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[J_c_boy]

A Brief Introduction

 

'The Practical Edix',

'The Edix Experience... One Year On',

'Edix - Minivan With The Extra Loving Touch',

Call me delirious, call me obsessive.

Conjuring up the title has never been this difficult.

One must tread along the side of objectivity and neutrality

without indulging in colourful language and narrative description.

Just as in life, no human is infallible;

The Edix has its own unique traits, both good and bad.

As part of Edix Junior's birthday bash, I shall be presenting my amateurish views on its practicality and hope that they will be of assistance to the undecided family man

 

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At The Carpark

The Edix makes its presence felt without appearing aggressive.

The controversial mix of the prominent Honda embalm and front grilles, wavy smooth doors and chrome handles, together with the angulated rear windscreen and tailgate spoiler renders the Edix hard to miss at carparks and roads alike.

 

Getting Into the Car

 

The interior lights, display meters and ignition key knob illuminate with the unlocking of the Edix, providing 30 seconds of convenient entry in a dim environment.

Retractable door windows with power mirrors and integrated lights exude a minor hint of luxury.

Given the reasonable height of 1.610m and the near-floor landing of the platform, passengers are able to make their entry with great ease. The elderly in particular will fancy the ergonomical feature

Doors close solidly on a heavy note, resembling the continental cars.

At times, get ready for some pleasant surprise when you spot those puzzled eyes staring hard at 3 individuals seated in front

 

Sitting In The Car

 

With the exception of the queer 3-man front seating, one can perform myriad of permutations in the seat configuration and arrangement.

Being able to sit beside you, your soulmate will adore you for the loving touch

Not withstanding the 2 fixed rear side seats, legroom is never an issue even for 6-footers.

The dashboard looks modern and classy with the external temperature, remaining mileages and 2 tripmeters displayed. I tend to rely more on the remaining mileages as the onboard computer can promptly warn me of impending fuel depletion based on my driving habits and the road condition.

The inner double tray and underseat box of the front centre seat coupled with the triple cup holder are thoughtful features that provide extra neat space for miscellaneous items.

 

Travelling In The Car

 

The major shortcoming of the Edix lies in its ride capabilities

A peformance car, it is definitely not.

 

The chassis is rather heavy for the fuel capacity of the Edix viz 1395 kg.

This clearly explains the overall underpowered feel as well as the inferior fuel economy as compared to

the lighter Toyota Wish 1300 kg and Honda Civic 1230 kg.

However, in spite of the additional curb weight, Edix in its own genre, is capable to producing up to 14.5 km/l which is nothing to be embarrassed about.

The abbreviated length of the Edix viz 4.285 m proves to be an advantage as its turning radius is a mere 4.9 m, smaller than the conventional MPVs and sedans.

 

The monotonous road handling typical of Japanese cars reside in the Edix as well.

Body roll is fair allowing the driver to negotiate turns at ~30 km/h.

The same applies to suspension as one has to overcome humps at 20 - 25 km/h.

Changing of gear (2,200 rpm - 3,000 rpm, depending on the terrain and your right foot i.e. personality traits) comes with mild jerks and is not as refined as the European makes.

Luckily for the Edix, cruising remains hassle-free even on a fully loaded day

viz 80 km/h at 2,000 rpm, 90 km/h at 2,200 rpm, 100 km/h at 2,400 - 2,500 rpm.

The only other saving grace comes from the agile steering and firm braking.

Road noise insulation is suboptimal at 80 km/h and beyond.

 

Pillars are tall and broad.

Therein lies the potential danger of missing pedestrians and vehicles while approaching crossings or overtaking respectively. Believe me, your field of vision can be impaired by the driver's Pillars A and B in particular and therefore extra caution needs to be exercised on the road.

Creature comfort is always a subjective issue to cover.

Personally, I'm not paranoid over the number of cupholders, air con vents or arm/leg rest.

The air con works fast and efficient enough to silence every critic viz

27 - 28 deg Cel for a couple, 25 - 26 deg Cel for 6 adults, all at the lowest fan speed.

Anything colder, you would have thought that 'The Day After Tomorrow' is having its run in Singapore

 

Parking The Car

 

Due to its wide girth viz 1,795m, one has to utilise the side mirrors more often than one would have for a sedan.

On the other hand, as far as parking goes, it is not hard to realise that the Edix is actually shorter than what it is perceived from inside the car.

All it takes eventually is a matter of getting used to the well endowed size of the Edix.

 

Getting Out Of The Car

With the gearknob located on the dashboard, the right placed driver can make his way out via the left door easily, if faced with tight parking confines.

The alarm bells start ringing when one either forgets to apply the seatbelt or overlooks the inactivation of the headlights. The latter proves useful to me as it prevents me from wasting the car battery overnight.

 

Fuel Consumption (Shell 98)

 

0 - ~1,000 km (run-in) mainly 90 % City 10 % Highway 9.9 - 10.75 km/l

 

The sole occasion when my Edix hits 9.9 km/l reminds me of my ignorance in checking the tyre pressure viz 230kPa.

