[YashD]

What a good afternoon! Got a call from my Honda's SA that he is near my Area with the BR-V Petrol and if I would like to take it for a spin, asking an auto enthusiast if he wants to try out a new car with a different engine is like asking a kid if one need's another ice-cream or not! Within 15 minutes the car was here and keys were handed to me. I will not go into the details regarding design, features or comfort as we have discussed about it quite a bit.

My take on the Honda BR-V Petrol CVT:- (My SA stated that Honda Car India is pushing for Petrol CVT more than the 6 Speed Manual and supply of the same too is currently less. The production of Diesel BR-V is higher at the moment.)

• Get into the the driving seat, crank the engine and feel the calmness of a petrol engine. Bliss! After driving the BR-V diesel, the i-vtec felt mighty silent.

• I don't know why but the petrol BR-V felt lighter when compared to the diesel or maybe I felt so because of much more power on tap!

• It's the tried and tested 5 Speed CVT transmission and has the same traits, linear power delivery push it hard and the rubber band effect kicks in with engine noise simply putting your mood off. Then again even with light throttle inputs, the acceleration is decent and quick. The gearbox felt slick and quick if driven sedately and is more fuel efficiency oriented rather than outright performance. It's more for your everyday city runs rather taking it on the highways and flooring the vehicle.

• Just like the City, BR-V too comes with paddle shifters and are well programmed or say tuned with quick sharp response. Though I felt, City's Paddle shift response were better tuned overall in terms of shift points.

• Another aspect I noticed was the petrol BR-V had better grip! Could be possible because the one I drove today had Michelin tyres.

• The BR-V Automatic is only available in the V trim and looses out in some equipments like heat absorbing windshield, LED Position lamp, Front and rear bumper lower garnish, Auto up Driver Window and leather pack.

• This car is only worth the money if you want a 7 Seat option or else Hyundai Creta is a much better package in terms of design, equipment and overall performance. I felt the Creta Automatic is much more balanced in both city and highway driving conditions whereas BR-V Auto is more city oriented. The price difference between both the vehicles is nearly by 80-90k but then again you get much more power and equipment like, Parking sensors with camera, 17 Inch Diamond Cut Alloys, LED Positioning Lights, Leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, Keyless entry with Push button start and Touchscreen infotainment system with Navigation.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by YashD

It's the tried and tested 5 Speed CVT transmission

That's an oxymoron in itself. A CVT has infinite ratios theoretically, much like the scooter gearbox we are used to.

However, for added convenience during scenarios like overtaking, it holds on to few programmed ratios while the paddles are operated.

[YashD]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

That's an oxymoron in itself. A CVT has infinite ratios theoretically, much like the scooter gearbox we are used to.

However, for added convenience during scenarios like overtaking, it holds on to few programmed ratios while the paddles are operated.

Well, by tried and tested I meant to say it's used in most of the vehicles selling in India like Brio, Jazz and Ctiy.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by YashD

Well, by tried and tested I meant to say it's used in most of the vehicles selling in India like Brio, Jazz and Ctiy.

Sorry to interfere again.

Brio as well as the earlier Amaze used a 5 speed torque converter AT gearbox. Jazz, City, BRV and the 2016 Amaze uses a CVT gearbox.

I didn't question that you said it's ' tried and tested' gearbox. I said you don't say its a five speed gearbox because it is a CVT with unlimited ratios, unlike say the 5 speed AT on the Brio.

[manas27587]

Price list for the BR-V in Mumbai if anyones interested.

Was Told the car will be available august end onwards and for those booking now the car will be delivered in Nov.
The long waiting time put me off.

[YashD]

Originally Posted by manas27587

Price list for the BR-V in Mumbai if anyones interested.

Was Told the car will be available august end onwards and for those booking now the car will be delivered in Nov.
The long waiting time put me off.

Any reason the dealer mentioned for the long waiting period? My dealer promised a delivery in the by the end of July max!

[vikash49]

Cost cutting is one thing, but this is outright unacceptable

Instrument console of Honda BR-V (S-MT-Petrol) costing 10.19 Lacs Ex Showroom, Guwahati:



Instrument console of ALTO K10 (VXi-Petrol) costing 3.91 Lacs Ex Showroom, Guwahati:

[kaviprem]

^^ Probably, you should switch on the parking lights on BRV too.
But, over all, it looks like you dont like the flat and simple design of the dash.

Prem.

[SmartCat]

Alto's dash looks like it was designed by a 18 year old Japanese girl while BR-V's dash looks like it was designed by a 50 year old Japanese man!

