With the rising popularity of 7-seater vehicles in the country, it’s no wonder why Honda came up with not one, not two, but 3 three-row offerings in the market: the Mobilio, the BR-V, and the CR-V. Clearly, they think there’s a market for each, and for the purposes of this story, we’ll take a closer look at the Mobilio—their MPV that was designed to rival the Toyota Avanza and the Suzuki Ertiga.

I’ll be frank: in terms of design, there’s no comparison. Although the Honda Mobilio does resemble a minivan, it still has that some of that signature sporty Honda look that makes it look less of a purely functional vehicle (i.e. mom car) and more like one designed for a truly modern family.


Light and Easy

On the upside, I appreciate how easy the Mobilio is to maneuver in and out of traffic. The light steering is perfect to someone who’s had more seat time in smaller vehicles and sedans. The size of the Mobilio may be intimidating at first, but once I got used to it, it afforded me to have extra confidence. It’s easy to move from lane to lane and its acceleration felt safe. It also responds quickly to braking without the slow glide/abrupt stop that some vehicles would tend to have.

On the downside, it feels too light at times. For something of its size, I expected it to have a more solid feel similar to the Jazz or City. However, once I got it to the highway and accelerated to around 80 km/h, it felt like catching air. This actually made me doubt as to how much control it afforded once you come across things like cross winds or tackling a sharp turn or a sudden lane change.

In short, it does pretty well around city dwellings, but perhaps requires a bit of driver confidence when taken on a longer road trip.


That Bounce, Though

I’m chalking this up to its lightness. We took the back roads to Tagaytay (and back) as a shortcut — because Waze said so — and came across more bumps and potholes than you can imagine. While I was expecting the suspension to be stiffer than that of a sedan or a crossover, I didn’t expect to feel every little bounce. Since the purpose of the Mobilio is to move lots of people in comfort, it may be more adept that doing this sort of thing fully loaded.

Spacious and Comfortable (It Depends)

One of the factors in choosing a vehicle for a barkada or family road trip will always be space. Not only do we account for how many people can come along, but it also has to be roomy enough for all the essentials, whether it’s for a day trip or an overnight stay. The Mobilio, at least, offers that. Despite its compact exterior, the second and third row seats can actually squeeze 7 typically-sized adults and up to 9 petite-sized individuals if you dare.

However, considering the Mobilio’s size, the cargo capacity is a challenge if the third-row is kept up. Increasing cargo space means having to fold down the third row and this automatically reduces the seating capacity to five.


The Verdict

Based on this experience, I’d say that the Honda Mobilio works well for day-to-day city driving, but perhaps not so much for a long highway drive. It scores high because of its functionality and packaging. And while the 1.5-liter engine could easily keep up with the demands of highway driving, it feels less than stable at high speed. I also wished for a more pliant ride. It’s a great daily driver, but those looking for a more adept road trip car, perhaps the CR-V would be the better choice.

Words and Photos by Gen Tiu.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), announces the next batch of limited-edition models all offering sportier and more stylish looks to cater to the dynamic lifestyle of Filipino customers. Up for grabs are special edition models of the CR-V, Mobilio, and Civic.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

It’s not every day you get excited about driving the latest MPV. After all, it removes the illusion that motoring scribes only drive the most awesome cars (and some are actually picky in that regard). Now, you do have to give exception to the Mobilio for one simple reason: it’s a Honda. At least, you know it should be a decent drive. Plus, since it performed impeccably well during the Puerto Galera drive, it should do well on a regular drive. So after a week of putting it through its paces, can it be definitely concluded that the Mobilio’s a good car? Well, yes! It’s especially true if you can’t practice family planning.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) travels to Anilao, Batangas together with the lucky winner of Mobilio 7-Smiles Away campaign. The Mobilio 7-Smiles Away campaign held from May 13 to June 30, 2016 allowed Honda customers nationwide to showcase their pride for the Honda Mobilio on Facebook or Instagram for a chance to win a road trip of their choice. Among all the participants that joined the campaign, the entry of the Gaston family impressed with their creativity and notable love and support for Honda’s first Multi-purpose Utility Vehicle (MUV).

