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Old 8th September 2011, 09:20   #31
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Re: Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

Thanks a lot Mods for a top class review! Must be hectic with all the launches.
I for one love the looks of the car. It's a lovely city car and as mentioned, fun on the highways too!
What I don't like is the quirky dash design, the A/c controls here-audio system there-parking light somewhere else look. Kind of haphazard for my taste. Also, the stereo looks too glossy. But overall, seems to be a great small car. Price it competitively Honda!

OT: My brother's Swift VDi doesn't have rear wash wipe etc too. Heck, it was the 'top end' variant at that time.
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Old 8th September 2011, 09:54   #32
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Re: Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by anekho View Post
I recently test drove the i10 and although it does everything well - it somehow didn't strike a chord with me! Great car, but it lacked that element of fun which I wanted. Going by this review the Brio seems to deliver - and how!
i10 Kappa2 may be close on Performance but it's not a match to Brio's fun to drive factor.


Quote:
Originally Posted by xingamazon View Post
One question from my side, if a person of 6 feet sits in the rear seat, how much is the clearence to the top.
And for the same person sitting in rear, how far is his head from the rear glass, it looks pretty closer to the rear passenger's head.
I am 6'2" and i had comfortable space above my head when sitting straight, but when leaning towards back my touched the roof. The rear hatch does not bother the rear seat occupants.

Quote:
Originally Posted by V-16 View Post
Im also disappointed that the rear is as bouncy as mentioned and that means Swift and i10 will be a notch better?
The new Swift has better Ride but i10 feels equally uncomfortable on bad roads.


Quote:
Originally Posted by shuvc View Post
This may also have been done to save some extra mm of thickness that would have otherwise resulted in the bottle holder pocket to protrude into the cabin?
The Honda team said it is a styling touch.


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Originally Posted by nvssudheer View Post
A silly question: Which color looked the best in flesh?
I liked Red, so did GTO.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Caramba View Post
On the rear-end, would just refer to it as back-side.....so much glass, cost cutting? Not that there seems to be any complaint as compared to say the Liva.
Not sure if Glass means cost cutting but it surely must have helped in weight saving.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Wall-e View Post
Under the negatives there is a point mentioning "Rear seat-back too short",Is there any info like how short it is by means of any photo,like a person sitting in the rear?

Having Booked a Jazz,this feels like a more tempting offer.
Sorry, no pic with a person sitting on rear seat.

Jazz is more practical and spacious, Brio is more fun to drive.


Quote:
Originally Posted by C300 View Post
My only concern is the compact dimensions of this hatch. Honda being the master of space management have done well in keeping legroom adequate (by sacrificing the boot space I must add). Overall its very compact hatch and that’s a big negative in our market where bigger is usually considered better, especially if you are paying 5L rupees.
I agree but compact dimensions also mean Brio is easy to maneuver and park in traffic, combined with good all round visibility and small turning radius, this is a comfortable car to drive in dense traffic.

Quote:
Originally Posted by moralfibre View Post
Are the prices for the Brio declared yet?
Prices will only be announced at the time of launch at end of this month.
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Old 8th September 2011, 09:56   #33
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Re: Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by .anshuman View Post
The CVT Automatic transmission is not going to be offered in India. Period.
Why oh why Honda? It's a huge opportunity missed, I think. Now a days, I see a lot of Automatics in Bangalore. People are moving towards autos due to it's convenience in the city.

Rejoice Hyundai and i10.
I had really hoped for some competition
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Old 8th September 2011, 09:58   #34
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Re: Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

The rear glass hatch is not particularly a good thing, especially if you decide to keep something valuable in the car.

It's like a window in a shop. Everything is on display!

Where are you going to leave your valuable things? I generally leave my laptop in my Santro's boot if I leave it parked somewhere. I don't think i can do that in the Brio.

Will the parcel-tray help in hiding one's belongings?
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Old 8th September 2011, 10:15   #35
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Re: Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

Thanks for the unbiased and excellent review.
I think Honda will make some money by selling the Hatch door lol.
Considering the two wheelers and rickshaws in our country , i'm quiet skeptical in the case of a rear Hit.Being glass it cant be beaten back .Only solution is replacement.
Also a very dark rear sunfilm is must if Amps are being planned.Else everything will be exposed to prying eyes.
Despite being a awkward rear design (which completely spoils the else sporty(?) look of Brio) being a Honda i believe it will sell in volumes.
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Old 8th September 2011, 10:17   #36
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Re: Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

A fantastic review !!!

I have to say that this car from Honda comes as a great relief after seeing the Etios and Liva from Toyota, where the cost cutting was glaringly evident. But Honda (in addition to Hyundai) has proved that it is possible to sell a quality product at affordable price.

