[mohaks19]

Honda appears to have pretty aggressive international lineup. How I wished to drive that Civic Type R, a perfect upgrade from my Octy vRS. Wish they had a similar and at least aggressively styled lineup in India, rather than going the economic way with a boring plane jane design language (no offence to Honda owners, I myself was a fan of the erstwhile Civic) .

[miharbe]

Excellent report Samurai! Nice coverage of everything including the BR-V.

I hope Honda launches it soon enough as the Creta seems to be running away at the moment. I hope they price it along the lines of the City and not go above and beyond the Creta. Hope the petrol CVT is offered at launch and not something that "follows later". That should help fill the void in this segment. Any chances of a diesel CVT variant as I feel there is a big market for one in India? In terms of design they should have done something to the side profile as it makes it look terribly MPVish. Given that they redesigned the front and back this should also have been given a makeover. This should succeed given what's expected and that it's a 7 seater!

The battle for the entry level SUV just got bigger!

[karan561]

Great report Samurai

Initially before BRV was completely revealed i was so much impressed with the sketches;



But now it just seems to be like a cross variant of the Mobilio



Im sure few months after the initial public hype is over for the BRV in the India market, Honda would be doing this to the BRV --- >

[behaln]

Great insight into the new product. As mentioned by few members, the car looks brilliant with better interiors than its siblings. Honda should price it competitively to make it a success, in the Indian market.

[jfxavier]

Very impressive report.
I would have been temped to go by the sequence of events and put up the more impressive bits first.
Nice narrative with lots of info. and focused reporting.

About B-RV, what happens in the future will depend a lot on the pricing in India I believe.

[prashanthyr]

Fantastic report on one of the world's most innovative manufacturers.

As a current Honda owner, I am very interested in what they have to offer as this would be the first port of call when the time comes to change. Unfortunately, the choices seem to be limited:

a. Safety : For a company that claims to have so much focus on safety, I am surprised they have gone backwards in India - from a company that offered Airbags / ABS as standard across all models 4 years back to now offering it only on higher trims.

b. Perceived Quality: My 8 year / 100K km 2nd gen City still feels tight as a drum, but reading reports on newer vehicles seems to indicate this has slipped a bit

c. Value for Money: In an era where Hyundai has cracked the features/price/looks equation, its going to be an interesting battle for Honda - they just can't rely on the badge and expect people to pay more.

The BR-V looks good from the front, but the side screams MPV and I suspect the rear doors are shared with the Mobilio? Honda will really need to equip and price the car correctly in order to take the fight to the Creta.

[vb-saan]

Thanks for the report! It's indeed refreshing to note that more manufacturers are taking proactive measures to reinforce their commitment to safety.

Originally Posted by Samurai

Cars are designed such that the engine bay takes all the impact and is crushed by it, while the cabin is rigid enough to guarantee a very high chance of passenger survival:

This is really good, but did they mention if this philosophy is applied to the BR-V, or applicable more for the global models?

[rsm97]

Nice report with useful set of information. Specially appreciated the mix of small bits on cultural aspects.

BR-V, to me, looks like the next-gen Mobilio. Honda must have thought of some way to promote it.

[The Observer]

Thanks a lot Samurai and Team BHP - it was refreshing to read about Honda's safety test facility and the reasoning and plans they have for the Indian market.

Nice pictures and the BR-V does look good, pricing will matter and going by the history they will definitely price it higher than the Creta ! ( Straight "H" is seemingly more premium than the slant "H" ). Hope they kit it well enough.

Seeing the crash videos provided some relief , especially since both the vehicles seemed to absorb the impact and the passenger shell seemed in good shape, of course quantitative measurement should be the final answer.

@ Samurai : This might be a naive question - but did you get an opportunity to ask the Honda guys in Japan if the Jazz in India is structurally same as the Jazz sold elsewhere ( i mean the features are different - yes, but are the structural elements and material used same?). The answer should help us gauge how good the Indian Jazz is on the safety front at least for now when the crash tests are unavailable for India spec Jazz and we are merely speculating with the vehicle's weight

[petrolhead_neel]

Superb report there Sir! Very detailed and interesting to read.

It's good to see Honda taking a serious approach to safety. I really appreciate this.

But, why Honda, why? Why the same Mobilio-esque design. Especially, the side profile looks very similar. I would any day pick a Creta, or heck, an Ecosport, over this. Why on earth are Hondas becoming so boring? The interiors should've been given a different layout to set it apart from the existing lineup too.

Hondas are surely losing their charm. Here is a picture of the Civic that was designed some years ago by the same company. Doesn't it look much better than their current designs?

(GTO's Civic)

Apart from that, the Clarity is a superb car. It gets a from my side. I would love to have a Team-BHP drive of this car someday, just like the Toyota Mirai.

Originally Posted by rsm97

BR-V, to me, looks next-gen Mobilio.

Aptly put!

Regards,
Neel

[landcruiser123]

Impressed with the BR-V.
But look at the side profile, and you'll know it's a mobilio sibling. The car looks good inside even after you step in.
From what little is rumored, the petrol engine will be the same 1.5 L with a 6 speed MT or a CVT. The diesel will the same with the same GB.

No chance it'll dethrone the Creta. But this does have more ground in the fight (compared to Jazz v i20) as it's a 7 seater. Only pricing will be key.

[rajeev k]

Nice first review of BR-V and a well compiled one on Honda, as a whole.
I had a feeling that the BR-V will realize Honda's Indian dream which the Mobilio failed to achieve.
In our country the SSSUV (Seven Seats and SUV) tag will sell well.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by The Observer

@ Samurai : This might be a naive question - but did you get an opportunity to ask the Honda guys in Japan if the Jazz in India is structurally same as the Jazz sold elsewhere ( i mean the features are different - yes, but are the structural elements and material used same?).

One look at Jazz website confirms it has the same ACE body structure and pedestrian injury mitigation technology. But the side airbags found in the crash test car is absent in the Indian Jazz.

Originally Posted by vb-san

This is really good, but did they mention if this philosophy is applied to the BR-V, or applicable more for the global models?

Not sure since no specific details were given. But it might be available in BR-V since Jazz already has it.

[MercFan]

Excellent preview and full marks to Samurai.

Coming to the car, exterior (front) looks nice, rear looks out of space. Interiors feel cheap, never expected such bland looking steering wheel from Honda! Other parts are similar to the City and the Jazz.

By the way those seats look terribly thin/cheap? Or is it the camera angle? They look like Alto seats. Hope it is not the case to be.

This doesn't have the rugged looks as the Duster. Duster will still be the "close to SUV" on Indian roads in its segment. Along with Creta, this is just another urban pseudo SUV.

Hope Honda is listening and will do something on those seats and steering wheel.

[Keerthivasan]

Great preview of the upcoming sensation on the Indian Roads.

Trimming the length sure gives a better look to BR-V, than the Mobilio.
Given the fact that this is a 7 seater, Creta may not be its direct competition as much as a 7 seater Duster.