Asian Honda Motor Co., Ltd., the regional headquarters of Honda in the Asia & Oceania (A&O) region, announced that Honda achieved its highest records for automobile sales in 2016 in the ASEAN region (Southeast Asia). Actual retail sales reached 431,832 units, a 7 percent increase over the 2015 sales volume of 405,158 units.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) announces the launch of Honda’s extended warranty program, the Honda Protect Plus Extended Warranty. It is a flexible program that gives customers an option to extend their regular 3 year warranty for another 2 years.

UPDATE 2: Read our First Drive here (5/5).

UPDATE 1: Photos from the launch proper, more interior shots, and the spec sheet (5/1).

For a carmaker, a product’s importance falls in one of two categories: a halo model or a sales leader. And though everyone dreams of having the new NSX, Honda knows quite well that’s not going to sell in critical numbers here in the country or even globally. On the other hand, you have the all-new Mobilio, Honda’s first crack at the lucrative but highly competitive Asian Utility Vehicle (AUV) market. Single-handedly, it’s poised to be their make-or-break model. And by sticking true to the company’s philosophy of being engineering-centered, it looks like it’s going to be a winner.

Honda isn’t wasting any time trying to grab the headlines from the newly-launched Toyota Raize in ASEAN. It’s now confirmed that they are also holding the world premiere of a brand-new model on May 3, 2021—and that could very well be the next-generation Mobilio and/or BR-V.

Escaping almost unnoticed during the all-new 2022 Honda BR-V’s global reveal is this mystery vehicle seen towards the end of the video.

Honda Cars Philippines wants you to celebrate Valentines’ by getting the Honda you’ve always wanted at a price that’s been made more affordable. Starting on Valentine’s Day (February 14) up to Sunday, February 17, Honda is giving discounts up to P 80,000 on select models and variants.

Honda Cars Philippines is bringing back its Paint Washover promo at selected dealerships nationwide. It’s available for all Honda models until the end of August.

On paper, the Honda BR-V looks like a Frankenstein product: part Mobilio, part CR-V, part Jazz. It’s not supposed to make sense, but in reality it does. Honda perfectly knows that the small crossover segment is fast growing and they figured that the best way to capitalize on that popularity is to merge it with yet another strong segment in the industry: the 7-seater MPV. The end result is a 7-seater crossover that doesn’t really push the limits of imagination, but still manages to live up to expectations.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. refreshes the Mobilio for 2018. The 7-seater Multi-purpose Utility Vehicle (MUV) now comes with a bolder and sportier exterior, enhanced interior, and upgraded comfort and safety features that satisfy the Filipino families’ needs and expectations in an all-around vehicle.

Whether it’s for work, travel, or the family, personal cars play a crucial role for many Filipinos as it enables the mobility they need to best provide for themselves and their loved ones.

Asian Honda Motor Co., Ltd., the regional headquarters of Honda in the Asia & Oceania (A&O) region, announced that they achieved their best-ever automobile sales in 2017 in the A&O region with retail sales reaching 793,636 units, a 12 percent increase from 2016 sales volume of 707,951 units. Honda also set all-time annual sales records in five countries, which are Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Pakistan.

It’s the curtain call for Honda’s unbelievably generous “Great Deals, Bright Tomorrow” this month. This is the last chance to get huge cash discounts, and even special low all-in downpayments on select MY2019 and MY2020 models.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), Honda’s automobile business unit in the Philippines, sets record with over 3,000 All-New Mobilio sales since its local debut in April 2015.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Nothing spells summer than Katy Perry’s videos on constant loop. Whether you’re into her songs or not, the catchy lyrics and upbeat tunes is the only way to pass the two-hour journey to Mindoro. Either that or your adolescent eyes are trying to spot something in the umm…pink clouds. But the 42-degree heat, constant desire for Gatorade, and bubbly tunes on the radio make for the perfect backdrop for a summer road trip. And since it’s the first week of May, it could very well have been LaBoracay. Only it’s not. This is LaPuertoGalera aboard the LaMobilio.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) sales rose by 44 percent to 16,046 units from January to October compared to the same period in 2014. This is a significant growth compared to the overall 22 percent sales increase of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) industry for the same period. For October alone, HCPI sold 1,786 vehicles, up by 16 percent compared to the same month last year.

From the confines of Manila’s busy streets to the tight roads of Baguio City, the three newest offerings of Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI)—the 2018 City, Jazz, and Mobilio passed their first road trip test with flying colors.