[samabhi]

Had checked the BR-V in person this weekend. Didnt get a chance to test drive as there is only iDtec available and a bit more waiting. I see a lot of customers walking in to check out BR-V and quiet contrary to many views on this thread, I came away impressed. My initial impressions :

- Build quality is way better than many other cars in the segment. Ex: Ertiga / Duster are no match to this. The doors close with a decent thud sound (not the German range, but way better than the Maruti) and they are heavy. Overall the car felt very confident inspiring.
- Front seats and middle row (albeit only for two adults) comfort is very good. I especially liked the leg room in the middle row and the second row reclining option is good.
- The seating height is not too low again as stated by others. Spot on ergonomics.
- As some stated, the interior quality is not that bad. Its a lot better than many cars south of 10L (barring Hyundai). For comparison, I found the interiors of BR-V much better than that of Vitara Brezza.

The biggest problem with this car is how Honda positioned it as. It aint any Compact SUV, for that matter its not even a proper 7 seater MUV. Branding it as a Compact SUV will be its biggest road block for selling in good numbers as comparision with the competition in this segment is inevitable and then it pops out with the disappointment of MUV'ish looks, lack of features, etc..

However this car will find takers. Who?? For someone who needs a decent 7 seater, by decent - I meant the car that needs to ferry around 4 adults, 2 kids always (like me ) or a 4 + 1 seater with those additional 2 seats to be used for occasional short city run abouts. Then the comparison will eventually lead to the likes of Ertiga, Mobilio, Enjoy and Lodgy. Among these cars, BR-V stands out as the best car with good interior space, quality, better specs engine. Honda made another mistake by pricing it on the higher side. But then the lower S variant is decently equipped and with 12L onroad price in Bangalore of the iVtec S Variant, I will pick it up happily over any of the cars mentioned above.

Why the S Variant? Atleast in Bangalore, we need a car with good ground clearance to tackle all the bad roads and the tall humps. Some important features that are provided in the S Variant :
- Projector Lamps
- ACC
- 2nd Row AC Vents
- Rear Wipers and Rear Defogger
- 2nd Row slide and Driver Seat Height Adjuster

The only features I will miss (IMHO) are the fog lamps, Alloy Wheels, Impact Sensing Auto Door Unlock and Security Alarm.

BR-V has joined my list of cars to be considered for the next upgrade along with Innova Crysta and XUV 500. I am waiting for the test drive car of ivtec to be available at the Honda Dealer (Dakshin Honda) and it seems that they switch the test drive cars with their another branch in the city. With a little stretch, CVT is available at 14.8L OTR in Bangalore and cheaper by 3 Lakhs when compared to XUV 500 W6 AT and 5 Lakhs when compared with Crysta GX AT. My usage will be mostly in city and with highway usage of once in 2 months, I am more inclining towards BR-V. The only thing I need to confirm is how well this car performs on long distance runs.

PS : The SA told me that Honda is providing a touch screen display infotainment unit that can replace the existing unit as an accessory. List is not disclosed as per him and I am not sure how true is that.

[SmartCat]

One more visit to Trident Honda. My findings -

1) Dealer has 53 bookings for BR-V so far (11 of them for the automatic - around 20%)

2) I'll be getting my BR-V CVT only at the end of NEXT month (June end)

3) Test drove the BR-V Diesel. MT petrol and CVT were not available for test drive.

4) Sound quality from the 4 speaker + 2 tweeter system on the VX variant was only average. It's better than the Duster AWD's sound system, but not as good as even the 3rd gen Honda City's stock music system. My old Honda Civic's stock music system's sound quality was leagues ahead. Sound clarity at high volumes is decent, but bass from the speakers is poor.

5) Diesel engine startup noise is as noisy/quiet as Duster 110 AWD's.

6) At starting speeds, the steering wheel is so light, you'd think that is not connected to anything! However, it gets better at city speeds, and the feel is similar to what you would get from a typical Maruti.

7) While accelerating, BRV diesel is perceptibly noisier than Duster 110 AWD diesel. But it is definitely not a deal breaker, especially if you have windows rolled up, AC ON and music playing.

8) Driveability of Duster 110 AWD diesel in traffic is definitely better than BRV diesel. But still, you can go over humps in 2nd gear in BRV diesel without issues.

9) The boot door is not as heavy as Duster's, but has decent heft. You might get an idea about thickness of metal used in BRV from this.

10) I was introduced to Trident Honda's "Senior Accessories Consultant". He is offering 6.2 inch touchscreen music system with reverse parking camera for just Rs. 25,000. If you want navigation, its Rs. 10,000 extra. The front arm rest with storage will cost approx Rs. 6,000. Artificial leather upholstery for E, S and V variants will cost Rs. 9,000. Leather seat covers will cost anywhere between Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 60,000 depending on quality.

