Honda Stream Sport 2.0 SE

With Honda's reputation for reliabil-ity and innovation, seven months in the company of the Stream was always going to be a treat. And, on the whole, it has been. With three children and all the junk that goes with them, the seven-seater Honda has proved an ideal family mover on more than a few occasions. It has now completed 15,016 miles.

Thanks to its generous head count and boot, the Stream has saved my bacon on a number of occasions. What's more, it's been able to carry everything from a sofa to mountain bikes. But, despite rivalling the Zafira for capacity, the load area and chair mechanisms are nowhere near as versatile or as clever.

The main problem is that the rear seats take the form of an all-or-nothing bench. Unlike the Vauxhall - in which you can keep one back chair, thereby maximising luggage space - the Stream forces you to choose between passengers or bags.

Another grumble concerns the driving position, which has caused one or two tall colleagues some grief. Legroom, or the lack of it, is the chief culprit. In order to get three rows of seats into a body that's only a little longer than a standard Civic, Honda seems to have bunched everything together. The result? Accommodation that seems more akin to easyJet than Virgin's Upper Class...

The manufacturer makes a big song and dance about the Stream's driving experience and, it's not an exaggeration. Of all the compact MPVs I've sampled, the Honda offers the most car-like feel, thanks to a great engine and a brilliantly smooth automatic gearbox. While a daily commute from Hampshire to central London is rarely fun, the Stream does at least make the journey bearable. How-ever, there are a few aspects of the dynamic package that I would bring into question. The first is soundproofing. Although it revs much lower than the Zafira at speed - it registers around 2,500rpm at 70mph - there's less cladding between the engine bay and the cabin. Road noise is also noticeable, particularly on stretches of concrete.

The Stream didn't get off to a good start. Having left it in a side street near the office, I returned to find a deep scratch on the front bumper - the handiwork of some hopeless touch-parker. A trip to our local bodyshop and a bumper respray followed. Thankfully the doors have remained dent free - a minor miracle when you consider Honda doesn't fit protective rubbing strips - while the rest of the panels polish up like new. The cabin has also withstood carrying the Taylor family. Although the stripey seats are a matter of taste, we've yet to detect a rattle or squeak.

Honda is sticking with 12,000-mile services so my first scheduled dealer visit came just after Christmas. Although I hadn't really noticed any drop-off in brake performance, the garage said the front pads needed replacing. Trouble was they didn't have any in stock (why? They're not exactly unusual service parts) and I had to return five days later. The whole lot cost £223.12. Our other main outgoing has been fuel. With an auto box and 2.0-litre engine, fill-ups come around all too often. The average consumption figure has crept up from 22mpg to a slightly more acceptable 26mpg, but that's a long way off the Zafira's 32.1mpg.