[swiftnfurious]

I think one of the reasons could be that "many people do NOT know how to get the Honda petrol to perform". Every one who enjoys a Honda petrol has been consistent in the feedback and "whack the car for performance". In a short TD (most of the times),this can't be done and hence people may NOT get the feel of "FTD". I for one, was pretty disappointed with the interiors which scream "cheap". The ride was way too bouncy for me to like the car. Plus, Swift had already set the standards high for me, so this looked like a downgrade.

[sgiitk]

Another point; Honda assiduously cultivated a Premium Image, which came back to haunt them.

[Samba]

Brio is an awesome fun to drive car. I love the Brio thoroughly. If i had to buy a hatch back under 6 lakhs my favorite 3 will be Brio, Liva 1.5 sportivo and swift followed by the i10 grand , k10.

Few reasons i can think off why Brio isnt a hit-

1) Firstly 30-40% buyers who are looking to buy there first car will look at Maruti first followed by Hyundai then Honda. So once they get the feel of Swift or the i10 grand most people will avoid the Brio. Swift and i10 Grand feels to be a more complete package. I term Brio as a bachelor's car!

2) Brio is a fun to drive car but all its fun begins from 2.5k rpm or above. In general test drive 70% people will miss that part and in India most of the cars are still chauffeur driven. But Brio is thoroughly a drivers car. Most of the first time buyers will go with the looks and the interiors of the car rather than digging out the beauty of the I-Vtec.

3) The dashboard do not look great.

4) The car looks cute rather than sporty like the swift or gorgeous like the i10 grand. So young hunks will feel ashamed to get down from the cute little Brio.

5) Interior space is limited. Its not very spacious. Its good for 4 persons not 5.

6) The rear view is a hit or a miss as it was mentioned in the team BHP official review of the Brio.

7) The total glass rear of the Brio arises a question mark to many buyers about the safety concern of the rear.

8) The boot space is limited. For the extended week ends one has to carefully pack there luggages to accommodate inside Brio's boot or it may trouble you for the airport runs with lots of luggage.

9)The ride quality is on the stiffer side, it feels bumpy on bad roads.

10) Brio lacks a diesel motor.


After all these negatives if any one asks me why i recommend the Brio?

My answer will be just because of the I-Vtec. Its one of the sweetest petrol engine in the market. Plus throwing Brio around the corners is pure bliss. It handles like a Go kart. It reminds me of the old jelly bean Zens.

[aniketi]

For me, it's mainly 2 reasons:

1 Odd looks - This car really looks odd from back & many has rejected it only for that. Looks are always priority number one for almost all people so its the main reason.

2 Dashboard - Enough has been said about it in many other threads as well. Design is bad & overall feel is of cheap car, specially the lower variants dashboard without music system feels like sub 3-4 Lacs car.

Other things are not so important IMO. If people have liked the car, they would have bought it without ads.

[sourabhzen]

I agree with Swiftnfurious here. It seems a downgrade from Swift in all fields except, may be, FTD part. That also is a minor improvement over Swift. Few pointers:

1. I felt the the Music system was below standard
2. Front seats were thinner and my 5 years old daughter could kick my back through the seat
3. I hated integrated head restrains on front seat.

[rsidd]

Looks, glass hatch, etc are not the full explanation. The Brio sold 6000+ in March 2012, 3900+ in March 2013, and generally in the 2000-3000 range for most of that period (source - TeamBHP monthly figures). The numbers have crashed in the past year or so. Maybe Honda just isn't interested in pushing this car? Personally, the tiny boot space would have been a no for me (it was one of the factors that clinched the Punto for me -- this was 2010, there was no Brio, but the only other cars I considered were the Figo and Polo. Boot space was important.) But most Maruti hatches don't have much boot space so that can't be the main reason...

The other possibility is that people liked "quirky-looking" cars two years ago and not any more. The Nissan Micra / Renault Pulse are also doing poorly in sales after a promising start. After you see the car daily for a couple of years, the quirkiness begins to look less exciting...

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

I agree with Swiftnfurious here. It seems a downgrade from Swift in all fields except, may be, FTD part. That also is a minor improvement over Swift. Few pointers:
...

2. Front seats were thinner and my 5 years old daughter could kick my back through the seat....

Never knew Brio scores better than Swift on FTD factor! Guess I really need to learn to "whack the Honda for performance"

Frankly, even the person sitting behind me in the Swift can feel my spine through the seat. So I would not count the "thickness" part; but definitely integrated head rests!

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Never knew Brio scores better than Swift on FTD factor! Guess I really need to learn to "whack the Honda for performance"

I did not try the FTD part too. I am assuming its better from the comments here in general. Mine is 2008 1.3L Swift which still brings grin on my face when I rev it hard.

