Singapore –

What the heck is a Jade?
It’s a green semi-precious stone. But it’s also the name of Honda’s newest multi-purpose vehicle (MPV). The big news behind it is that it packs Honda’s first real turbocharged engine.

Wait, you mean Honda’s never done turbos before?
The company’s been infamous for its high-revving, naturally aspirated performance engines for decades – look at any Type R model for instance – but even its less thoroughbred engines have been sweet in the same way, such as the 1.6-litre found in the EG6 Civic of the 1990s.

But Honda has never made a turbo engine on a large scale in a ‘proper’ production car. Its kei cars, like all others, had sub 1.0-litre turbo engines, and it even made a turbocharged motorcycle in the form of the 1980 Honda CX 500 Turbo. The reasonable question isn’t why Honda is adopting turbocharging now, but why it took so long to do it.

What are the figures like?
Honda has a new family of turbo engines which will also be found in the next Civic sedan, due here in August. They pack everything you’d expect of a modern turbo engine: direct-injection, friction reduction, VTEC and so on. The result is that the Jade’s 1.5 is more efficient and torquey than Honda’s own 2.0-litre NA engine (found in the face-lifted Accord) and pretty much neck-to-neck with VW’s 1.4-litre engine fitted in a similar-sized car like the Golf Variant although the German car claims better efficiency.

Does that mean wheel-squealing fun?
One might expect the magical combination of words ‘VTEC’ and ‘turbo’ to be something like a ricer’s wet dream come true, but no, Honda’s doing things its own way just like Lexus did. Of our first time with the new 2.0-litre turbo engine in the NX we said “It’s benchmarked to the usual German suspects but feels nothing like them.”

That’s spot on for the Jade too. The smooth, gentle power delivery lets you run the car in the safe, approachable Japanese way. You won’t spin the tyres with steering angle and a heavy right foot, and that’s entirely within Honda’s way of making regular vehicles. In fact, the most ironic thing might be that it feels like it doesn’t have a turbo at all – yet the way other traffic falls away or the speed gaining below-80km/h numbers tells you otherwise.

So it’s not fun to drive?
It is, but in an easy=going family manner. Put that down to the CVT which despite having seven virtual gears for you to paddle shift your way through, has a tendency to hold revs in the middle of the engine’s peak torque range (3,000rpm) rather than build them. It’s not slow, it just feels it.

The upside here is that the engine sips fuel, if you go easy 6.4L./100km or better is easily done. You can engage Eco mode with Honda’s signature green button, and the car is also one of the first Honda’s start-stop tech which works even when it’s hot (not all systems do) and it’s also noticeably smoother than European models when it operates.

But the Jade has another Honda plus on its side, that of great ride and handling. It deals with bumps superbly, as they never upset the chassis much, and the steering plus the body’s response is taut and bordering on the sporty side.

Wait, the Jade’s an MPV right?
It is, but it doesn’t handle like one, and it surely doesn’t look like one. It’s less tall boxy and more low and long, like a wagon – it’s more like a small version of the previous Odyssey, which was another fun MPV to drive. The ‘RS’ badge doesn’t mean much (it’s the only model here) but it implies sportiness with 17-inch wheels, a roof spoiler and sharp-looking front end.
Captain’s Seats pushed back (above) and pushed forward (below).

The real party trick is it doesn’t bother to cram seven in, sardine-like, but opts for six with more comfort. The second row has two large thrones – called ‘V-Slide Captain’s Seats, no we’re not making this up – because they’re more spacious and supportive and also they slide diagonally. They’re even higher too, so occupants can see the road ahead.

Put two people who dislike each other here and watch the fun…

Carrying four adults in comfort is easy, although the last row of seats is small and best left for children or people you wish to see less of. All seats fold away, with the third row going flat and the Captain’s chairs (can there be two captains on one vessel?) fold upwards to reveal a generous cargo space.

Everything folds away for a trip to Ikea, or perhaps cycling 

That’s a weird way of arranging it…
Honda’s done this before with the FR-V (unfortunately also known as the Edix) but the Jade’s layout will appeal to those with smaller families. If you think about it, MPVs hardly ever get used at their full capacity, so the Jade does well if it’s often used for four people, and six on occasion. It also has decent load of equipment – as reported in our launch story – like LED lights, keyless entry and so on.

Clearly, the Jade isn’t for the normal MPV buyer who wants maximal space and has shed all pretense of vanity. It’s an interesting wagon-like MPV, but the real winner is beneath the bonnet. Honda’s entered the turbo age in a solid, wholly expected way.

Honda Jade RS
Engine 1,496cc, 16V, inline 4, turbocharged

Power 150bhp at 5500rpm

Torque 200Nm at 1600-5000rpm

Gearbox CVT

Top Speed 225km/h

0-100kmh 9.3 seconds

Fuel efficiency 6.4L/100km

CO2 146g/km

Price $131,999 with COE

Availability Now

Also Consider: Citroen Picasso, Volkswagen Touran