[adimicra]

Originally Posted by sidindica

Could be a misprint..a honda car selling alongside a scooter is not what Honda wants. or the case of another nano would emerge...it will be a HSCI dealer outlet-only model.

How about having a quick poll with a sidindica style initial analysis of liva VS swift 2 VS brio vs micra? or is it better to wait till march by the time the liva and swift are launched?

Go ahead Sid, sounds mouth watering!

Originally Posted by Abhi_Automobile

Guys,

Consider this: Knowing Maruti, there is no way it will price the 'new' Swift much higher than the current model (say a 20-30k hike at max). The new car boasts of much better interiors and two cracker of engines (I hope they bring the 1.2 VVT version to differentiate it from Ritz petrol).

This car is visually a size smaller than the Maruti (looks like i10 size)but will be priced at the same level. Also, the 'quality' for this car will be relatively poorer by Honda standards (coz its a cheaper car) whereas the 'quality' of new Swift will be relatively better by Maruti standards (coz its the most important model in Maruti lineup). So, I don't expect a big quality difference either.

Would you really buy this car over a 'new' Swift simply because its a Honda? Honda is no Merc guys! It only has slighty better brand equity than the normal brands (Maruti , Hyundai, Ford, GM etc).

Any thoughts?

The I10 is smaller than the Swift on the outside but not on the inside. And it is not cheaper than the Swift either. Then, how come it is managing to sell more or similar numbers compared to Swift?
So, if I10 can sell in such huge numbers, why can't Brio. It is longer and wider than I10 though shorter and comes with Honda badge that is synonymous with quality,reliability and engineering prowess. And it will turn a lot of heads for sure!

[Abhi_Automobile]

The I10 is smaller than the Swift on the outside but not on the inside. And it is not cheaper than the Swift either. Then, how come it is managing to sell more or similar numbers compared to Swift?

True, but that is against the current gen Swift, which is 5.5 years old now. Also, the i10 positions itself against Ritz. With the advent of next gen Swift, the Swift will move away from Ritz in terms of positioning. But not much in terms of price. That's exactly why I brought this point up.

It is longer and wider than I10 though shorter and comes with Honda badge that is synonymous with quality,reliability and engineering prowess. And it will turn a lot of heads for sure!

They also have glaring omissions from their repertoire like no diesel engine However, yes, Honda is second to none when it come to Engineering prowess.

I think its a smart move anyway:

Take Toyota and Honda: Similar brand equity around the world albeit for different strengths). Toyota has more than twice the models globally that Honda has. That immediately translates into revenues! In fact, this is the very reason Hyundai has been so successful in recent times. It is so nimble footed and fast to come up with relevant cars, that ever if they are not segment bests (which at times is the case), they generate substantial volumes.

In short Honda needs this car badly and needs to price it sensibly. It cannot be arrogant like it was in the case of Jazz. Such brilliant car sells for 400 odd cars a moth.SHOCKER! Single reason= Price. Honda has all this time believed that most Indian will buy anything that has Honda written over it at 'premium' prices. It needs to have its foot firmly placed on the ground and do what it does best = Engineering.

[selfdrive]

Knowing Honda, they will be pricing this product at a range higher than Figo/ Etios etc. I dont understand why Honda keeps demanding such a high premium for its cars - case in point being the Jazz. they could do better numbers if they price their cars reasonably. Only pricing of a car should not mean a status symbol!

[kadanaJ]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Knowing Honda, they will be pricing this product at a range higher than Figo/ Etios etc. I dont understand why Honda keeps demanding such a high premium for its cars - case in point being the Jazz. they could do better numbers if they price their cars reasonably. Only pricing of a car should not mean a status symbol!

Possible, but unlikely.
Honda's learned their lesson with the Jazz. This one should be priced at par with competition. They're entering the segments where brand name doesn't mean as much as practicality, fuel efficiency and VFM.

While I doubt they're going for an aggressive stance with the pricing, They won't charge much premium on this car. Honda's success in the volumes market depends too much on the Brio.

[adimicra]

One observation -
Any thread in this forum remotely related to Honda ends up bashing Honda for ridiculously pricing the Jazz!

Something interesting -
Before buying the Jazz, I checked various international sites for the relative pricing of the jazz vis-vis other hatches like Micra/Swift/I20 etc. And I found out that Jazz is priced 20-35% higher than these cars in all countries not only India. It is just that it hasn't clicked in India but it has been one of Honda's most successful models worldwide.Also, the non existence of a base stripped-down version does not help the sales numbers. Sorry for going off-topic but this thread has too many references to Jazz anyway.

