[sbiswas]

I am disappointed to know that there will be no CVT for India. People in Thailand do get to enjoy the automatic version. I am sure it would have given better mileage than the i10 AT.

[sydras]

Originally Posted by sbiswas

I am disappointed to know that there will be no CVT for India. People in Thailand do get to enjoy the automatic version. I am sure it would have given better mileage than the i10 AT.

I agree. At first, I was quite excited about the lighter Brio getting the same silent and efficient 1.2L engine that pulls the much heavier Jazz. It would've had very good performance. But I then read that they would de-tune the engine for fuel efficiency. (Still, I'm hoping that it will be fun to drive.)

The de-tuning would definitely give better mileage figures than the i10 AT. Also I believe that some folks on this forum have reported that the i10 AT mileage figures are not very good so I'm guessing that the AT Brio's mileage figures would've been better.

I am still not able to come to terms with Honda's strategy in not launching an AT. Honda could've really carved a niche for itself in the promising AT hatch segment. Right now, it's only competition would be the A-Star and i10 and worst case, it would sell in some numbers due to sheer lack of competition.

More Brios on the road would lead to more awareness which would lead to more sales. AT or non-AT would not matter. The presence is more important to sell more cars. After all, a significant portion of sales in India happen due to herd mentality. Many of us wait for neighbours, friends etc. to take the plunge and get an idea of whether to purchase the car or not.

Maybe they figure that the manual will sell anyway. Undoubtedly, it's a decent package. But competition is fierce and they are generally much quicker to respond that Honda.

Only time will tell whether Honda has got it's India strategy right.

Originally Posted by anu21v

Hell_rider, I couldnt have put in better words,
Since Not only the Exterior design but also on Size and exterior Dimensions are closest to Beat, I find it surprising as to why this car is compared to swift, polo, micra etc, whereas it should have been just compared with i10, beat and Ritz. (I pointed it in my previous posts on this thread pg-7). I would love to see how it stacks up with these three cars than any other cars.

Comparing the Brio to the Beat does not do it justice in my opinion. This is purely my experience during the many test drives that I took during my car purchase, but the Chevy hatchback build (esp. the poor beige plastic in the Spark, the flimsy doors on the Beat. The Cruze and Captiva are good but I heard creaking on the heavy doors of the Cruze TD vehicle.) did not seem to match any Honda that I TD'ed.

The interiors as you mentioned are much more upmarket(It's like, Honda did not know how to do cost cutting. Good for new customers,bad for old Honda customers seeing a small car similar in quality to their cars) and the in-cabin space is typical Honda and more roomier that the beat.

On a more lighter note, many folks I know have niggling issues with their Chevy sparks and beats and they keep telling each other to drive the car more for many kms to get out all the issues. I tell them to go and buy a Jap car instead . They are the cars you want to buy if you plan to keep the car for many years.

[C300]

Originally Posted by baluundertaker

Typically when we open the boot, we tend to to slam it down(mostly unintentionally). With a totally glass boot door, will it be as sturdy as a metal door - does anyone think there is any danger of damage to the glass door on heavy use ??

Personally find the rear kind of attractive though very quirky to say the least.

Apart from heavy use the biggest risk is the Autos and Bikers slamming the rear end. Will it withstand the impact? Fixing a dent seems much easier than replacing the glass door.

[hell_rider]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

Dont understand yout point ? Is it that Brio interiors dont feel as plush as City/Civic ? Well do you really think comparing a 4-5L interiors with 9-12L car interiors is a fair comparo ? You should be comparing them to the interiors of the cars in its segment - i10, Ritz, A-Star, Beat, Liva etc. On the other hand, if you are indeed saying that its interiors feel cheap compared to its competition, i wonder how did you have a chance to look at them without car being launched (photos can be deceptive and besides they dont look cheap at all in the pics compared to competiton).

I don't believe I was comparing the Brio to the City / Civic. If you read my post which An quoted and to which I subsequently responded, you will find I compared the Jazz to the i20 and the Brio to the Beat.

