For the past 13+ years, my 'travel partner' was Honda Jazz, a car that served extremely well. It had run about 80k kms - not much for a car. However, my runs became limited after Covid and I was mostly working from home since about 2019 onwards. There are times, when due to change of context, one takes a decision in favour of a change.
Few points about me:
- Am on the wrong side of 60 and needed a vehicle that I can keep for a long time.
- Am a defensive driver but drive the car at an appropriate speed given the situation, with a safety-first approach.
Started looking for a car that will address my above points and
- Has basic creature comforts, have good GC.
- has Good boot space ~ 400 litres
- can seat 5 people
After driving and having a trouble free Honda Jazz, I was clear that I wanted a NA engine with a more powerful Engine (as compared to Jazz) - the only option was a 1500 cc vehicle. Plus I also had the thoughts of driving some medium and long-distance drives, so needed a vehicle that will run without issues. One might say most of the vehicles serve the latter purpose. However, my bias was towards a Honda make vehicle.
In 2024 just before Diwali, started looking around vehicle and shortlisting the vehicles and the following vehicles were shortlisted, in no particular order:
- Honda Elevate
- Skoda Kushaq
- Citroen Aircross
- Offerings from Renault
- Toyota Hyryder
- Nissan Magnite
I had a test drive of Kushaq - the short drive was a good one but one short coming that I felt was that the clutch was way too long for me. Am on the shorter side and I felt that that could pose an issue down the road. And more importantly, the SA was pushing Kushaq in the mid variant with 2 Airbags with good discounts. But when it came to the variants with 6 Airbags the discounts started disappearing. And Skoda at that time, started withdrawing the 1.5 Litre Engine from their repertoire and that was something that went against them in my decision making process.
Citroen met with all the requirements, but my wife felt that it was a much 'bigger' car as compared to our needs and also our Jazz. And that the manufacturer did not try and go for Safety ratings was a dampener. Also in between Citroen closed their existing dealership and the after a gap of almost 2 months, gave the dealership to Jeep, also didn't infuse much of confidence.
And then took a look at the mild hybrid variant of Toyota Hyryder. The SA asked me to take a test drive. But, in the meantime, I had awful amount of professional work and that 'time' never came for me to have a test drive.
Then, my wife and I went to the nearby Honda Dealer from whom we had bought the Jazz. He showed me the vehicle. My wife was impressed by the overall vehicle. Exteriors, the interiors. And then after sometime took a test drive - spanning about 2.5 kms. I found that the vehicle was easy to handle and manoeuvre. It was like driving Jazz, to put it simply. Also the 'noise' that so many persons written about, didn't bother me. The vehicle inspired confidence.
This dealer didn't do any follow up. Absolutely zilch. Then, I realized that there is dealer who had set up the short quite sometime and called them. And then it was a stark difference in their approach. Follow-ups were regular. But by then, it was Dec. 10th and decided to buy a new vehicle on or after Makar Sankranti / Pongal.
With this dealer also took a test drive and this time, my wife accompanied. She felt very comfortable in the vehicle and also told me that it is very roomy inside.
The SA kept in touch with me continually, unlike any other dealer. The only exception was the Skoda person. One day I informed that Kushaq is not being considered.
And then 2 points of distraction came up:
a. Introduction of Skoda Kylaq
b. Introduction of upgraded Honda Amaze
With Kylaq, am reminded of an Olympic 800m Running event, where India was represented by Sriram singh in the finals of the 800 metre run. In the finals, the commentor narrated somewhat as under: “Sriam ne daud lagaya, aur sabse aage hain…Sriram daud rahen hai…Sriram daud rahe hain…” and concluded saying, “kadi mehnet ke baad bi Sriram ne 800 m run aakhir mein aaye”. Similarly, Kylaq is going thru the motions of running, but with so much time being taken, I decided to leave Kylaq alone.
Honda Amaze: For a moment, I was tempted to look at this vehicle but gave it the pushback – because I will be back with the same 1.2 litre Engine albeit in the form of a Sedan.
Also took a look at Nissan Magnite: One of my problems is I take a look at a vehicle – am tempted to compare it with my then current vehicle – Jazz. Mine was a Jazz X, the top end variant that had a very neat fit and finish. And very few cars could match upto that. And when it came to replacing Jazz, it was hard because of the inevitable comparison. And so from that perspective, Nissan Magnite also didn’t make the cut.
Honda Dealer: The dealer’s personnel were taking things too easy. After the test drive was done, no follow up call from them. Even from other dealers, save for Skoda, no one called. May be because, they thought they were dealing with an oldie, who they thought is wasting their time
Then, one day I saw that Landmark Honda is having a dealership at Indore as well. Just like that I sent a message and that set in motion a chain of events. As compared to any other dealers, these guys did lots of follow up. I told them, if I buy a vehicle, it will be after Makar Sankranti / Pongal. And around 8th / 9th Jan. they called me again telling that the prices of 2015 Honda (for which logistics were being worked out) is likely to go up.
In the meantime, they came with a demo car and asked me to take another test drive – this time with a CVT engine. I used to drive CVT / Auto vehicles when I used to be in the US. In India, it was always Manual. Nevertheless, took a test drive and felt good about the vehicle and this time, my wife also joined.
