MOW the lawn. Ride a bike. Drive a car. Steer a boat. Fly a jet.
Make a brew on a cliff ledge. You can do all of those things with Honda power.
Yup, Honda’s product range now runs from £889 portable power generator to £3.8million private plane.
And I’ve just tried one out. The HondaJet, that is.
A quick hop from Biggin Hill, Kent, to La Rochelle, France, for lunch and then home again. Mondays, huh? What a struggle.
The seven-seat HondaJet can zip across Europe at 486mph — higher, faster and more efficiently than any other light business jet in its class.
Most of the brilliance is down to those over-the-wing engines, providing 4,000lbs of thrust.
Not only do they maximise performance and reduce drag — which reduces fuel consumption — they increase cabin space because there’s no supporting structure.
Which brings me nicely to the interior. As one might expect when spending 3.8 squillion pounds, it is L, U, S and H. A super-smooth, quiet and seductive experience. Cream leather reclining seats (no Ribena allowed here, man-boy), enough leg room for Peter Crouch, fancy fold-out tables, motorised blinds — and a bigger boot than a CR-V.
The toilet — a £70,000 option, I repeat £70,000 — was out of bounds because the plane had just been sold that morning. Fair enough, I wouldn’t want anyone christening my loo either. Other observations. At the pointy end of the plane, the flight deck has three 14in screens with Garmin satnav (just like your nana’s Jazz) and an engine-start button (just like a Civic Type R).
But would it beat an NSX in a drag race?
Pilot Mike Finbow said: “Not from 0-60mph, no. But not much after 100mph the aircraft will take over quite rapidly and keep accelerating up to 300mph. This thing can shift.”
And that’s the point of the HondaJet. It buys time.
You don’t buy one to quaff champagne and swan around like Billy big b******s. You buy one because you’ve got somewhere to be and time is of the essence.
Like La Rochelle for lunch in 71 minutes. Now to claim £650 of fuel on expenses . . .
VERDICT: I really want one.
Key facts: Hondajet
Price:£3.8million
Range: 1,223 nautical miles
Take-off speed: 130mph
Top speed: 486mph
Rate of climb: 3,990ft/min
Maximum cruising altitude: 43,000ft
Seats: 7
First service: 600hrs
- Eu generator: We often go totally “off-grid” on car launches – but at a rest stop, it’s always a Honda generator boiling the kettle. From £889
- Fireblade SP: 189bhp and 195kg. How’s that for a power-to-weight ratio? As close as you can get to a World Superbike. £19,125
- Jazz: Much-loved by the bingo brigade. But other car firms would kill for that kind of loyalty. Honda’s No1 seller in the UK. £18,165
- Robot mower: The Miimo 520 cuts lawns all by itself. Run time: 70 mins. I’ve seen them being used at McLaren’s Woking HQ. £2,299
- Civic Type R: Wild looks, wild ride. The 169mph, 320hp Type R holds the front-wheel drive lap record at the Nurburgring. £33,520
- NSX: The tech on this 191mph supercar is mind-blowing. It has THREE electric motors and a 3.5-litre twin turbo V6. £180,250.