There is no reason to wonder how I commented on the interiors of the Brio before launch. I very clearly stated that my opinion was purely based on the pictures in the review.

Now, if you feel that the Jazz's interiors do not look cheap or utilitarian compared to, say the i20's interiors, then I respect your right to that opinion, and will not argue that, of course, on the basis that my opinion too will be respected.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

I do not agree with you on this.

Honda has always gives us quality products that don't 'feel cheap', like Marutis. The quality of plastics and parts in the interiors are great, and they do meet international standards. The only thing they skim on, is features, like auto-climate-control and auto-mirrors. We would have loved them on the Jazz and the City.

Same as above Suhaas. For the price of the Jazz (even more so before the price cut), my opinion is that the interiors are decidedly downmarket, almost a generation older, as compared to an i20.

Also driving a six to 8 odd month old Jazz recently did not inspire the sense of quality one would expect from a Honda. Again thats my opinion.

My opinion on the Brio / Jazz / Liva should not be considered as anti Honda or anti Toyota. Far from it. I believe the City / Civic / Altis for e.g. are examples of superior flawless Japanese engineering. I just don't believe they can build satisfying budget cars. I'm just saying I'm not going to extend Honda or Toyota the same respect for every car they manufacture, based on the quality of their more expensive and established products. Its a free market and I will judge each product on its own, and will not accept every new product as being of excellent quality just because of a Japanese badge.

Often a lower rated manufacturer's best effort can surpass the mediocre effort of a highly rated manufacturer.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by hell_rider

Now, if you feel that the Jazz's interiors do not look cheap or utilitarian compared to, say the i20's interiors, then I respect your right to that opinion, and will not argue that, of course, on the basis that my opinion too will be respected.



Same as above Suhaas. For the price of the Jazz (even more so before the price cut), my opinion is that the interiors are decidedly downmarket, almost a generation older, as compared to an i20.

Also driving a six to 8 odd month old Jazz recently did not inspire the sense of quality one would expect from a Honda. Again thats my opinion.

My opinion on the Brio / Jazz / Liva should not be considered as anti Honda or anti Toyota. Far from it. I believe the City / Civic / Altis for e.g. are examples of superior flawless Japanese engineering. I just don't believe they can build satisfying budget cars. I'm just saying I'm not going to extend Honda or Toyota the same respect for every car they manufacture, based on the quality of their more expensive and established products. Its a free market and I will judge each product on its own, and will not accept every new product as being of excellent quality just because of a Japanese badge.

Often a lower rated manufacturer's best effort can surpass the mediocre effort of a highly rated manufacturer.

We own a 2010 Honda Jazz. It was well before the price cut, that happened last month. We also own a 2006 Honda Civic S. In terms of interior quality, I find very little difference. The switch-gear like the stalks and buttons, etc. are nearly identical, while the quality in the Jazz is marginally lower than the Civic. It's very negligible, I'd say. One will not be able to differentiate too easily.

The Jazz boasts of superior quality. It's easily on par with the Skoda Fabia and the VW Polo, both cars I'd say boast of brilliant quality for hatchbacks in India.

The City, on the other hand, doesn't feel as premium on the inside. Some parts do feel a little cheap and it definitely feels a notch below the Jazz.

Remember, the City is a product by Honda that was engineered for developing markets. It is based on the Jazz platform. Where as, the Jazz is an international product and is sold alongside other Hondas in US and European markets.

The plastics in the i20 are pretty decent I'd say. But IMO, it doesn't feel as plush and as solid as the Jazz on the inside. I have several friends who own and drive i20s and they've driven my Jazz too, and they'd say the same thing!

I do not accept every new product of Japanese engineering as flawless either. Case in point, the Liva. It is a huge let-down IMO, in terms of quality. The cost-cutting is very prominent. The Jazz and the cheaper Brio don't suffer from this. If it was about the badge, then Toyota would have come out tops too. But not quite, in reality.