I feel Honda hasn't learnt the lesson fully and Brio will be priced higher than I10/Figo/Liva etc with similar features

[prince_pervez]

Originally Posted by BurningHeart

Wonder why all of these new cars have started debuting in dark shades of green?

Some phychologists believe that the color green has a soothing effect on the brain. So the manufacturers thought they can get better opinions on the looks department than any other color.

Coming back to the looks, The rear is screaming to throw a rock at it. It will sell alright. Like the Jazz it will.

[EssYouWe]

Oh God! Another insect-like car for over 7 lacs on road.

Wouldn't be caught in one! Lets hope they understand the target segment well. People in the 3-4 lac range would not like paying 50 grand more for the 'H'.

[nithi]

The car looks good to me, much better than what was show-cased in the Expo. IMO Different shades, like white, will make the car look much better. I hope Honda launches this car with CVT with reasonable price tag, just like how it launched in Thailand.

[deep_bang]

Looks are very subjective. First of all the Indian market does not really about looks IF and only IF the other factors like mileage and space are satisfied.

Not to compare, but when Santro was released, it was one of the worst looking cars. People comapred it to all possible things including a frog and a shoe. But Indians took it well - because it was priced well, and had some unique factors which at that time were really unique to Santro (buttery smooth gear shift, quality plastics, 1L engine etc).

So - the end result is - Pricing is everything.

Would i buy one: IF this is as large as an i10, but priced about 20 to 30k more, i would probably buy a Honda than a Hyundai.

[Archon]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

Looks are very subjective. First of all the Indian market does not really about looks IF and only IF the other factors like mileage and space are satisfied.

Not to compare, but when Santro was released, it was one of the worst looking cars. People comapred it to all possible things including a frog and a shoe. But Indians took it well - because it was priced well, and had some unique factors which at that time were really unique to Santro (buttery smooth gear shift, quality plastics, 1L engine etc).

So - the end result is - Pricing is everything.

Would i buy one: IF this is as large as an i10, but priced about 20 to 30k more, i would probably buy a Honda than a Hyundai.

Darn, and I always thought Swift looked like a frog about to jump (never liked it looks). Anyway, the consumer has evolved since Santro first made its appearance. Pricing is key, but not everything. As you said yourself, you would pay more just for the Honda tag. I personally wouldn't as brand equity is one of the last things I look for in a car; but then it's not always just me who's involved in the decision making!

On a side note, if Jazz were priced at i20 levels, I would fall head over heels for it. I just love that car.

[baz_303]

Well, the car looks like an ugly ducking to me ( same was the story with the last generation Honda city! But the Indian Auto consumers perceived it to be a beautiful swan!).

There is no way this vehicle ( unless priced very aggressively) can compete against i10, Aulto and stuff. The full glass read looks cool - but I wonder how that will stand up from the safety perspective.

If radical is the way, then the Beat beats this anyday. I actually had quite liked the beat (Loved it infact!) - but then my judgement wrong - again!
and the Indian consumer gave it a lukewarm response

So If my judgement were to go wrong again - this car would sell in India!

[swiftnfurious]

Guys, its too early to predict the success or failure of this model. From wherever I read, they have kept Indian families in mind while designing this car. And unless this comes under 5 lakh bracket, this may not be popular !

Looks like they have used saree clad models for testing the ingress and egress of people.

With Toyota bringing Livas, I dont think Honda has a chance to gamble with price.

[sathyaprakash]

I went to Capital Honda in chennai and enquired about Brio the answer they gave was, it will be available in April next year and their is no option for Automatic and the price will be below 5 lakhs for the base model.

[dodge_v1per]

I am very much disappointed with the looks of Brio. Honda has not added any oomph factor like they did with civic or city. Hope they price it correctly. thats the final hope of its success.

[hellmet]

Looks like the Zen Estillo, i10, Figo had a threesome and then someone kicked the offspring's a** real hard. Thus was born the stupid green Brio. What the heck is with the color, mate? And when does India get a decent auto-trans? The world is moving towards 6-speed autos and here we are still counting FE figures and buying H and H. Oh wait, we are an emerging country(read "country of beggars and snake-charmers"). We will happily buy this crap and more. After all, M800 still sells after years of not having any major technology improvement.