Category: Compact MPV 
Price Range: £17,200 to £21,020
Roomy, versatile, well made.
Front middle seat isn't actually very useful.
Takes the strain out of family life.
The petrol version returns an average of 37.7mpg (or 34.9 for the auto), while the diesel gives 44.8mpg - good figures for a two-tonne car with reasonably perky performance.
The 1.8 produces 177g/km of carbon dioxide, while the auto emits 167g/km, figures that both fall into road tax Band E, just like the Toyota Verso, whereas the Ford Focus C-Max is available with some smaller engines that get into Band D. (Watch out for the automatic gearbox on the Honda, which bumps the petrol engine into Band F.)
The petrol FR-V comes into insurance group 10, and the diesel is group 11, both of which are perfectly reasonably, although a C-Max with similar power will be cheaper to cover. Servicing, meanwhile, is due every 12,500 miles, which is slightly better than par for the course.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Honda FR-V
wrote on 08 07 2006