[karty_83]

Originally Posted by Reddy@Hyd

I went to honda showroom today to enquire about waiting period.I was told more than 3 months.
Is it true at all places?

3 months

I had read in one of the threads about Jazz having a waiting period because Honda was focusing on the Brio. And now Brio too has a 3 month waiting period.

[anu21v]

Originally Posted by sydras

Comparing the Brio to the Beat does not do it justice in my opinion. This is purely my experience during the many test drives that I took during my car purchase, but the Chevy hatchback build (esp. the poor beige plastic in the Spark, the flimsy doors on the Beat. The Cruze and Captiva are good but I heard creaking on the heavy doors of the Cruze TD vehicle.) did not seem to match any Honda that I TD'ed.

The interiors as you mentioned are much more upmarket(It's like, Honda did not know how to do cost cutting. Good for new customers,bad for old Honda customers seeing a small car similar in quality to their cars) and the in-cabin space is typical Honda and more roomier that the beat.

On a more lighter note, many folks I know have niggling issues with their Chevy sparks and beats and they keep telling each other to drive the car more for many kms to get out all the issues. I tell them to go and buy a Jap car instead . They are the cars you want to buy if you plan to keep the car for many years.

First of all, I didnt ask Brio to be compared with Cruze, Captiva or Spark. Competition is always either with Similar sized Cars or Similar priced Cars. In this case Brio's price might come out to be similar with Polo, Swift and Punto, but size wise it still is comparable only with i10, Beat and A-Star.

Also, dont know where from this notion of flimsy door has come, Beat with almost 100 KG higher weight than i10, 70 Kgs higher than Liva and Micra with a smaller dimension is most certainly heavier/Sturdier built car . Beat owners on the forum can refute or support my view.

Also, I would like to take a look at these two images below. I understand that Honda should be able to beat (pun Intended ) its competition black and blue but still the comparison always happens with current set of best competitors. Given below are comparisons on IQS and This Month's one Media report (HT)

Published on HT Media on 7th Sep 2011


JD Power Annual IQS ranking Jan 2011

[myavu]

Originally Posted by anu21v

Also, dont know where from this notion of flimsy door has come, Beat with almost 100 KG higher weight than i10, 70 Kgs higher than Liva and Micra with a smaller dimension is most certainly heavier/Sturdier built car . Beat owners on the forum can refute or support my view.

Beat is not at all a flimsy built car. There is no rattle or squeak in Beat. Brio can easily be compared to Beat (only part Brio outsmart Beat is power and handling) But then Beat compliment those with excellent ride, superb steering, and nice interiors (super dash and console), etc. No cost cutting anywhere.

I had already mentioned this earlier on this thread. Here is link to the post

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post2498264

Originally Posted by sydras

On a more lighter note, many folks I know have niggling issues with their Chevy sparks and beats and they keep telling each other to drive the car more for many kms to get out all the issues. I tell them to go and buy a Jap car instead . They are the cars you want to buy if you plan to keep the car for many years.

Can you you throw some light into - what kind of niggles are they facing in Beat?

Brio is built for emerging markets like India. Honda did much better than what Toyota did with Liva. They just put the interior theme beige and that translates into more space (if you measure with an inch tape there will be more room than a Beat or say Spark.) But then we must take the exterior measurements and calculate with respect to that. In that case Spark outsmarts all with amazing space with respect to the exterior dimension. (recently they too did a beige surgery) I hate beige interiors. Very difficult to maintain. Back to Brio, they had chopped dash and door panels to create room. I have seen many cars with center console with symmetry (like Beat, Figo) and tilted towards to driver (like Palio, Ikon). But first I am seeing the Audio console tilted towards Passenger.

So you are saying that only Honda cars (Jap cars) can last for many years. So as per you a Beat or Spark will not last for at least 10 years or even more! Bad perception.

Brio is a good car. But don't call it's competition flimsy.

Cheers!