That’s when we decided to move forward with Honda Elevate. Was advised to get a Blue or White colour vehicle. My choice was to go with either ZX or VX (preferably) – as I wasn’t very keen on with ADAS system. But as luck would have it, it boiled down to ZX CVT as in the ZX Manual variant no cars were available either in Blue or White. In VX, white was available but in the course of discussions, we moved forward with ZX CVT Obsidian Blue.
Then negotiations took place on the matter of price. The original price as quoted by Landmark Honda was Rs. 20 Lakhs with various accessories and Insurance that amounted to Rs. 74,000/-
Removed the following:
a. Insurance: They were ok with me arranging the Insurance (am from the Insurance industry only). Even without NCB, I got a quote of about Rs. 48,000/- ! (as compared to Rs. 74k from Landmark Honda)
b. Delivery Charges: Got it removed
c. Every single accessory – Removed
d. Fastag – Removed
e. Extended Warranty and RSA – Removed.
f. Added exchange of my Honda Jazz
Final price came with special discounts: Rs. 15.75 Lakhs. I think I got a fairly good deal in the process. Wondering should I take the extended warranty or not.
Insurance: Prior to taking the delivery of vehicle, got the Insurance policy with full NCB at 50% on the Own damage premium – Insurance premium came to about Rs. 38k.
Prior to taking the vehicle, did a basic PDI. And the vehicle had less than 10 km on the ODO. One of my friends, an Auto enthusiast, also was there to check the key points.
Took the vehicle on Jan. 22nd. Gave sweets to SA and the team. In the evening went to the temple and did the Pooja.
The only accessory that I took was Landmark’s Dual Dash Cam – only reason being no tinkering with any wiring and since it is from Landmark, Warranty should not get hit. Nevertheless, will reconfirm with Honda directly.
Added from the market following:
a. Mud Flaps
b. GFX Floor Mats - from
www.carhatke.com
Thinking of doing
a. Damping ~~ may not happen though.
b. Ceramic coating ~~ may not happen though. I might settle for Waxing.
c. Ventilated “seats” that people had mentioned in their review of Elevate.
It is about 10 days since I bought it and my very initial observations:
1. Am finding the car very comfortable to drive. In the short rides, where my wife has accompanied me, she is finding it a very comfortable in the passenger seat in the front.
2. Comfortable space in the rear.
3. The response of the Engine is quite good – mind you this is within the limited city drive. But where needed, it has pulled up from 20 km/hr to 50 km/hr in good time. The grunting sound when that happens, is something that I like and I don’t find it annoying. But nevertheless, might consider damping.
4. Not much of night driving but I suppose the headlights are good and default setting is low beam. Few days ago, did some element of night driving, and found the low beam light (default setting) to be quite good. Also found out that one can either have lights that come automatically on or one can go into manual mode. That was a discovery for me.
5. When am bringing the vehicle to the parking place, the headlights automatically switch on – no prompting. That is a pleasant surprise.
6. The rear-view camera quality could have been slightly better and the direction grid should have been dynamic instead of being a fixed one.
7. Am still understanding the ADAS and the settings of the left side of Instrumentation cluster. Even at low speeds, when am near to a person or an object, I get a warning.
8. On the infotainment display, no issues – both with Apple Carplay and Android - wireless connectivity. Playing music through Apple Music, Spotify, Internet Radio, Amazon Music - no issues.
9. Music – Thanks to this excellent video, have configured to play music from a flash drive rather than depend only on phones. This you tube video was of great help.
10. Sound quality – I felt that the sound system on the Jazz was few shades better than what is on offer on Elevate. It had more fidelity. On Elevate it appears to have more of Treble.
11. Driving position is excellent and the vehicles drives over (potholes / obstacles and like) smoothly.
12. Turning Radius – is a higher than even Kushaq. But so far not a bother.
13. In my drive so far, haven't opened the Sun Roof, which I think will never be opened. In my view Sun Roof / Moon Roof is a superfluous feature and should have been optional.
14. IRVM: In ZX variant, the IRVM is supposed to be an Auto Dimming mirror. Am wondering whether the mirror in my car - is it a truly an auto dimming one? Am saying this because I observe that there is an area in the mirror that is of blue in colour and appears to be a coat of chemical film and even during daytime, the reflection is muted in colour. Not sure if other ZX owners have observed it. Would appreciate if other ZX owners can comment on this.
After having driven Jazz for 13+ years, driving Honda Elevate is somewhat different. Jazz is a very silent vehicle. Being a hatchback, one can more easily, keep in mind and visualize the 4 corners of the vehicles while taking turns. And, the responses / feedback from Jazz were precise and sharp. Very less of electronic gizmos.
In contrast, there is the feeling of driving a much bigger vehicle when driving Elevate. However, within couple of days, got the feel of the 4 corners of the vehicle while taking turns and in fact, while parking.
To me, physical controls are vastly superior to touch controls as in the latter case, one has to take one’s eyes off from the road. Simple case in point: when starting the vehicle, after being seated, the infotainment system comes on and everytime the disclaimer comes on – by which time, the vehicle is on the move. To me, taking my eyes away from the road, to press that “Ok” button is a distraction. Jazz in that sense was better.
These are my very initial observations. Will keep updating. 1st update will be after 1000 kms / 1st service.
Last but not the least: My heartfelt thanks to the fellow BHPians for their reviews: @ghost @skt210, and @shan_ned - I found their reviews of great help and also to Team-Bhp for their review.