TOKYO: Honda has unveiled the all-new N-Box Slash kei car in Japan, which is the fifth model of the N Series.
Honda’s new 11×5-ft N-Box Slash micro-minivan is indeed larger notwithstanding its familiar shape. Go for the wild California Diner Style décor option, however, and your square-rigged street cruiser will be anything but white-bread.
The 2015 N-Box Slash (or “N/” for short) competes in Japan’s furiously competitive Kei Car niche where, ostensibly for tax reasons, vehicles are limited to the aforementioned dimensions with engines displacing no larger than 660cc – about the same as a medium-sized motorcycle.
The Honda N-BOX SLASH is available both in naturally aspirated and turbocharged variants. The model is offered with both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, with fuel consumption rated as low as 25.8 km/liter (3.87 l/100 or 60.7 mpg US). Prices start from 1,380,000 yen (about $11,500) for the base FWD model.
Being shaped like a fresh-baked loaf of bread helps the N-Box Slash push the limits of the Kei Car envelope. A bonus is the maximization of interior space, something Honda’s designers take to the next level by engineering the front seats to fold flat like those of the infamous Nash “rolling bedrooms” of the Fabulous Fifties.
Honda recognizes it’s not the only Kei Car competitor making near-cubic cars and vans these days, so give them credit for offering customers some unusual décor options to make their vehicles stand out from the crowd.