[Topolino]

Originally Posted by anu21v

Also, dont know where from this notion of flimsy door has come, Beat with almost 100 KG higher weight than i10, 70 Kgs higher than Liva and Micra with a smaller dimension is most certainly heavier/Sturdier built car. Beat owners on the forum can refute or support my view.

Originally Posted by myavu

Beat is not at all a flimsy built car. There is no rattle or squeak in Beat.
Brio is a good car. But don't call it's competition flimsy.

Cheers!

Beat is a very nicely build car, It is not at all filmsy.

Originally Posted by sydras

On a more lighter note, many folks I know have niggling issues with their Chevy sparks and beats and they keep telling each other to drive the car more for many kms to get out all the issues. I tell them to go and buy a Jap car instead . They are the cars you want to buy if you plan to keep the car for many years.

I do not agree at all. Even after driving on all sorts of roads, terrain and weather for almost one and half year there is no rattle or squeak or any problem from engine or suspension side in my Beat. I must say all the people whom I know having Spark/Beat are very satisfied owners and have never given negative comments about the cars.

[karty_83]

Originally Posted by sydras

On a more lighter note, many folks I know have niggling issues with their Chevy sparks and beats and they keep telling each other to drive the car more for many kms to get out all the issues. I tell them to go and buy a Jap car instead . They are the cars you want to buy if you plan to keep the car for many years.

I beg to disagree on this. We have a Spark and a Beat in the family for over a year now. We have had no issues whatsoever. The only complaint i can think of is A.S.S.
One shouldn't write them off just because Jap cars are better. They are pretty capable in their own right.

[Reddy@Hyd]

Got a chance to check Brio today.I didn't feel like looking a new car because the pics in this review have already shown everything
Interiors are very good for this price range,Even 3 can be seated comfortably in rear.Leg space is good and only concern is head room.If we sit straight there will be almost no gap for a person of height 5.10.forget about 6 foot.I guess that is the reason for the slant rear seats.

The only let down to me was boot space,it's almost negligible just like A-star

[creative420]

Originally Posted by Reddy@Hyd

Got a chance to check Brio today.I didn't feel like looking a new car because the pics in this review have already shown everything
Interiors are very good for this price range,Even 3 can be seated comfortably in rear.Leg space is good and only concern is head room.If we sit straight there will be almost no gap for a person of height 5.10.forget about 6 foot.I guess that is the reason for the slant rear seats.

The only let down to me was boot space,it's almost negligible just like A-star

Any word about the monies? And did you take any pictures? Launch date? Finally, what was the colour of the Brio you checked out?

[acroback]

Originally Posted by Reddy@Hyd

Got a chance to check Brio today.I didn't feel like looking a new car because the pics in this review have already shown everything
Interiors are very good for this price range,Even 3 can be seated comfortably in rear.Leg space is good and only concern is head room.If we sit straight there will be almost no gap for a person of height 5.10.forget about 6 foot.I guess that is the reason for the slant rear seats.

The only let down to me was boot space,it's almost negligible just like A-star

What are your views about the size of Honda Brio and say e.g a Hyundai i10?
In terms of both outer dimensions and internal space, provided you peeped inside for sometime

[Reddy@Hyd]

Originally Posted by acroback

What are your views about the size of Honda Brio and say e.g a Hyundai i10?
In terms of both outer dimensions and internal space, provided you peeped inside for sometime

Ya i got some time to peep inside.My head was almost touching the roof.I'm 5.9.i10 is a bit taller also boot space is good in i10,apart from these 2 factors Brio beats i10 in all other aspects to me

[Cooltronics]

Originally Posted by karty_83

3 months

I had read in one of the threads about Jazz having a waiting period because Honda was focusing on the Brio. And now Brio too has a 3 month waiting period.

I doubt if this is true, when i inquired with HONDA dealer in Bangalore, I was being told by the sales man that bookings would start only after their soft launch in September end. As the bookings are not open ( if I assume what I heard is correct ), there is no question of waiting period.