[SmartCat]

Nissan Grand Livina (without ESP) Vs Malaysian Honda BR-V (with ESP)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hTB6zvyZAc

I guess Indian BR-V would handle like the former under such conditions - quick lane change at 70 kmph

[BUXX]

How sad to see Honda miss offering a class-breaking complete family vehicle and instead launch the Indian BRV without the safety bells & whistles.

[VR4]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue

A bit late in the day but still good to see this in BRV. What about the rear view camera? The Indonesian BRV has the hill hold and ESP which is still missing in the Indian BRV. I also wish they would add diesel automatic to the portfolio.

Rear view camera has added as well.

[SmartCat]

Just came back from a "weekdays vacation" to Chickmagalur, meaning left for a holiday on Monday morning and came back on Friday evening. Result? Very little traffic on highways, no waiting at toll booths and hardly any tourists even at popular tourist spots.

BR-V returned 15 kmpl on this 1,100 km trip (50% highways, 50% hills, AC ON)

Stayed at Yelagudgi Homestay, 30 kms off Chikmagalur:



At Hirekolale Lake:



On the way to Mulliyanagiri Peak:





Mulliyanagiri did not disappoint, it was misty even in the afternoon:





On the way to Baba Budangiri:



A few kms from Baba Budangiri is Galikere lake. The climb to Galikere is very steep on badly broken roads. Half-way, I chickened out of the climb because of frequent wheelspin, rains and water-filled ruts. You can do the climb in 2WD car in dry weather though. Had to settle for this viewpoint though. Ten points for spotting a Mahindra Scoprio gingerly climbing down a hill in the background.



Drive to Devarmane view point, a few kms from Mudigere:





Exploring coffee estate of the homestay owner:

[kbishwa]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Just came back from a "weekdays vacation" to Chickmagalur, meaning left for a holiday on Monday morning and came back on Friday evening. Result? Very little traffic on highways, no waiting at toll booths and hardly any tourists even at popular tourist spots.

BR-V returned 15 kmpl on this 1,100 km trip (50% highways, 50% hills, AC ON)
]

Great idea!!

Lovely photographs..and you love your BRV more than anything else!

Thanks for sharing (trip and idea)

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Just came back from a "weekdays vacation" to Chickmagalur, meaning left for a holiday on Monday morning and came back on Friday evening. Result? Very little traffic on highways, no waiting at toll booths and hardly any tourists even at popular tourist spots.
BR-V returned 15 kmpl on this 1,100 km trip (50% highways, 50% hills, AC ON)
Stayed at Yelagudgi Homestay, 30 kms off Chikmagalur:
At Hirekolale Lake:
On the way to Mulliyanagiri Peak:
Mulliyanagiri did not disappoint, it was misty even in the afternoon:
A few kms from Baba Budangiri is Galikere lake. The climb to Galikere is very steep on badly broken roads. Half-way, I chickened out of the climb because of frequent wheelspin, rains and water-filled ruts. You can do the climb in 2WD car in dry weather though. Had to settle for this viewpoint though. Ten points for spotting a Mahindra Scoprio gingerly climbing down a hill in the background.

Great photos - captures the mood very well. Did my heart good to see the Scorpio finding its way down! - reinforces my belief in RWD/AWD for SUVs.

[wangdu]

The "Hunting" continued with a trip to Kullu/Manali during Dusshera weekend. Drove a total of ~1300 kms (return journey) in ~30 hours with 2 Adults, 2 kids and my Labrador.

Route: Faridabad-Delhi-Ambala-Rupnagar-Bilaspur-Mandi-Kulu-Manali and same for return.

The route is segregated in two parts, the exasperating (after an extent) 230 km through hills (each way) and the more comfortable remaining 400+ km on well laid out tarmac. The drive through the hills is strenuous as it has slopes of varying road quality & angles with heavy truck movement & slow moving vehicles to give company for a very long while. Through these 230 km, I could manage an average speed of max 30-35 kmph when I drove aggressively yet safely.

On the forward journey, started at 4 AM from near Delhi and reached Manali at 9 PM (17 hours), with 1.5 hour of break time in all. A total of 15 odd hours driving during the 2nd Oct & Dusshera long weekend, the longest I’ve done at a stretch.

Stayed at pet friendly ‘Sparsh resorts’, a cost effective and a very nice place to stay which is very near to famous Mall road as well.

On the return, started at 5 AM and reached Delhi at 5 PM with just 15 mins break in total. I had to exit Manali and then Kulu before the city & tourist traffic swell up the roads. And from there on, entry into Delhi would during peak hours, I just kept the gas pedal pressed to cover the distance in time.
Road condition: From Delhi till PB-HP border (~400 km) the roads are great and one can drive at the speed one wants if we leave Delhi early AM. From there on the serpentine drive starts for 230 km through narrow & broken roads. All the desires to drive in hills can be completely satisfied in this trip (till the hills call again). About 100 km from Manali the road conditions aren't great at all (at many places) and what surprises me is that the roads are still being made like it is the first time even after years since Manali got its fame. I wouldn't call it widening work as there's no road at all to begin with.

BRV’s higher GC helped a lot to drive over rocks/stones, speed breakers without a worry where other sedans were slowing down, surgically adjusting approach angles and what not.

Additionally, I visited ‘Rohtang pass’ 50 km drive up the hills and at ~13000 ft above sea level. It was a mesmerizing experience as expected and kudos to CVT the drive up the hill was smooth as the engine wasn’t losing any revs and where the incline is really sharp, a quick shift to ‘S’ mode will give that support required to climb up.

