability to top it all off!
The Honda Elysion is the next car to look out for. The first generation Elysion was in production from 2004 to 2013, it doesn’t really have a younger brother, it the first born. The word Elysion was taken from the word Elysian which means a place of complete happiness or paradise. It’s Greek for a place like heaven. Believe it or not, the Japanese were not too far from it, the interior of this car offers a slice of heaven.
The moment you jump into the driver’s seat, you will feel the heavenliness of this car. You are first greeted by the wood inspired plastic trim right from the door panel. The steering wheel itself has wood accents in it. The whole design of the dashboard is a bit awkward and flat, it gives the feeling that somehow you are in a truck. It’s not too bad but I guess it could have been better.
Most of them come with satellite navigation, bulky seats, some of which are made out of leather. As much as the seats are bulky, there is quite a lot of space in the Elysion. It sits 7 people comfortably and the last row of seats accommodates adults quite comfortably.
Like most Japanese mini vans, the Elysion has its way of being odd, it has a awkward sense of beauty. The front looks like an angry beast that’s waiting to pounce on its prey. It’s noticeably a very big car and the doors are huge. It’s got sliding doors at the back which makes for better embarking and disembarking in tight parking spaces.
It’s a touring car and 7 people can sit comfortably. It’s got the usual Japanese minivan set up with two people in front, two at the back and three in-between.
The rear seats move back and forth if more boot space is needed. Most minivans are designed to be multi-purpose vehicles, you can carry people and fold the seats if you need to. The Elysion however, like the Elgrand is not much of a multi-purpose vehicle, it’s not designed to carry things but rather people to sit comfortably. It’s like a grand limousine and the comfort is on par with the interior looks.
It’s a big car and it’s got to have a big engine. Most of them come with the famous K24A 2400cc motor. It’s a bullet proof motor oozing out some cool 160 horses.
The K24A engine found in this car is also found in quite a number of Hondas like the CRV and has built a reputation for reliability and durability. It is a Honda tradition to build engines that never break or fold under pressure. The Honda Elysion therefore is quite likely to find its way into decades to come.
The K24A is a 4-cylinder naturally aspirated engine with 4 valves per cylinder. It has the I-vtec system which increases power output and makes for a very fuel efficient yet powerful engine. When it’s going through the city streets its quiet, well behaved but when you call it to come to play it roars like a lion.
Like most Hondas, it features an all aluminium block with aluminium cylinder head. They prefer aluminium because it’s lightweight and has better heat transfer properties to the coolant but ultimately it’s an issue of weight reduction. The engine is mated to a 5-speed automatic transmission which drives the front wheels with some models driving all four wheels. You do find however, the same 5-speed automatic transmission on all models. So be on the lookout for this one, it’s quite an all round reliable car and not as soft as its other counterparts in the minivan segment. You get more space and more comfort with the Elysion as compared to the likes of the Honda Odyssey. It’s naturally a high spec car as it was made to compete with the likes of the Elgrand so it’s a high end car and very expensive to run.
@lovert116 – Automart Used Spares Centre – Quality Used Japanese Spares -+263 772 33 99 38 – [email protected]/ Facebook: @automartusc
