[AYP]

Originally Posted by SedateGuy

I hope they make the sun roof optional. We have no use for it in India

Originally Posted by CarguyNish

Totally Agree with you. Have a Taigun which has sunroof and have not used it once. It's only good where daylight is low and temperature is lower. It's a useless feature in tropical country like India but people totally misuse it by sticking their head out and show-off.

Well, I would personally prefer a system much like Europe and to some extent USA where in you can choose the features of your liking and leave out what you do not want. Not exactly, but quite close. You may feel that a sunroof is useless but in this segment, many people do buy cars for sunroof. It is the new fad. There is a reason why Tata offers sunroof as an option in each and every variant of the Nexon except for the base. It is also the reason why there exists a barebones AX5 variant of the XUV700 which does not offer you automatic climate control, no soft touch insert on dashboard, no start-stop button, black inside door handles but still gets a panoramic sunroof. Similar arguments can be made for cars like the Seltos HTK+ iMT, Sonet HTK+ iMT, Scorpio Z6, Safari XMAS etc.

At a personal level, I wouldn't reject a car for a sunroof though I'd love to have it. Even better if it is panoramic. The baseline is, our personal beliefs hardly matter when it comes to sunroof. In today's times, in the C2 SUV segment and above, bringing a car without panoramic sunroof is like bringing a knife to a gunfight, especially when you are not Hyundai or Maruti. This becomes even more important if you aren't coming up with a fast turbo petrol.

Originally Posted by Candy$Cars

These small sunroofs are completely useless (except for letting out warm air). It's either no sunroof or panoramic sunroof - no in between.

I am sure half of the creta sales are just by buyers who want panoramic sunroofs and Hyundai played their cards well by offering it in the second top variant as well, even though they had to cut on the safety features for that. A panoramic sunroof and an imposing road presence, that is all a mango customer wants in the segment.

Being a Honda fan, I am disappointed Honda ain't coming all guns blazing :(

Originally Posted by AMG1

Unless you really want Honda to fail even more and eventually shut shops here! Panoramic sunroofs are one of the top reasons why Creta , Hector faced so much success and traditional feature skimpy companies like Maruti and Toyota introduced it in their Hybrid twins. Astor and upcoming Seltos facelift too has Panoramic Sunroofs. Heck even Innova got in Hycross avatar. Our Desi carmakers have seen sales boost due to that large pane of glass- Safari Harrier Xuv700 - all have panoramic sunroofs and with great acceptance
Just see the fate of 1500 units per month company - the VW twins! Absence of pano roofs is surely a major reason of their sales failure.
Whether one likes it or not - sunroofs in India can surely make or break a car now! In North India atleast, I feel like people buy car because of the panoroof and not the other way round. Cars are aspirational and when it comes to Indian SUV buyers, practicality is often shadowed by wants, bling features and yes - by a Sunroof (bigger the better)

Exactly the point that I was trying to make in my(previous) short and crisp post.

Originally Posted by motorworks

I’m sorry if i have missed this somewhere, but I believe Honda has not explicitly stated anywhere if the Elevate is a sub 4m SUV like the Sonet, Nexon or if its actually a Creta rival.

I think its always been assumptions from various sources that led to this conclusion that the Elevate is a Creta rival.

What if the Elevate is actually a sub 4m SUV? I actually think this logic makes sense since Honda was always going to tap into a modified Amaze platform for this compact crossover.
Hence, the reason for a regular sunroof ( just an assumption ).

You are indeed entitled to your own opinion and assumption but most of are assuming that the Elevate is a Creta rival based on the posts in this thread.

[TribalRoar]

Originally Posted by AMG1

Unless you really want Honda to fail even more and eventually shut shops here! Panoramic sunroofs are one of the top reasons why Creta , Hector faced so much success and traditional feature skimpy companies like Maruti and Toyota introduced it in their Hybrid twins. Astor and upcoming Seltos facelift too has Panoramic Sunroofs. Heck even Innova got in Hycross avatar. Our Desi carmakers have seen sales boost due to that large pane of glass- Safari Harrier Xuv700 - all have panoramic sunroofs and with great acceptance
Just see the fate of 1500 units per month company - the VW twins! Absence of pano roofs is surely a major reason of their sales failure.
Whether one likes it or not - sunroofs in India can surely make or break a car now! In North India atleast, I feel like people buy car because of the panoroof and not the other way round. Cars are aspirational and when it comes to Indian SUV buyers, practicality is often shadowed by wants, bling features and yes - by a Sunroof (bigger the better)

I agree it does seem to be the prevalent trend particularly in the last few years. But like the other BHPians have noted it is more of a hassle than a benefit. I dont blame the companies for jumping the bandwagon and trying to glean the profits from the craze.

Personally my peeve regarding the sunroofs is that lately companies seem to have decided that its a staple feature for almost every top variant of their vehicles. There are people like me who want a top variant of a car without a sunroof who are now going to be forced to pay for the sunroof even though we dislike and dont want the feature.

My view is that Carmakers should always have an 'O' optional variant above the standard top trim which includes gimmicky but popular features like sunroof, HUD, ambient lighting etc. so that others can skip paying for these features if they choose to go for the top trims.

[pravint]

The more i look at it,the more it looks like jacked up mixture of HRV and honda city hatchback.
If this is true then it will be one of the best looking SUV's in the market

[mayjay]

Here’s a side by side of the Elevate and the City hatchback (pls excuse an enthusiast’s earnest effort at this!)

Looks quite similar as far as the metalwork is concerned - even the dimensions are similar (City hatchback is around 4.3m in length).

The front of the city hatch back is quite awkward and hopefully Honda has fixed it with the Elevate. If the interior is the same as the City or the hatchback, it would definitely be an opportunity missed by Honda, so fingers crossed on that.

