Team-BHP - Honda Brio (Automatic) : Official Review

Thanks Anil & M00M for the response.

I went to take a test ride of the car.

When driven with a light foot - the car was smooth, silent and the gear shifts were hardly noticeable.

Just when I pressed the accelerator, I could feel that the car was delaying the upshifts (as mentioned in the official review as well). The gear shifts were now noticeable and jerky.

But, the engine was noticeably loud even at just 2.5-3K RPMs. Not like a nice engine revving note, but noisy sound.

i did not expect that from an iVtec engine, known for high revving.

Is it common to Brio ATs, or was it car specific?

The car is 29K KMs run and serviced regularly at 6 months interval (approx every 4k KM). So, I am wondering what could be the reason for the unpleasant sound?

Could the reason be that being a lady driven strictly city car, it was never high revved at all, so the engine now is no more a free revving engine?

Can this issue of the engine be reversed/corrected? I am asking because Brio AT being a rare car, I would like to close in on this deal if this engine issue can be resolved.

So the Brio AT is the old torque converter unit. While the AT box is good or ok but the 1.2 has only 3 cylinders so it's down on power and the torque converter saps power so that's why you get the buzzing noise . It's normal it's not meant to be driven enthusiastically the Brio AT. It's a sedate city car perfect for women and people who drive sedately. It's a commuter. You can't go wrong with it.

I personally find it underpowered compared to my City and CRV mind you even the City at 120 sounds boomy and the lack of a 6th gear is evident.

I bought the Brio AT for my mom who drives around short distances and had never used an AT before but she got used to it quickly and now she won't drive anything else.

Hope all this helps make you a decision.

Quote:

Originally Posted by M00M (Post 4214053)

...the 1.2 has only 3 cylinders so it's down on power... it's not meant to be driven enthusiastically the Brio AT. It's a sedate city car perfect for women and people who drive sedately...

This is completely opposite to what I had in mind. I always thought brio to be fast and zippy.

Quoting anshuman from brio MT review -

Quote:

...
The real fun though is on the open road. Simply put, the Brio is more fun to drive than even the Jazz. The engine feels eager to revv & refined, even at high rpms, like any other Honda. With a kerb weight that rivals 100+ BHP Polo 1.6's, the Brio accelerates clean to a 100 kph. The mid range & top end is where this motor feels simply brilliant; performance is good enough to put a huge grin on your face. Out on national highways, the Brio can get thoroughly entertaining to drive. In good hands, it can easily keep up with (and embarrass) some cars from two segments higher. You make rapid progress on the open road, and all that's required to overtake fast moving vehicles is a downshift. One sore spot is that the engine revvs "only" to ~6,600 rpm, where the electronic revv limiter cuts in. The engine is easily capable of going higher up, but Honda's engineers decided otherwise. At 100 kph in 5th gear, the engine is spinning at 3000 rpm...

Also, the 1.2 is a 4 cylinder unit and not a 3 cylinder motor. I just checked honda's site.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ank.nsit (Post 4214139)

This is completely opposite to what I had in mind. I always thought brio to be fast and zippy

Also, the 1.2 is a 4 cylinder unit and not a 3 cylinder motor. I just checked honda's site.

The manual is quite zippy and fun. AT box saps performance so it makes it a sedate car to drive but it's definitely slightly underpowered for the highway.

Thanks for correcting me I was myself unsure I always thought it was a 4 cylinder but then it behaves like a 3 atleast the AT.

My sister has a manual Brio which can be driven very enthusiastically but the AT is a different animal.

Since you're buying it for your wife to use in the city trust me you won't go wrong with it.

I used to have an i10 but this car is far better than the i10, maintenance free and better mileage even though it's an AT

Quote:

Originally Posted by ank.nsit (Post 4214044)

When driven with a light foot - the car was smooth, silent and the gear shifts were hardly noticeable.

Just when I pressed the accelerator, I could feel that the car was delaying the upshifts (as mentioned in the official review as well). The gear shifts were now noticeable and jerky.

But, the engine was noticeably loud even at just 2.5-3K RPMs. Not like a nice engine revving note, but noisy sound.

If you drive with a gentle foot and most normal conditions, the shifts are imperceptible. Mash the right foot mercilessly, and mine shifts with a noticeable jerk from 1st -> 2nd. 2nd->3rd are slightly less so under same conditions, and 3rd->4th->5th progression is quite smooth regardless of how far deep your right foot is buried.
How did the engine sound at idle ?
At 80 kmph, the engine should be turning at a lazy-ish ~1900 rpm, at which it barely sounds like a whisper. After 2.5-3k it sounds slightly buzzy, which I think is normal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sajo (Post 4214297)

At idle the engine was silent. The engine was noisy loud n harsh at 2.5-3k. buzzy is normal but loud and noisy isn't I guess.

Quote:

Originally Posted by starter (Post 4243994)

Hello Brio Owners,
We have bought a '17 Brio Automatic and had a couple of queries:
1. Is there a way to get the ORVMs close automatically upon locking the car?
2. Is there a way to get the doors locked automatically once we cross a certain speed limit?
Cheers,
Deepak

you can go to your honda dealer and ask him to install auto fold. it costs 3000.

i havent checked into door auto lock.

Quote:

Originally Posted by M00M (Post 4244088)

you can go to your honda dealer and ask him to install auto fold. it costs 3000.

i havent checked into door auto lock.

Thanks M00M. I did not know that there was a honda accessory which could be installed to auto fold the ORVMs. I shall definitely try it out during my first service.

Cheers,
Deepak

Quote:

Originally Posted by starter (Post 4244432)

Thanks M00M. I did not know that there was a honda accessory which could be installed to auto fold the ORVMs. I shall definitely try it out during my first service.

Cheers,

Deepak

If you have any difficulty let me know I will try to help you out.

Also If you find out about auto lock let me know.

I didn't feel the need for it so didn't look into it . But I will now check with my SA and others when I get a chance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgiitk (Post 3811768)

I have a Brio AT and would have loved a CVT, more economical and lighter. The car is used for town driving and rubber-banding does not matter.

The Amaze comes with a CVT. It's basically a Brio with a boot.

EDIT: Didn't notice I quoted a two year old post.

Anyone owning a Brio AT who is not satisfied with the AC performance in the car?

I have driven it twice on the open roads and both times it was in hot weather. Not summer hot but Chennai during June-July hot. Both times I found the AC barely sufficient only when it was running at the max blower position. Anything less, it was sweating like sauna even though there was cool air coming out of the vents.

They recently did the 40K service on the car and even topped the coolant is what my sister says. Should I look for any debris in the condenser coils? Or is it just that Brio is not that good in cooling?

This was very much apparent after travelling in a colleague's Wagon-R (Blue eyed boy).

Please help sort out this issue. The car has become much smoother to drive after the service and there is almost no indication of the gears shifting now. Loving the car for that but can't really live without a good AC in this part of the country.

The hesitation in the transmission is a Honda trait inherited from the Civic (the original / source of the AT). So when I saw it I found in quite familiar. As for the Aircon it was pretty good till the compressor more or less failed on my Brio. I am waiting for the new compressor to come, since I found the Honda quote somewhat extreme.