But there are some things in the car which are potential deal breakers (at least for me). The full glass hatch - both from the point of view of safety and privacy, doesn't strike a chord with me. Looks ugly too.

Why couldn't they provide a 60:40 split folding rear seat ? The boot space is not adequate for a car of this price.

Also, lack of rear washer/wiper and defogger can't be justified.

And why no AT option ? Beats me.

This car could have been a worthy competitor to i10, but just fails in many little areas. Brio will sell, no doubt, but because of the brand name and FTD factor, not for practicality.

And yes, Hyundai has to launch the i10 diesel soon.

Rohan
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Old 8th September 2011, 10:19   #37
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Re: Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

Great review! Honda brand at lower price point will certainly attract a lot of buyers.

Personally, I felt there was too much 'black' when viewed from the rear. There should have been a little bit more body color accented by the black shading.

Any updates on price points of the variants?
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Old 8th September 2011, 10:20   #38
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Re: Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

Nobody will be more happy than me. My brother has been associated with this project since it's inception till it was handed over to ARAI.

That's great review Anshuman. I am not sure if I got the analogy right here. Jazz and Brio combo is more like Swift and A-Star. One is trimmed down version of another.

Indeed it's a great vehicle and Honda has done a good Job. We'll have to wait and watch.
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Old 8th September 2011, 10:29   #39
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Re: Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

Great Review Anshuman !!! (A 5 Star review). Thank you all Mods for this review.
TEAM-BHP rocks !!
Voted for 5 star.
Glad to know that Brio is a fun to drive car. (Like Swift)
Honda should provide a AT option for Brio.
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Old 8th September 2011, 10:36   #40
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Re: Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

Great Review!
One of the worries I have if I were to buy Brio is to cope with the funny remarks on the road I may receive looking at the rear. It does look like the pant is slipping and a black underwear is visible . Other worry of course is that the rear will be a vandal's delight. I wonder what it would have costed them to redesign the rear hatch for Indian market.
I find the styling to be extremely conservative (expect the rear). It reminds me of the first generation Santro (especial the nose, headlamps, grill slot etc)
Unless Brio is substantially more fuel efficient, I dont see why one would buy Brio instead of a top end i10 or a base swift.
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Old 8th September 2011, 10:40   #41
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Re: Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

Awesome review. Even better photographs. Makes me wonder if all motorheads are also fine lensmen!

Pardon the pessimist in me, but in my opinion, this car isnt going places. Below are my reasons:
- The boot is too tiny. I know the swift has the smallest boot up until now, but this is taking the customer for granted. At 175 ltrs. its just not enough even for the monthly grocery run
- As Indians, we are known to make things fit into the boot, no matter how hard we try. Remember the old Amby's with the boot lid tied to the bumper with the nylon rope? If one tries "fitting" stuff into the boot, not sure how the car will that that with its all glass hatch.
- By making the car decidedly shorter than the Swift, rear legroom has been considerbaly sacrificed. Thereby making this a Driver + Passenger car only. Not sure how Mom's n Dad's will react to the cramped legroom in the rear.
- Lastly, if we look at the segment that will ignore all of the above shortcomings, it aint large enough to generate volumes.

So the car in itself, seems like another Honda the screams quality and sensibility, but not volumes. Then again, this is just one guy whose opinion could come crashing, once we see sales figures post all the festive hoopla.
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Old 8th September 2011, 10:40   #42
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Re: Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

Thanks for the review.
A perfect move to barge into i10's reign. The design looks definitely fresh.
Honda had follo
Hope the mid variant would set the sales chart on fire; it would be a great buy if the OTR comes to anything closer to 4.6 lacs.
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Old 8th September 2011, 10:49   #43
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Re: Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

Thanks guys for a great review and photos. Seems Honda has another winner on its hands.

http://www.team-bhp.com/carpics/Hond...da-brio-08.jpg

Concerned about this though. I predict on our roads, thrown back stones will make mincemeat out of that condenser. Must have a mesh protecting it. Would hardly cost a couple of hundred bucks.
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Old 8th September 2011, 10:56   #44
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Re: Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

Thanks for the review!

This looks like it has that wheel at each corner construction, just like the new (and the old) Swift, which just screams "chuckable".
So for the petrolhead on a budget, what would it be ? The NSS ZXi or the Brio V ?
If purely based on equipment and space (ha!) , the NSS may seem to have an upper hand. But a carefully engineered Honda is worth its weight in Gold(plating).
Can we expect a comparo with the Swift atleast mods ?
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Old 8th September 2011, 10:56   #45
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Re: Honda Brio : Test Drive & Review

Awesome review, Anshuman. I can already imagine the cities being swarmed by these toy cars in various colours. A perfect city car with the Honda brand name is going to cause Honda sleepless nights with regard to the supply to cater to the demand.
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