[samabhi]

Great reivew Aditya and Rehaan. Rated the thread a well deserved 5 stars.

BR-V is on top of the list for my next car, mainly for the 6 seater and iVtec package. The other contender is Innova Crysta GX. Ruled out XUV 500 from the list as I want to have a trouble free ownership and I intend to keep the new car for a long time to come.

Cramped middle row and the high pricing are my biggest concerns to go ahead with the BR-V. With their over pricing of the BR-V, Honda has made me to even consider the new Innova Crysta as it is reachable with a stretch of 4L and I think its totally VFM with its good build quality when compared to BR-V. Fit and finish of the Innova is way ahead of BR-V. Even though the base GX version lacks equipment, its not a deal breaker for the value it offers. I know both are two different segments, but for me I am only looking at the 7 seater options that can seat my family of 4 adults and 2 kids in comfort. I was initially hoping for the BR-V CVT to be available at ~12 - 13L OTR in Bangalore, but at 15L, it definitely feels overpriced.

No doubt the BR-V is a perfect Urban drive car. I found the ride quality to be very good and the tall humps in Bangalore could be handled very easily during my test drive. But my other biggest question is how comfortable the occupants will be in the BR-V over long distance travels. For comparison, my family feels totally exhausted in my i10 for any distances over 300 Kms and doesnt feel the same in the Innova. Since I plan to use my next car for frequent long distance travels, will BR-V fit my requirements? I have asked for a longer test drive of the iVTec variant on the highway and waiting for it to happen sometime early next week. Only then I will make a decision whether to go ahead with it or not. Moreover Honda dealer offered a competitive buy-back price for my i10

BR-V is a good product that cannot be ignored for anyone looking at a 7 seater. It provides 80% of space when compared to Innova and at 70% of the price which is very hard to over look.

Originally Posted by Aditya

• First service at 1,000 km, second service at 5,000 km, third service at 10,000 km. Then, service intervals of 10,000 km. Initial 3 services are free.

I was told the service interval for the BR-V is every 6 months or 10,000 km after the initial free services. Is it true about the 6 months interval? And if it is, the additional maintenance cost will have to be accounted too. I know most of the cars have the 10,000 KM or 1 year service interval. For a car with low running, 6 month service interval is a big bummer. Ask any previous gen i10 owner. . I own one too and still pay close to 8k every 6 months for its periodic maintenance.

Originally Posted by smartcat

Regarding missing AVN system with rear camera & front arm rest

Both these are dealer options and I intend to get them fitted immediately after PDI. Unfortunately, these two options add Rs. 40,000 to the on-road price (14.8 + 0.4 = Rs. 15.2 lacs for automatic). So when I take delivery of the car, it will hopefully look like this -

Attachment 1510588

This is a very good addition and not too expensive for what it offers. And the fit looks good too. Where did you get this picture from?

Originally Posted by smartcat

5) Engine start/stop button (useless feature according to me!)
6) Keyless entry (useful!)

OT: I somehow prefer the conventional keys to start/stop the car. I use Mahindra Reva E2O for my City drives and it comes with a Start/Stop button. While many manufactures offer it as an exquisite feature, I somehow found it very impractical. I usually drive along with my wife till my office and then my wife drives the car to her office. There are couple of instances where I forgot the key in my pocket and my wife realized it only after reaching her office. There was another time where the key was lost somewhere in the car and I had to get the spare key from home through our driver, only to find later the other key somewhere hidden in between the front seats. This might sound silly, but very much possible in our busy life.

[aptiwa]

Originally Posted by avdhesh15

As I said, depends on how often you want to ferry folks around. If it's 1+2+2, you're fine. If more, then you need the last row. Having said that, what is BRV offering over Ertiga is the question I posed in the end.

A much better looking car, more storage space, a more powerful petrol engine and a significantly better CVT.

Originally Posted by avdhesh15

Err... why are other manufacturers across the board offering this? Including Honda in the CITY which I have? I think you have discovered a major flaw in the law my friend!

It's not the flaw in the law, it's the flaw in the folks implementing it.

Originally Posted by avdhesh15

With you comment on the phone and this one, I don't want to comment further. Are you a senior citizen by chance?

That's just offensive dude. Especially to all the folks who do their own ICE systems and other mods.

Originally Posted by avdhesh15

Honda ain't premium no more. Please read various posts and official reviews of the Honda's since last year.

Originally Posted by avdhesh15

Disagree - Maruti and Toyota sell because of quality in product and after sales. Pl read the Honda City niggles thread and you will understand.
As many folks have pointed out, with the quality issues out in the public domain, this trend might not continue once the new Verna is launched next year. Ciaz has been extremely close for past 3 months by the way.

I checked in the last 2 sales threads, the City outsells all sedans (unless you consider Swift Dzire as one). So, irrespective of what the niggles might make many on t-bhp think, the market still considers it as a really good car. Put the same engine + gearbox in a more usable body and yes I'm interested.

Let's just agree to disagree.

[romeomidhun]

Side profile clearly implies an MPV. Shortening the cabin and elongating the bonnet area will make it more SUV'ish, IMO.

[A350XWB]

Originally Posted by Aditya

• Scored 5 Stars in the ASEAN NCAP crash tests - related link.

The 5 stars were awarded for the version having seat belt reminders for both front occupants and Electronic Stability Control (ESC), both of which are not available in the Indian variant. So technically, everything else being same, the Indian car gets a maximum of 4 stars (Article).

[smsrini]

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

Side profile clearly implies an MPV. Shortening the cabin and elongating the bonnet area will make it more SUV'ish, IMO.

