Honda Updates Stream MPV, Adds Sporty RST Version to the Range

It's mid-life facelift time for the Honda Stream, a Japanese market compact MPV with three rows of seats that looks like a cross between a people carrier and a station wagon model. The subtly refreshed Stream gains a restyled front bumper, a new grille, upgraded features and different trim options for the interior plus a revised suspension.

In other words, nothing to get excited about. However, Honda did add a new variant to the lineup called RST that attempts to give some 'R-Type' flavor to the compact MPV. And by flavor we don't mean a high-revving four-pot but an exterior styling package that includes among other parts, a new rear bumper with a diffuser and specific tail lights, new 17-inch alloy wheels, body-hugging seats, sportier interior trim with aluminum decor and contrasting red stitching on the leather steering wheel and gear knob along with a sportier suspension setup.

And since the RST is supposed to be "sporty", the Japanese automaker decided to remove the third row of seats for weight saving reasons - that's what Honda supports in its press release. Would of made some sense if the RST was offered with a R-Type powertrain, but since it is available with the same 140HP 1.8-liter and 150HP 2.0-liter i-VTEC engines as the rest of the range, it just makes it less practical and nothing else.