A few months ago, Honda Malaysia launched a CR-V with a Mugen Limited Edition bodykit with just 300 units available in Malaysia. The car was priced at just RM152,900 for the Passion Red Pearl version or RM153,300 for the White Orchid Pearl car.
We’re sure, owing to the popularity of the CR-V in the country, that all three hundred units have been sold (though some dealers might be holding a few units around). But we were at the home of Mugen in Japan, known as M-Tec, and we were curious to see just how close the Malaysian CR-V Mugen was to the official Mugen car.
A bit of preamble. Mugen parts are designed and engineered for NVH and aerodynamic qualities by M-Tec. This company means business, and modelled themselves as the “Cosworth of Japan” in the words of their CEO, Akihiro Kojima. So when these guys make parts for Hondas, they pour some real track magic into it. And the CR-V’s no slouch either. It was the first mass-market Japanese SUV that brought turbocharging into the game. So a Mugen bodykit on the CR-V does indeed add some value to the package, especially considering how mild the markup was.
Well, it turns out the bodykit was built exactly to spec, but with Honda Malaysia made a minor adjustment with regards to rims and garnish. The LED foglights on the Japanese Mugen are finished in chrome. In Malaysia, we got our Mugen bodykit with gloss black LED foglight trim. Bear in mind, that entire front under spoiler is listed at 93,500 Yen, or RM3600.
The body colour painted front grille garnish with the Mugen logo is listed at 57,200 Yen, or RM2200.
The side garnish mirrors exactly what’s shown in the official Mugen brochure, design-wise. This costs another 110,000 Yen, or RM4240.
The an aspect that was changed were the rims. Because Honda Malaysia believes in localisation in parts, they opted to outfit the car with 18″ dual tone alloys found on other variants of the CR-V. The 19″ “Mugen-spec” MDR rims aren’t present. Why?
Probably due to pricing. These wheels are listed at 49,500 Yen, or RM1907. Yes, a small addition in price compared to the other parts, but going up to 19″ rims also means more expensive tyres. These would have inflated the price and the cost to own of the CR-V Mugen in Malaysia, and probably turn more buyers away from the product. Without the rims, the styling set costs some 264,000 Yen or RM10,150.
The exhaust finishers and bumper on the CR-V look very similar to the stock model, but the offical Mugen lists a 242,000 Yen sports exhaust system which would translate to RM9,300 before taxes. We don’t think this system was installed. The rear under spoiler, which we see on the Malaysian model costs some 60,500 Yen, or RM2330.
Above those we see an upper wing on the Malaysian model which costs some 74,800 Yen or RM2920.
So let’s tally up the score. The Civic with its Mugen parts would have cost close to 400,000 Yen or RM15,411. Instead, the price increase is less than 20% of what is shown on the brochure. And yes, the parts we got in Malaysia were the real thing, designed and engineered by Mugen (who don’t produce the parts themselves at all).
Given that our CR-V Mugen Limited Edition was based on the CR-V 1.5TC 2WD, which costs about RM151,000, its asking price of RM152,900 was extremely generous and a lot of the costs involved were either internalised or decreased through localisation. Honda Malaysia have been locally-assembling the CR-V for at least a decade at their Pegoh plant and this is where some import and excise duties for the CR-V Mugen edition would have been reduced or absorbed at cost to the company.