Shorten the rear door to get a much better SUV shape... you will have to make the rear quarter glass longer...

[avdhesh15]

Originally Posted by samabhi

Is it true about the 6 months interval? And if it is, the additional maintenance cost will have to be accounted too.

It's true. My City has the same and it has been bashed multiple times across threads. There are members who are "coerced" to get service done in 6 months with as less as 3k km for the fear of losing warranty!

Originally Posted by aptiwa

Let's just agree to disagree.

Agreed. I think members including RavenAvi and CrazyDriver have explained what I was trying to explain in a much better manner .

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by samabhi

OT: I somehow prefer the conventional keys to start/stop the car. I use Mahindra Reva E2O for my City drives and it comes with a Start/Stop button. While many manufactures offer it as an exquisite feature, I somehow found it very impractical. I usually drive along with my wife till my office and then my wife drives the car to her office. There are couple of instances where I forgot the key in my pocket and my wife realized it only after reaching her office. There was another time where the key was lost somewhere in the car and I had to get the spare key from home through our driver, only to find later the other key somewhere hidden in between the front seats. This might sound silly, but very much possible in our busy life.

I would have though that the moment the car keys go out of range, the car should have stopped or at least given some warning.

[Hvt77]

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

Side profile clearly implies an MPV. Shortening the cabin and elongating the bonnet area will make it more SUV'ish, IMO.

Ha ha, looks like today the creative juices are flowing real free on TBHP!

All this photo-shopping has brought back memories of Autocad-ing days from Mech engineering...howz this Honda Brezza look?!

[Ehsank78]

I feel Honda will struggle to sell BR-V as well. It has tough competition. I think BR-V is nothing but a slightly improved Mobilio.

Honda India has lost its vision in the hope of increasing its market share. Why cant they just close their eyes and bring in the Honda Oddysey and take on the Innova head on?

[samy1117]

I feel Honda BR-V will fail miserably just like Mobilio did. Interiors and overall build quality is big letdown in BR-V which costs more than Honda City on road.
How can a car which costs 10Lakhs+ on road comes with the Head Unit like 3Lakhs+ car?

Maybe, Honda engineers thought that giving two extra sheets plus high ground clearance would justify the pricing.

Lately, Honda has become very greedy and comes up with cost cutting everywhere. They are not learning lessons and still churning out cars with subpar quality.

Earlier, Honda was known for Technology and Quality. Nowadays, only technology remains.

[DrivingNirvana]

Excellent review, Aditya! Honda BR-V, in my personal opinion is a miss by Honda. I just can not understand in what direction the company wants to move on. The manufacturer has only been successful in two things in my opinion. Firstly, the ground clearance is good and secondly, it has seven seats, though comfort levels would be doubtful when seven people are actually packed in. (No offence to the prospective BR-V buyers).

The slider knob for AC recirculation, the MID stalk are some of the very basic mistakes which Honda has committed. No reverse camera or parking sensors in a car of this size and at this price segment?

It is also mentioned in the review rightly by Aditya that sheet metals are thin. The thuds from the shutting doors are also missing. It is very disheartening to see Honda moving towards a backward direction, especially when this is the company that used to manufacture older generation City and Civic.

Regards

Saubhik

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by samabhi

This is a very good addition and not too expensive for what it offers. And the fit looks good too. Where did you get this picture from?

Oh, I just flicked that image from the "Honda BR-V Preview in Japan" thread. I have no idea about how the unit offered by the dealer will look.

Originally Posted by DrivingNirvana

It is also mentioned in the review rightly by Aditya that sheet metals are thin. The thuds from the shutting doors are also missing. It is very disheartening to see Honda moving towards a backward direction, especially when this is the company that used to manufacture older generation City and Civic.

Personally, even I like my cars to feel heavy and doors close with a solid thud. Renault Duster is built that way, and I loved it. Try lifting Duster's bonnet or the rear hatch with one hand and you'll know what I mean.

However, light build does not necessary mean "bad build quality". Remember, this is a car that has got 5 star safety (with ESC) rating for adults and 4 star safety rating for children. Getting a 4 star safety rating for children is really a very big deal. It means the BR-V is strong where it really needs to be.

It's just that cars getting lighter is the way forward because lower weight = better fuel economy, better acceleration and better handling.

To me, a car has bad build quality if your hear rattles after a few thousand kms. A car has bad build quality if small bits in the interior start falling off. So the real assessment of build quality can only be done after owners report it on team-bhp in their ownership reports.

However, you could say that attention to detail is poor in the BR-V, with all the exposed nuts and exposed wires.

[Hvt77]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Oh, I just flicked that image from the "Honda BR-V Preview in Japan" thread. I have no idea about how the unit offered by the dealer will look.

Guys, the official brochure list is out on the BRV micro-site (click below):

BRV Accessories Brochure

No mention of the AVN / Rear Camera still!

[samabhi]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

I would have though that the moment the car keys go out of range, the car should have stopped or at least given some warning.

Not with the E2O though. Not sure about the other cars.

Originally Posted by smartcat

Oh, I just flicked that image from the "Honda BR-V Preview in Japan" thread. I have no idea about how the unit offered by the dealer will look.

Ah ok. I thought its the one that is being offered by the dealer.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by samabhi

Not with the E2O though. Not sure about the other cars.

It's very good in Hyundai cars and I have personally tried these scenarios in the Xcent SX(o). Doesn't even stop beeping (loud) once the driver gets out with the key and closes the door. Displays a "key out" warning message as well.

Coupled with keyless entry and keyless start stop, this is one very convenient feature to have, and the key never needs to come out of the pocket.