[dipen]

In today's time, the Brio is simply not upto the mark. Apart from the free-revving engine, there is nothing exiting in the Brio.

For comparsion sake, the Brio S still retails for a little higher than the Grand i10 Magna (15k discounts, 0 on the Brio). Other than the music system, the Brio has no additional features, Hyundai comes with front fogs in consolation. One ride in the Grand i10 will never want to make you come closer to the Brio. The Grand's sheet metal, door handles, interior quality, ride quality and comfort, interior space is way superior than the Brio. Brio has no case other than slightly better handling. Not everyone wants a pedal to metal drive for daily shores.

With the Swift selling for 40k discount, the Brio and Swift are now head on. The Swift offers more equipment than the Brio, looks much better (or normal or acceptable to most), interior quality maybe on par but Swift feels way better to look at.

Brio does not have a case for itself unless its priced based on the quality (other than engine) it brings on the table. Else the sales will remain the same and they will continue to milk the cash cows with Amaze (much better margins) and the City till then.

[volkman10]

The Brio would have been a city car and fun to drive in its launch days, but for current market, the Celerio (AMT) and more complete Grand i10 are clearly being favoured to the Brio.

[ad3952n]

When I was buying my City I-vtec in October 2011 so on the same day first Brio was delivered from the Noida dealership. At that time itself I felt that this car can't handle the traffic. For me the most visible point of rejecting it was the glass hatch door. Then, on a general note I felt that it looked too cramped as a hatch.

In the hatch-back segment it did not strike the chord with the buyers because of it's ill-designed rear spaces and lack of product marketing by Honda. Though I have never driven it nor I have sat in it so can't comment on it's technical figures. But, Initially, after the car was launched, some of our family friends spoke well about the interiors of this car even then I kept my point i.e Will you buy it for interior fabric or consider the safety of the car when it gets rear ended ?

The answer that I got was "silence".

Thanks.

[amitayu]

I feel the Brio does not quite figure as a family hatch like the other high selling ones. It is more of a fun to drive car for individual owners or DINKs.

Cars like I10 Grande Wagon R, Live or even Swift are proven family cars with decent rear seat and luggage space. You can park in the parents or occasional relatives in the rear seat for short journeys without much of a hassle. The New Alto actually played on this point well with increased rear space, and see how its sales are going!

The Brio is too much of a driver's car, with the Amaze being distinctly pitched as the affordable family car from the Honda stable. I feel this has isolated the Brio a bit.

[needforspeed88]

1] Looks small from outside.

2] Love it or loathe it type of rear design.

3] Glass hatch.

4] Poor marketing and promotion.

5] Lack of a diesel option.

6] Lackluster interiors and plastics when compared to the Grand i10.

7] Honda's after sales and support is no where near Maruti and Hyundai in terms of the sheer scale required for promoting and selling mass market hatchback.

7] Production constraints and Honda's prioritization for Amaze and Honda City.

[Ponkermania]

My take on the matter -

1. Brand Perception - Worldwide, Honda is known for it's fuel efficient and relatively cheap small and mid-size cars, and for designing it's engines first, and then designing cars around that engine. If you think about it, that's exactly the way the Brio's been designed. However, in India, Honda is known for it's large and luxurious cars, and the Brio feels neither large nor luxurious. I've even heard comments that the Brio's not a 'proper' Honda.

2. Oddball design - The Brio's design is different from the normal hatchback design. Now this is always a risk. Different can be good, and cause people to fall in love at first sight (like with the original Swift), but, different can also be bad, and cause people to avoid the car like the plague (Verito Vibe, for example). Unfortunately, the Brio seems to be more the latter, rather than the former.

3. Perceived quality/safety issues - Especially with the large glass hatch, flimsy build and bouncy ride, the Indian consumer doesn't think the Brio can survive many years of hard use (which will impact resale also) and that the Brio won't do well in a crash. Considering the alternatives available, and the amount of money motoring costs these days, the risk-averse Indian customer doesn't want to risk the Brio.

There are ways around all of the above, but Honda seems to be more focused on the Amaze and the City, perhaps because those two models are more profitable. For example, variant for variant, on the on-road Mumbai price, the Amaze is between 1.5 lakhs to 2 lakhs more expensive than the Brio, and I'm sure it doesnt cost Honda more than a tenth of that to build an Amaze over a Brio. I mean, how much can a slightly elongated wheelbase and a boot cost?

[bblost]

I feel that the Brio is a car that is targeted for an urban small family. Most such families would also want a car that provides adequate safety for their kids.

Its very difficult to install large child seats in the Brio's rear.

If a family has multiple cars this is not a big concern. But as most families have just one car, the Brio loses out to the more spacious options.