Modesty at its best as Pope rides in simple car

Honda Ballade that Pope Francis rode on while on his way to State House Nairobi. [Photo: Maxwell Agwanda/Standard]

Instead of riding in the Italian-made Fiat, Pope Francis surprised many by his decision to cruise the Nairobi central business district in a Honda Ballade.

On his way to State House from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, the Pope's simple escort comprised the Honda and a Toyota Allion, some of the most common vehicles on Kenyan roads. The Pope's modest choice of vehicle, which was at times difficult to pick out from his escort cars, contrasted with the advance fuel-guzzlers mainly Mercedes Benz, Toyota Land Cruisers and BMWs that were in President Uhuru Kenyatta's motorcade.

Riding in a car associated more by the middle-class exhibited more of the Pope's humility, especially because his entourage was not moving at ambulance speed as was the President's.

In Africa, the Honda Ballade was first assembled by its South Africa subsidiary, Daimler-Benz, which wanted to market a smaller and cheaper car parallel to its Mercedes-Benz models.

Pope Francis's choice of Honda compared to the Fiat he used in the United States can be explained not only by the steady sales of Honda vehicles in Kenya since a plant was commissioned in 2012, but also because of its performance.

Honda has more horsepower than the Fiat 500. A journey in a Honda will mean less stops to refuel due to its economic fuel consumption.