The maneuvering of BRV is as good as a sedan and it galloped fast when required (with the rubber band effect reminders, of course). With CVT taking care of gears et al, I could cover miles without feeling tired. Actually, it wasn’t just me not feeling tired, thanks to the seating and space the whole family (and the pet) felt fine throughout, so much so that we barely stopped on the return.

Overall, BRV purchase decision feels more justified as I embark on short or long journeys. The car not being a mammoth (esp. width wise) like other 7seaters works well in the city, features such as higher GC, comfortable space for family, space for pet or additional passengers/luggage, smooth reliable petrol engine, automatic to relieve the peeving from gear changes are *big big* RoI.

And last but not the least, FE issue seems to have been resolved. The FE has drastically improved from low 11 to low 12 kmpl

Leaving with a few pics. Until next time, Cheers!

YAKs


View from the room early AM (the day looks promising)


SOLAN Valley with Rohtang background



While Trekking



The Beas



3km long Tunnel near kullu


Mighty Rohtang at ~13k ft level.




Following the Army truck convoy made our descent faster as the trucks due to size & respect, rightfully got the right of way.

[SmartCat]

Some BR-V accident pics (received via Whatsapp) -

Accident No. 1: BR-V gets rear ended by Innova. Damage to Innova is higher probably because of it has crumple zones at the front. Still, its surprising that BRV's bumper has not been dislodged by the impact.






Accident No. 2: BRV rear ended a truck. Both airbags deployed and there were no injuries to passengers.

[balenoed_]

Sorry if this is way off topic and being naive.

A friend of mine is comparing between BRV-S petrol variant and Ertiga ZXI to buy.
Having not seen any ownership of S variant in this thread, I am just wondering is it not worth a buy? I have compared the specs between the variants and is clear on that, but just would like to know if there is something lacking with it beyond that, that not many people prefer.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

A friend of mine is comparing between BRV-S petrol variant and Ertiga ZXI to buy. Having not seen any ownership of S variant in this thread, I am just wondering is it not worth a buy? I have compared the specs between the variants and is clear on that, but just would like to know if there is something lacking with it beyond that, that not many people prefer.

S variant offers decent value for money. Missing alloy wheels can be added later. It misses some bling that engine start/stop button and colorful instrumentation cluster of V variant offers though.

Ask your friend to consider Ertiga ZXi+ for the extra features. The choice between the two is easy to make - it all depends on his priorities.

Advantage Ertiga ZXi+:

• Lower price, low maintenance costs & low depreciation
• Tons of features

Advantage BR-V S iVTEC:

• Extra practicality of large boot, easy entry/exit into 3rd row and high ground clearance
• Powerful engine that offers much better acceleration

If he is not in a hurry, he could wait for the new Ertiga
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...en-ertiga.html

[nikipedia87]

The BRV Website suggests that parking sensors are a standard on all variants now, except the base variant. (Screenshot attached)

Can anyone confirm if they have heard anything about this from any of the SAs?

[wangdu]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

Sorry if this is way off topic and being naive.

A friend of mine is comparing between BRV-S petrol variant and Ertiga ZXI to buy.
Having not seen any ownership of S variant in this thread, I am just wondering is it not worth a buy? I have compared the specs between the variants and is clear on that, but just would like to know if there is something lacking with it beyond that, that not many people prefer.

just my 2 cents, why is S being compared with ZXI? Keeping cost aside for a moment, the comparison would be more apt between S and VXI.

But if we do a quick compare even with ZXI, S is safer with airbags, 30 odd extra horses, ACC, projectors, better profile tires (source: auto.ndtv.com) etc. And the big ones IMO are far better urban looks, space (even with all seats up), exclusivity as a private owner and not getting lost in the crowd of taxis. Where Ertiga scores is possibly quicker, better re-sale & lower cost. Cheers!

[SmartCat]

Honda BR-V accessories by Ajanta:
http://www.ajantain.com/honda_brv_accessories

[Satshan]

The BR-V automatic seems to be the ideal choice amongst BRV owners most prominently due to the tried and tested 1.5 i-vtec engine. My question is, why hasn't the Diesel variant not clicked so well in the market? I understand that there is no Diesel Automatic from Honda however talking about the engine characteristics, is it only due to the engine noise or the Hydro locking issue as well? Or something else that has caused its poor sales.

The main reason I am more inclined towards the Diesel variant is due to its mileage and I may plan sooner or later to get the BR-V Diesel. BR-V strikes the right balance between space, looks and mileage at around 12-13 lacs.

[SmartCat]

I picked up a CD slot mobile holder after trying out all types of suction mobile holders priced between Rs. 200 and Rs. 1200. Finally found something that doesn't fall off after sometime. As the name suggests, the mobile holder is placed inside the CD slot of your music system.





Cost me Rs. 450 at https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B06X9SDY63

Originally Posted by Satshan

why hasn't the Diesel variant not clicked so well in the market? I understand that there is no Diesel Automatic from Honda however talking about the engine characteristics, is it only due to the engine noise or the Hydro locking issue as well? Or something else that has caused its poor sales. The main reason I am more inclined towards the Diesel variant is due to its mileage and I may plan sooner or later to get the BR-V Diesel. BR-V strikes the right balance between space, looks and mileage at around 12-13 lacs.

Approximately one third of BR-V sales is of the diesel variant - based on whatsapp group members data

That's probably because BR-V CVT is the cheapest 7 seater around (Ertiga AT is available only on order) and that model has taken the lion's share of the demand. My estimate is that sales mix between petrol MT: petrol AT: diesel MT is 33% each.