 

1,000 - >20,000 km 90% City 10 % Highway to 10% City 90% Highway 11.5 - 14.5 km/l

 

Driving Habits

By the way, you will usually see me travelling leisurely in the centre lane, whether on roads (60 - 70 km/h) or highways (80 - 90 km/h).

Overtaking of vehicles is performed only when the cars in front are cruising below the speed limit on less congested days viz road hoggers.

After all, in a small country like Singapore, how much time can be saved when one becomes impatient behind the wheel? A mere few minutes perhaps but certainly with the malicious element included.

 

Financial Consideration

 

The psychological barrier of making purchases with the parallel importers is truly a tall one to overcome.

One is confronted with multiple uncertainties of having cars from alternative sources

e.g. shutdown of unstable companies, empty freebie promises, long waiting time for car arrival.

On the other hand, however, it would be unfair to label PIs as unreliable dealers because

experienced players like Hitman, Hup Long, Pinnacle Motors and VinCar are competent in delivering favourable results.

Incidentally, they are the pioneers in the introduction of the Edix to our roads 2 years ago so one is less likely to lose the plot when liaising with them.

As for all things in life, every car purchase whether mainstream or otherwise, is often made with some element of luck in the process.

There is no telling in this world which car comes with faulty parts and is potentially at risk of breaking down.

Even established companies in Singapore have their rides recalled so anything under the sun can happen.

 

A car is an expensive liability.

Thus one must note the details that accompany the purchase.

Here are a few simple calculations which I hope, would be helpful to the buyer :

 

1. UPFRONT price

= SELLING price (i.e. the tag you see in the papers)

+ ACCESSORY items (the 'freebies' : usually include leather seat, sports rim, rear sensor and carpet)

+ FINANCIAL surcharge (administrative charges)

+ ADVANCED instalment (First month)

 

2. TOTAL payment amount

= UPFRONT price (i.e. all of the above items)

+ remaining instalments (largely influenced by the INTEREST rate)

 

3. MAINTENANCE cost

= MONTHLY instalment

+ FUEL

+ GANTRIES

+ INSURANCE

+ PARKING EXPENSES

+ ROAD TAX

+ WORKSHIP CHARGES

 

After addressing the payment, the next item on the checklist should be the A4 sized papers that you will be placing your precious signatures upon i.e. the Letter of Warranty, Delivery Certificate, Hire Purchase Agreement and Motor Cover Insurance

 

Kindly note that the conventional 3-year warranty or 60,000 km coverage may not apply to all car components over the entire 3 years as the number of parts under warranty decreases with each passing year.

Therefore one must compare and contrast the various clauses and offers stated in black and white by the PIs.

 

Conclusion

 

Many thanks for bearing with me through this lengthy account.

The Edix has been a fabulous and worthy buy so far

 

I hereby extend my salute to all the Edixons for their selflessness in sharing first hand reviews with fellow drivers, especially Bro Seansene and Bro Blackmafia.

Congratulations to Bro MacLuver for the great initiative in setting up our very own Edix forum

 

Finally... HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, EDIX JUNIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Carcraze]

so ur Edix turned 1?? glad that u are enjoying ur ride. great review too.

[Princey_anne]

Do a Edix review on this site okay.

[J_c_boy]

Thank you very much, Bro CARCRAZE

[Last_mohican]

well said bro!!!!

[J_c_boy]

Hi Sister Princey_Anne,

 

I've submitted a review on the Edix earlier on.

 

Am awaiting the moderators' vetting

[J_c_boy]

Hey Bro Last_Mohican,

 

Thank you so much

[Mixxino]

Thanks for sharing such a wonderful write up.

 

well done bro!

[J_c_boy]

Good morning, Bro

 

Thank you very much for reading

 

Sincerely hope that the information given will be useful to future Edixons.

 

Have a nice weekend

[Seansene]

Nice review!

 

Have to disagree with the handling though. I think it holds up very well around bends, cornering flat, and allowing progressive (if premature) understeer near the limit. In handling stakes, second only to the Mazda5, which is no mean feat. And this coming from an ex-Focus owner.

 

So what would I change about the Edix? The drivetrain for one. The new 1.8l sounds good, but let's have that manual gearbox, PLEASE???

 

Next, fewer turns lock-to-lock on the steering. I find myself having to twirl the wheel more than I'd like during parking, so a bit more directness wouldn't go amiss.

 

Insulation and thick pillars have been mentioned, so that about it. I'm a happy camper

[J_c_boy]

Good day, Mr Seansene

 

Indeed, it's an honour to have your comments under this thread

 

Btw, have you visited the Edix forum at http://www.isisdesign.com.sg/edixsgforum/ set up by Bro MacLuver and Bro BlackMafia?

 

It would be excellent to have your expert opinion on the Edix from time to time.

 

No offence, Master... Don't mean to divert your attention to the other forum

[Seansene]

Thanks for the link, will go check it out