Multi-purpose vehicles are perennial favourites in Hong Kong, and marques are updating and adapting their ranges to attract new buyers.
There are plenty of eight-seater minivans to choose from, but in the luxury sector it's always been something of a two-horse race, with Nissan's Elgrand leviathan competing against the boxy Toyota Alphard.
And it's a similar story in the mid-range sector, with Honda looking to its Stepwagon to depose the rival Nissan Serena as the city's best-selling affordable eight-seater.
So, it's with much ado then that Honda launches its 'all-new' 2010 Stepwagon - but is it really so different from the outgoing model, and is it any better than a Serena?
First impressions are good, with the new Stepwagon sporting a more chiselled body shape in keeping with the Honda's Odyssey restyling. And while it's hard to cloak the Stepwagon's van-like proportions, the facelift lends a sharper, more contemporary edge thanks to a new '3D' front grille, linear side grooves - which help enhance rigidity, Honda says - and new front and rear light clusters.
More radically, Honda has extended the Stepwagon by about 5cm to give it 'class-leading interior space', which translates as more legroom and headroom for every passenger, and a bigger luggage compartment thanks to an innovative third tier of seats that stows flat under the floor.
