Auto Express
There are no prizes for guessing the car maker behind this prototype - the badge on the back may be covered, but the road sign is the big giveaway! This is the first-ever picture of Honda's top-secret compact MPV, due to go on sale in the UK later this year.
Snapped by an Auto Express reader, the car was turning off the M4 towards the Honda plant in Swindon, Wilt- shire. The newcomer will be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in September, and is a replacement for the slow-selling Stream. It will get a new name and borrows styling ideas from the Bulldog concept unveiled at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show.
The big news is that the newcomer will be a six-seater, but in a 3+3 format, similar to the Fiat Multipla. Driving dynamics are expected to be class-leading, as the car will be based on the platform of the next-generation Civic, which is due in 2006.
Power will come from a choice of engines. Two VTEC petrol motors will be used - the 108bhp 1.6-litre unit from the current Civic, and the 153bhp 2.0-litre from the Accord. The latter will be offered with a choice of six-speed manual or five-speed automatic trans- mission, while a hybrid is possible. And there will be two diesels - a 110bhp version of the 1.7 I-CDTi from the Civic, plus a new 2.0 I-CDTi common-rail with 130 and 150bhp. Craig Cheetham