My 6 year old son got this gift from the sales lady. It is a watch which gives you the time when you press a tiny button -





I also got my hands on the accessories brochure for Honda BR-V -

[Vigkey]

Originally Posted by vikash49

Cost cutting is one thing, but this is outright unacceptable

Dear friend, I do not understand what is unacceptable in this comparison of consoles?

• Is it the absence of Orange color?
• Is it the presence of Analog Fuel Meter?
• Is it the absence of fancy fonts?
• Is it the absence of silver / aluminium panels?
• Is it the presence of the long stick to adjust the MID?

What is unacceptable is the one of the pics was taken with parking light on and the other off. That itself makes the comparison very unfair.

I personally prefer the clean fonts of the BR-V, which is very similar to that of City. The Orange color in Alto's console look cheapo. However, the silver / aluminium panels look pretty good on the Alto's console. Another eye-sore in the BR-V is the long stick to adjust the MID, which is a pathetic (even my S-Cross has a similar stalk )

Personal preferences, however, I think the comparison here is very unfair.

[BUXX]

@smartcat: While the Touchscreen AVN with Revers Cam at 25K maybe decently priced- my worry is that for installing it, half the car's fascia would need to be taken off & still the result will be far off from factory finish. This was just plain dumb of Honda.. Atleast reverse sensors should have been standard equipment in the higher CVT variant

[mustang_shelby]

Originally Posted by samabhi

BR-V has joined my list of cars to be considered for the next upgrade along with Innova Crysta and XUV 500. I am waiting for the test drive car of ivtec to be available at the Honda Dealer (Dakshin Honda) and it seems that they switch the test drive cars with their another branch in the city. With a little stretch, CVT is available at 14.8L OTR in Bangalore and cheaper by 3 Lakhs when compared to XUV 500 W6 AT and 5 Lakhs when compared with Crysta GX AT. My usage will be mostly in city and with highway usage of once in 2 months, I am more inclining towards BR-V. The only thing I need to confirm is how well this car performs on long distance runs.

It looks like your requirements are very similar to mine: 7 seater automatic, preferably petrol. And I have been doing all these calculations as well. When you compare the BR-V CVT with XUV W6 AT, it does look like there is a big price gap. But when you compare diesel models (which is a more like-to-like comparison IMO), things get interesting.
Honda BR-V VX iDTEC: 16.17 OTR
XUV 500 W6: 16.68 OTR

The only things XUV misses out is leather upholstery and fog lamps. But BR-V misses out on much more: 7" Touchscreen HU, Reverse Parking Sensors, Cruise Control, Telephony controls on steering, all around disc brakes. And XUV is obviously a segment higher with a much bigger engine, roomier cabin and a 2nd row that is hard to beat. All this for just Rs 50k. When you look at it, it becomes difficult to see value in BR-V's pricing.

What also irks me a bit is that Honda removed features from the BR-V offered in other markets (Indonesia/Thailand) : Hill Start Assist, Vehicle Stability Assist, Isofix child seat tethers and a 6.1" Touchscreen HU with bluetooth, android and iphone integration, hdmi, navigation etc, as if India pricing was going to be very competitive. But the pricing looks quite optimistic to me, relying more on the brand than on the product itself.
BR-V is still in my shortlist, but I am leaning away from it now, primarily due to ergonomic reasons and narrow 2nd row, but pricing is also a major factor.

P.S. : XUV W6 AT also gets Hill descent control and ESP in addition.

Originally Posted by samabhi

PS : The SA told me that Honda is providing a touch screen display infotainment unit that can replace the existing unit as an accessory. List is not disclosed as per him and I am not sure how true is that.

To me, Sales Advisor quoted 50-60k as a rough estimate for a touchscreen system with navigation and reverse camera. But she did not have any further details or an official accessories list.

Originally Posted by smartcat

10) I was introduced to Trident Honda's "Senior Accessories Consultant". He is offering 6.2 inch touchscreen music system with reverse parking camera for just Rs. 25,000. If you want navigation, its Rs. 10,000 extra. The front arm rest with storage will cost approx Rs. 6,000. Artificial leather upholstery for E, S and V variants will cost Rs. 9,000. Leather seat covers will cost anywhere between Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 60,000 depending on quality.

Would it be possible to get the brand and model code for this touchscreen system? Would be really useful to find out features on offer.

[manas27587]

Originally Posted by YashD

Any reason the dealer mentioned for the long waiting period? My dealer promised a delivery in the by the end of July max!

Really have no clue.
Plus my father didnt get to test drive the CVT as it is still not available elsewhere.
The issue is that my father has dealt with the dealer while I'm here sailing.

Reading this thread has put me off anyways.
I'm better off buying a Creta.

Really hoping Honda re-strategize their position on the BR-V and add the other missing features.