Could this be the start of an multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) renaissance? Honda's seven-seat small MPV, the Freed, has officially returned to Singapore. 

There are two versions of the car, the entry-level S7 ($144,999 with COE), and higher-spec E7 ($146,999 with COE). 

Kah Motor will be releasing official specs and more details soon, so stay tuned for updates to this story.

According to Kah, the Freed can be viewed in Honda showrooms from this Wednesday, Aug 17, 2022 onward.

2019 facelift of the Honda Freed gave it crossover-ish styling, but we will have updates on the final appearance of the cars soon

Officially, Honda has not had a small MPV model on offer for quite some time, with Honda AD (authorised distributor) Kah Motor last offering the Mobilio back in 2015, and the similarly-sized Freed before that in 2009.

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The Freed MPV debuted in its second-generation in 2016, and has been facelifted.

While in the past the six-year age of the model would mean we expect a new-gen to appear soon, the phase-out of internal combustion engines (ICE) has changed all of that. 

It retains all the hallmarks of the first Freed – a small footprint, high seating position, good visibility, seven-seats, and sliding doors.

At just 4.26-metres long, and 1.69-metres wide, with a 5.2-metre turning radius, the Freed should also be very easy to handle in tight situations. 

The car has a 1.5-litre non-turbocharged engine with 128hp, making it COE Cat A eligible, and it has a VES B neutral band. The homologated fuel consumption is 5.9L/100km.

There is a hybrid Freed offered by parallel importers, utilising a similar powertrain to the Jazz E:HEV hybrid we tested, but like the Jazz, the hybrid's combined system power output of 135hp means it uses a more expensive Category B COE. 

SUVs reign as the most popular type of new car sold here in Singapore in 2022, but as CarBuyer's analysis showed, multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) bucked the trend and gained some points here as well. 

With the Odyssey large MPV now being phased out, it leaves the CR-V SUV and Freed as the sole seven-seat options for Honda's official lineup here. 

This article was first published in CarBuyer.