Honda Mobilio: Changes required

Honda Mobilio has always been quite popular in the Philippines. Its popularity increased much faster after Honda launched the updated 2018 model. To lure in more customers Honda even provided a new Mobilio color option - Phoenix Orange Pearl.

While Honda managed to get more potential buyers, the Mobilio, just like any other car, isn’t perfect. So, here are a few changes that we think the Mobilio require in its next model.

LED Lighting

These days most of the cars are coming fitted with LED lights. Yes, LEDs are a bit expensive but they are also better than the normal halogen bulbs. LED lights will not only produce better illumination, they consume far less power than their halogen counterparts.

More USB ports

Being a 7-seater, the Mobilio lacks in the total number of USB ports it has. Apart from the occupants in the front seats, people in the remaining two rows of seats can’t charge their smartphones on the go because there isn’t any USB port/outlet in both the rows.

Need an armrest

Another uncomfortable thing for the second-row passengers of the Honda Mobilio is the absence of an armrest. We don’t understand why Honda decided to skim on this basic feature. Perhaps, Honda thinks that only a minuscule amount of people use an armrest.

Larger wheels

The latest model of the Mobilio is quite a good-looking car. Out of the all available Honda Mobilio variants, the RS looks the best. It is much more sportier. Well, not from all angles. The side view of the car looks a bit out of proportionate, not because of the design of the doors, character lines, or the roof, but because of the tiny 15-inch wheels. If we can get a larger set of wheels, we are sure the Mobilio is going to look better from the side.

More airbags

It is quite disappointing to see that the Mobilio comes with only two airbags - driver and passenger side - across all its variants. Airbags are one of the basic safety features that can save lives; skimming on them isn’t a good impression that Honda is giving to its audience. Although we would recommend giving as many airbags as possible in all the models, considering the cost and all, at least the high-end models should be fully armed.

Manual transmission

If we talk about the Mobilio specifications, we see that all of them comes with a 1.5-liter engine with 120 PS of power and 145 Nm of torque. The transmission duties are handled by a CVT unit. We would like to see a manual transmission in the next iteration of the Mobilio. Even if it’s available as an option, it would appeal to an enthusiastic lot of people.

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are the new way of connecting smartphones to cars. These offer a whole lot range of options for the customer and are extremely easy to operate. With your smartphone connected to your car, you are going to build a special connection with the car, too.

So these are a few changes that we think the next iteration of the Honda Mobilio should have to give its rivals a good fight. At present, the Honda Mobilio price range starts at Php 884,000 and extends to Php 1.07 million.