“Capable of Anything” by Ben Folds begins playing.
However, the name Hokuto doesn’t necessarily mean ‘luxury’ or ‘premium.’ With cars getting more and more competitive, budgets rising and the quality of materials going up on low end cars, we feel like we have more to give you. Let’s be honest, no one is buying a Futaba CLE for the luxury experience, for the smooth engine and high tech infotainment.
That doesn’t mean that we can’t play ball in that segment.
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s our pleasure to reveal to you the all new Axuma SF and DSF!
When we said “something big,” you expected the size of the vehicles to be quite large. You couldn’t have been more wrong… we meant a whole new brand and a whole new market!
Where are we planning to take this? Well, look at the exterior… the quality of panel fitment and the quality of the fixtures. Look at the interior, and notice the bespoke attention to detail found only in vehicles that command a much higher price tag than a Hokuto Excella CXE, or an Aria SR.
Japanese luxury cars, until this point, are really only great in some areas. You can have fantastic design and legendary reliability, but not really the side of sportiness many people would like with their cup of comfort tea. Or you can have cool design, and a great powertrain, but the infotainment is awful. Axuma aims to best the Germans once and for all, by providing you the wonderful convenience, tech, and driving pleasure of the competition from Deutschland, but the distinct Japanese interior and exterior, along with the bulletproof durability we’ve become known for.
Now at this point, you all know Axuma is going to be the luxury sibling to Hokuto. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the two will be very different from one other. The SF and DSF sit on the Hokuto Global Luxury (HGL) platform, shared with no other car in the markets it will be sold. Now how about the cars?
The Axuma SF
The Axuma SF is a premium E-Segment vehicle. It sits on a 116.5 inch wheelbase, which is among the very longest of its class. Don’t let that scare you however, as the entire car is only 191 inches long, making it the shortest, and without compromising interior room.
As for materials, the HGL architecture utilizes glued aluminium alloy, making it both very light and very durable. Double wishbones are tucked into either corner in the front, and are complemented by 5-link suspension in the rear.
Under the carbon fibre hood lies 2 engine choices. A twin-turbocharged 3.0L V6 powers the SF 6t, seen here in the Crystal Merlot red color. It offers up 325 horsepower and 358 lb-ft of torque. This may not be the most power, but it delivers best in class 6-cylinder fuel economy, as it’s rated at 23 city and 33 highway MPG.
If you prefer your engines naturally aspirated, you may like the award-winning Farox 5.0L V8 we have stored in the SF 8s, shown here in Matte Chrome silver. It makes 400 horsepower and 360 lb-ft of torque. This engine has the capability to shove you to 60 mph in under 5.5 seconds. All engines are paired to an 8-speed automatic sourced from Farox, meaning best in the business. Proven reliable, smooth and quick shifts, and very responsive to the touch.
Inside sits 5 seats, with a traditional analog gauge cluster and analog clock gracing the center stack. The goal here was traditional luxury, with a modern flare - it still offers all the modern safety and convenience tech you’d find in the competitors. It has an 8-inch screen between the silver-backed gauges, and a 10.8 inch AxuMedia screen laying landscape in the dashboard. Real buttons are used for your HVAC and climatized seats. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard across the range, as is Bluetooth connectivity. The car even comes with a 1-year subscription to SiriusXM radio. Blind spot monitoring, 360o camera, parking sensors, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, you name it. If it’s a feature to keep your car on the road and as safe as possible, it’s here in your Axuma.
The Axuma DSF
What would a luxury brand these days be like without an SUV? The DSF sits on the same HGL architecture as its sedan sister. It utilizes the exact same engine and transmission options, with the DSF 6t and DSF 8s, displayed in Star White and Pitch Black respectively. The wheelbase has been shortened to allow better for better maneuvering at lower speeds, to help make up for the greater total vehicle length compared to the Axuma SF.
The new AxuMedia user interface is here on the same 10.8-inch screen as the SF, along with all of the equipment you expect. The only difference is that the DSF is wrapped in a more utilitarian package.
Future Plans for Axuma
The first Axuma models will go on sale in late 2019 for the 2020 model year. The factories are currently being built, and are expected to be done by the fall. We have 3 more models that we will be showing in the future, and a full lineup can be expected as well. As far as dealerships go, we will be expanding half of our current Hokuto showrooms to include the Axuma nameplate. A more upscale appearance will follow.
Thank you for joining us tonight, it’s been nearly six years in the making to plan this and we could not be happier. The cars will be up here on display for the rest of the show, and reviewers are more than welcome to schedule test drives with our pre-production models.