I was looking over the specs and photos of the Honda Freed, and saw some some similarities in design with the Element. I'm thinking that, should Honda decide to not continue building the Element, it would be a good starting platform from which to build a vehicle to compete with the other cubes. It wouldn't take too many changes beyond squaring off the hood, stretching the height slightly, losing the stupid sedan-like side rear window line, replacing the tailgate and rear doors to make it much more Element-like. http://www.honda-indonesia.com/product.php?id=freed&sec=Gallery#re
True, it has a B pillar and the result would be smaller, based on the Fit platform, but the Freed has a longer wheelbase, which could be used for better rear seating or usable cargo width. The interior shot makes it look like its wide enough for a rear bench seat, not that I'd want one. The 3rd photo is the 8 seat version, the last shows the second seat of the 7 passenger version.
ELEMENT/ Freed
Wheelbase 101.4 / 107.9 in
Track front 62.1 / 58.3 in
rear 62.3 / 57.7 in
Length 169.9 / 165.9 in
Width 70.4 / 66.7 in
Height 71.6 / 67.5 in
Ground clearance 6.9 / 5.9 in
Curb weight 3515 / 2800 lb
True, it has a B pillar and the result would be smaller, based on the Fit platform, but the Freed has a longer wheelbase, which could be used for better rear seating or usable cargo width. The interior shot makes it look like its wide enough for a rear bench seat, not that I'd want one. The 3rd photo is the 8 seat version, the last shows the second seat of the 7 passenger version.
ELEMENT/ Freed
Wheelbase 101.4 / 107.9 in
Track front 62.1 / 58.3 in
rear 62.3 / 57.7 in
Length 169.9 / 165.9 in
Width 70.4 / 66.7 in
Height 71.6 / 67.5 in
Ground clearance 6.9 / 5.9 in
Curb weight 3515 / 2800 lb
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