[XRoader_001]

The more i see Honda elevate it seems to be combination of Honda Wrv & Honda Hrv sold in Thailand

[Dead_Pedal]

My guess. Externally a mixture of the HR-V and the new low cost WR-V while the interior mimics the CR-V with floating infotainment unit. I'm wondering what exactly could Honda offer to set it apart from the rest of the urban SUVs in the market. No hybrid(for now), diesel, turbo, panoramic sunroof(the crowd wants it and it's surprisingly a deal breaker of late). I do hope the magic seats make a comeback and Honda's expertise in maximizing the interior space results in an airy cabin.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by Animesh

I wish there was a bird-eye image of the current Honda WRV that sells in Indonesia. The creases have such an uncanny resemblance to the teaser image shared by Honda India.
.

In addition to what TorqueIndia had mentioned about the ORVM placement, the WRV has a C pillar mounted door opening handle, while the Elevate has in a conventional position. Also the WRV has a rounded rear end, while the Elevate has a ledge like design feature.

Originally Posted by TribalRoar

My view is that Carmakers should always have an 'O' optional variant above the standard top trim which includes gimmicky but popular features like sunroof, HUD, ambient lighting etc. so that others can skip paying for these features if they choose to go for the top trims.

True. It is really funny and sad that some cars have sunroof while not even having alloy wheels. I believe the Nexon at one point had optional variants (O,+) for sunroof as well as connected features. You could have a top variant without sunroof and connected features. Not sure about now.

[Nithesh_M]

Originally Posted by mayjay

Here’s a side by side of the Elevate and the City hatchback (pls excuse an enthusiast’s earnest effort at this!)
.

Was gonna do this myself when i got home from work. Looks like it is the City Hatchback with some modifications and a ground clearance bump like I had predicted. Let's wait 3 weeks to confirm.

[Highflyer]

Originally Posted by SedateGuy

I hope they make the sun roof optional. We have no use for it in India

Sun roof is one of the most overrated feature for Indian conditions. People want a shade for the windows to prevent heating but want a sun roof instead. It can’t be even kept open due to either dust or rain or many other conditions so prevalent in India.

Due to popular demand sunroof has become a must for top level trim of most of the cars. One can’t even choose not to have have it. It should be made optional add on feature allowing people to pay lesser while buying a top spec trim of any vehicle without it.

[RedMaw]

Originally Posted by Dead_Pedal

I'm wondering what exactly could Honda offer to set it apart from the rest of the urban SUVs in the market.

For me it's the Honda name that is enough. I rejected Creta/Seltos because of their safety ratings and Hyryder/Grand Vitara due to their interiors and not enough space to accommodate 3 in the rear. The Kushaq and Taigun look like glorified hatchbacks and I don't trust VW service. The Compass is too costly and Harrier is still not niggle free. The XUV700 has become too costly. The Astor is not being delivered and Hector is boat-like.

[Kashief]

So Honda Elevate global launch is on June 6th and according to ACI it will be equipped with single pane sunroof.

[Candy$Cars]

Originally Posted by RedMaw

For me it's the Honda name tag is enough. I rejected Creta/Seltos because of safety rating. Hyryder/Grand Vitara due to interior and not enough space to accommodate 3 in rear. Kushak and Taigun looks like glorified hatchback and not trusting VW service. Compass is too costly and Harrier is still not niggle free. Xuv700 has become too costly. Astor is not being delivered and Hector is boat like.

Wow!! You have wonderfully summed up the entire segment in just one paragraph and it exactly echoes my feeling and why I am not impressed by any of the offerings yet.

I feel like Honda is in automotives in India what Apple is in the 50-70k segment of mobiles in India. They won't give much, unlike the competitors, but what they give is sufficient to have a good experience and what one needs is to just shut their eyes, believe that they are getting one of the best things and just go for it!

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by RedMaw

For me it's the Honda name tag is enough. I rejected Creta/Seltos because of safety rating. Hyryder/Grand Vitara due to interior and not enough space to accommodate 3 in rear. Kushak and Taigun looks like glorified hatchback and not trusting VW service. Compass is too costly and Harrier is still not niggle free. Xuv700 has become too costly. Astor is not being delivered and Hector is boat like.

Absolutely ! You just described my 6 months car buying ordeal in one para. Creta/Seltos/Kushaq/Taigun were rejected becaue of these exact reasons. Trust in a brand is a very big factor and Honda definetly has that trust in India and must capitalise big time on it. Give India a global product and with reliability up its sleve, Honda can turn around in India.

Regards
Diesel

[arjan3]

Originally Posted by Candy$Cars

Wow!! You have wonderfully summed up the entire segment in just one paragraph and it exactly echoes my feeling and why I am not impressed by any of the offerings yet.

I feel like Honda is in automotives in India what Apple is in the 50-70k segment of mobiles in India. They won't give much, unlike the competitors, but what they give is sufficient to have a good experience and what one needs is to just shut their eyes, believe that they are getting one of the best things and just go for it!

You echoed my thoughts Honda not offering turbo petrols is like Apple not offering 100MP+ camera in their phone but still does a great job. I really wish Honda launches their smooth hybrid during the initial phase rather than wait to see the market response and launch at a later date

[hummer]

Originally Posted by RedMaw

For me it's the Honda name tag is enough. Xuv700 has become too costly.

Perfectly put many peoples views + dilemma in a simple para
I have been looking for my next SUV (current ride is Duster), I don't say upgrade but need a decently kitted, safe and reliable. Looks like Elevate is having it all right, hopefully my search ends soon.

You said "Xuv700 has become too costly.", do you think Elevate will be any different, especially knowing Honda pricing strategy?