Wife jumps into a Stream.

[Motu]

My wife got a 2007 Honda Stream a couple of weeks ago. These are an Asian market only MPV based on the Civic, with the R20A engine and a CVT. We didn't really want a CVT, but every car we looked at had one, so that's what we got. These used imports have radios that don't work on our frequencies, and often have GPS with a map of Tokyo, so she spent double what she wanted to, to get a radio with screen to keep the reversing camera, and USB and aux inputs that she needed. We've never had a Honda car before, and a step up in technology...we both like simple, but that's getting harder to find these days.

Her 2005 Nissan Expert was written off because of the airbag - not a Takata thing, someone tried to steal it, they must've seen a Youtube video on how to steal a car. Y'know, cut 3 wires and flick them together. But they cut the airbag wires, duh. The airbag is worth what the car is worth, so they wrote it off. We can get them certed for no airbag if over 14 years old, but they have to go through a whole cert process, and depending on the buy back price and repairs to other faults they find, it wasn't worth it. Pity to wreck a perfectly good car though.

 

[ripcord]

Interesting... never heard of that model until now. Would 7 regular sized people fit into one of those, or are the back 2 seats pretty much kid size only?

 

[CharBaby]

Yes, interesting indeed. I have always had a fondness for different & practical vehicles especially Honda's.

 

[Motu]

They are a 7 seater with good room in the 2 rear seats....but regular size is not what it used to be. Certainly more usable as a 7 seater than my Volvo 850 wagon. I doubt the rear seats will be used, she needs a station wagon with load space, with all the seats down it has less room than the Nissan Expert, but she wants to cut down on her stock. Her Nissan had more load space than my Volvo, which has very good load capacity.

 

[atikovi]

View attachment 37053

Had to Google Aotearoa. Never heard of that. And here in the USA, some people are pretty paranoid and would have blurred out that license plate.

 

[AZjeff]

Interesting to hear of the regs you have to deal with. We don't appreciate what we can get away with in most areas of the US.

Neat car, wagons make a lot of sense. I Googled Aotearoa as well and still not sure where it is!

 

[tc1446]

Looks like a well kept Honda. I think you will enjoy it and the technology once you get used to it.

 

[Danno]

Anyone interested in seeing some beautiful NZ scenery, watch the mini-series "The Sounds".
The storyline isn't bad either.

 

[jhs914]

Neat car, wagons make a lot of sense. I Googled Aotearoa as well and still not sure where it is!

From Wiki: "Aotearoa is the Māori name for New Zealand. It was originally used by the Māori people in reference to only the North Island but, since the late 19th century, the word has come to refer to the country as a whole."

 

[Snagglefoot]

Not far from Whakane.

 

[earthbound]

and here I'm thinking why hasn't this been moved out of the vehicle forum. what does a wife who jumps into a stream (creek) a body of running water have to do with vehicles...

 

[AutoMechanic]

Cool never heard of the model.

 

[Justus1]

I like it.

 

[atikovi]

Maybe OP told her to go jump in the lake and she did this instead.

 

[hpb]

New Zealand, Land of the Long White Cloud and the Weird Japanese Imports! I was there a couple years ago and spent half my time taking pics of all the strange (to me) imports. That Honda looks like a super practical car.

 

[Justus1]

New Zealand, Land of the Long White Cloud and the Weird Japanese Imports! I was there a couple years ago and spent half my time taking pics of all the strange (to me) imports. That Honda looks like a super practical car.

several years ago the mayor of our small town spent about a month in New Zealand. He absolutely loved it there.
He thought about moving there for the longest time.

 

[Number_35]

Motu, would the Stream be a descendant of the 1st-gen Odyssey (MY '96 - '98) sold here?

New Zealand, Land of the Long White Cloud and the Weird Japanese Imports! I was there a couple years ago and spent half my time taking pics of all the strange (to me) imports. That Honda looks like a super practical car.

Ditto, I have many photos of mutant vehicles, taken during our year in NZ (2003/04). The strangest may have been the Fiat Multipla.

 

[joekingcorvette]

Very nice car and I have never seen one either. I drove a 2016 Honda Civic though and couldn't believe how fast it was and it had a CVT trans. I was impressed.

 

[Motu]

Motu, would the Stream be a descendant of the 1st-gen Odyssey (MY '96 - '98) sold here?

No, it's based on the Civic, the Odyssey is based on the Accord.

 

[Motu]

Interesting to hear of the regs you have to deal with. We don't appreciate what we can get away with in most areas of the US.

Neat car, wagons make a lot of sense.

When we started importing these things in the late '80's, all sorts of weird stuff was turning up...fun times. But it was soon realised that some didn't meet even New Zealand's relaxed standards. Although they look the same, Japanese domestic vehicles are different from a Japanese export models. At first it was people like me, mechanics working on and doing safety inspections that would have to enforce non compliant items - seatbelts, glazing, lighting etc. So then they started a rigorous border inspection, they had to be up to scratch before they were let out for sale to the public. What standards to apply ? Mainly ADR and Euro, so NZ Standards are now essentially International Standards. So now they have to stay in compliance, you can't modify them to non comply. But as I mentioned, we can get an airbag exemption if over 14 years old....but it's another Border Inspection again.

Some cars can't be imported because they don't meet crash standards - Kei cars, although we do get some, I guess the ones that pass crash tests.