Honda Edix

Honda wiped the slate clean for the 2004 model year, replacing the adventurous but slow-selling HR-V with a new five-door people-mover built on the global FR-V program. Marketed as the Edix at home and simply FR-V overseas, it sat below the larger Stream and Odyssey, aimed at families who prioritized passenger access over luggage volume. Its single generation ran unchanged until production quietly ended in 2009, after which the HR-V badge itself was revived in a completely different form.

Every dimension was designed around one idea: fit three adults abreast on two seating rows while keeping overall length under 4.3 m. A wide 1 810 mm track and high-mounted dashboard created enough shoulder room for six full-size seats, with outer chairs fitted with ISOFIX and a flat floor sacrificing only 100 mm of luggage depth behind the second row. The result looked chunky from the outside yet offered true six-passenger capability in a footprint barely larger than contemporary Civic-based wagons.

The Edix measured 4 285 mm long, 1 810 mm wide, and 1 610 mm tall on a wheelbase shared with the Civic, while kerb weight held to 1 466 kg. Combined with its tight 5.2 m turning circle and wide-opening doors, the car’s size-to-passenger ratio remained unrivaled until the next decade’s crop of compact SUVs began adopting sliding rear doors.

Although the Edix was never officially exported from Japan in volume, scattered examples have turned up across Asia and even Europe via private imports. Today it appeals to weekenders looking for a six-seater that still fits in a standard parking bay, and values remain low thanks to limited parts availability outside Japan.