Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

[rajchetan]

Excellent JOB, Anshuman & GTO.

The Brio looking good from the front and side, the rear quarter spoils the look, But with the small foot print and decent interior space, BRIO will surely be a lovely executive car.

+ve,
like the way there is no cost cuts openly evident.
The beautiful engine.
The smart interiors.
Light Clutch & Smooth Gear's.

For me the only -ve for a car priced under 5Lac and the segment its competing against is,
Rear Defroster.. grossly over looked in Indian driving conditions.

I in particular was waiting for this review, Thanks a ton for the details. But now my options for the second Hatch for my Mom has become more confusing.

My options were Punto & New Swift. Already Replace one Indica V2 with a Punto (TUSCAN WINE) in June, Now its time for the second Indica V2 to be replaced, But with the revised pricing for the Jazz and the launch of Liva and Brio, my Options have increased.

Good to be spoilt for choices, but its a pain in the decision time.

GTO / Anshuman, can you kindly advise which of these (Liva / New Swift / Brio / Jazz) would be better drive for my Mom who is 60+ in this Bumper to Bumper Traffic of Bangalore.
Max travel per Month = 750kms.
Only City Use.
Mainly single Lady.

Please advise.

By the way review / photo / attention to details rated 5Star..
TEAM BHP ROCKS.
GTO My Man, If I may ask. When can we expect the Review of the All-ready launched New Swift???

[Gansan]

Wow, a great review. I have already decided this will be my next car. Give me a sweet engine + gearbox anytime and I will overlook any quirks! And from the review, this one doesn't seem to have many. The Honda badge alone will do it for me.

[vinya_jag]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Other Points:

- Somehow, nearly all Hondas sold in India - from the Jazz to the Civic - fail to provide ride comfort from their suspension setup.

[/i]

Somehow the Jazz does it better than all other Hondas I guess.
Having driven my cousin's City and our car pool Jazz, I feel that the ride is comfier in the Jazz. And from these reviews, I feel, Breeoh is no good either.
I somehow feel, this will still be a city car strictly.

And I still feel that my Figo would rule the bad highways (Or even the Punto)
[Just came back from my Bangalore-Madikeri-Mangalore-Shiradi ghats-Bangalore drive ]
Wonder if I could have done it on the Brio.

[AdityaLN]

Great Review Anshuman,

Good to see that Honda is providing quality (interiors) at an affordable price. The car doesn't look like it's built for price. At least most of it.

Originally Posted by .anshuman

The Indian version gets 165 mm of clearance, that's 15 mm more than the Thai car. This is a rare Honda that you won't be scraping on the speed breakers, due to the short wheelbase and a rear end that doesn't sag. Of course, we leave final judgement to our Bangalore members who somehow end up with the largest speed humps in the country!

Was wondering if there was any one seated in the rear when you took that snap of the car on the hump. I understand that the rear doesn't sag but would it be the same with 2 or 3 people in the rear with some luggage?

[Habanero City]

Good review with lot of useful information.
Hope Honda gets the magic formula for success in Indian market with Brio.
Looks are subjective, despite of poor looks there are several successful models such as Ritz, Beat, etc.,
So we have to wait and see how Brio is accepted for its looks.
The most important point that distinguishes Honda from others is their non-compromising standpoint on safety standards.
Though Brio is no exception, I heard that there may be a model without ABS or Airbag, I am not sure about this.

HC

[bigwheelz]

Great detailed review covering most of the points. I for one like the rear of BRIO. Looks different but yes the parcel tray is must.
Just one bit though, if they provided such a big glass at the back, why provide a small rearview mirror inside.

[karty_83]

Brilliant review Anshuman.

You have mentioned that the a-pillar is thick. From the pics, one can see that the front quarter glass is also absent.
Does it affect drivabilty ?

[ashis89]

Great review and a wonderful write up. Very informative indeed.

Brio is good looking from the front,side... till you reach the rear three quarters and you are like. The body suddenly stops at the and of the rear door(seems to be chopped off). The rear lights look very good and give the rear a sporty look bringing in some relief to the rear design. Alloys are lovely(look like Skoda vRS alloys),better than the others alloy designs of Honda.

Interiors seem good in quality but bland in design,especially the rectangular shaped audio unit and those AC controls.

The Red and Blue colors suite the cute looks of the car

[swaroop_babu]

Great car for that price! The rear is a little bit unproportionate, but may be it'll grow on you like Ritz and Swift. Talking about Ritz, I wonder why it is not compared to others in the same segment. I just bought one and i feel it has much better ride than most others in the segment and a total VFM!

[shyaGO]

Looks like Honda has found their volume machine.
Great thread Anshuman! You right back is love it or hate it design.
I for one, liked it. All glass at the back will make this hatch unique.

[myavu]

Thanks @.anshuman for a superb detailed review and GTO for the added spice.

Brio, a perfect city hatch!

Why did you omit Beat from the comparison table. Beat too has compact dimension, good ride and excellent built quality inside out.

Best of Luck to Honda for a great success with Brio.

Cheers!

Vinu

[adimicra]

Fantastic review...5 stars!

The car looks like a I10 killer for me if priced within 4-5 lakhs as this is a fantastic city car.

Regarding gearing, Jazz does 100 kmpg at 3000 rpm in 5th gear which is same as the Brio. So, the gearing seems to be identical.
I think it is just the ECU remap for little more FE and low-end torque. I think the initial performance of the Brio is better than the Jazz because of the lower kerb weight ~130 kg lighter.
As per Autocar, the Brio does a 0-100 kmph in 12.5 secs which is 0.5 secs faster than the Jazz. So, it is definitely a hot hatch.

[GTO]

Guys, request to understand that we cannot include 15 hatchbacks in the comparison chart. We've included those petrol hatchbacks that most buyers looking at a quality 5 lakh rupee car would consider, and one from each brand (reason Ritz isn't there). The Beat is from 1/2 a segment lower.

BTW, I thought about it and slept on it, but there is still no decisive answer to which car is better from the i10 / Swift / Brio petrols. All three are the segment best, and none of the other petrol hatchbacks match this trio in terms of an all-rounded package. The i10 is unbelievably competent, even though it's the oldest and has the least power output & bumpiest ride. Sheer quality, very practical, great refinement and a good spread of variants & equipment.

I'd say if you are looking at practicality, pick the i10 over the Brio. Reasons : Higher stance, easier ingress / egress, better visibility, more equipment etc. But if you love to drive, you know the answer.

@ Adimicra : The lower gear ratios are different.

[amitoj]

Awesome review, Anshuman!

Like others have said, no CVT and no rear wash and wipe seem like the two big misses. Correct me if i am wrong, but isnt a rear wash and wipe very essential for hatchbacks in rainy season?

I like the huge glass at the rear. I bet it makes the car nicely lighted on the inside.

Finally a cheap FTD car!! And ofcourse it had to be a petrol

[akhilesh]

I am not sure if anyone has noticed or not, the supposedly high quality interiors on Hyundai's do not age well. I have seen umpteen Santro's and i10's with scruffed dashboard or steering wheel revealing the surface below which isn't a good sight. Are they painted or something?
My cousin's i10 VTVT has some scruff marks left over by a careless ICE installer and what lies beneath all that flash dissapointed me to no end, especially the central console.