Team-BHP - Honda Elevate Review

From the reviews, this appears to be an SUV that gets an adequate engine, sufficient features, and an excellent suspension.

The only thing that Honda now needs to get right is pricing. With the right pricing, this one's going to move decent volumes.

Not the car for me or my family though. Without Honda's hybrid system, I wouldn't buy this, and from reports they have no intention of offering a hybrid. That was very surprising to me, because the first time I saw that deep boot, I assumed they were definitely going to cram a battery pack in there.

Price it right Honda.

Whoever decided to skip the hybrid powertrain for the Elevate should be fired. The hybrid version would've been a good stop gap measure till the electric Elevate comes out after 3 years. I have no hope of this car being priced attractively, as it is a Honda. And I don't really see anyone other than Honda loyalists who would actually go and buy the car, when there are so many other attractive options available in the market. The only USP of the Elevate is that it is a Honda. Now imagine if a hybrid was offered. That would've been game changing, atleast in my opinion.

Brilliant review. Thanks.

This is one Honda car I am truly liking to the core.

1.5 NA engine, CVT transmission and lack of non reliable over engineered electronics means that owners will surely have lesser heartbreak over a longer period of ownership. That underbody protection, high ground clearance, good tan interiors and no non sense practicality makes it look like a worthy car to consider despite feature packed cars such as Creta and Seltos. It depends upon the pricing now.

Good luck Honda!

Excellant review. It looks like a well-rounded package for someone looking for a no-nonsense car that offers a stress-free ownership experience and Honda's reliability. Hope they price it competitively. If Honda offered a hybrid option, this would have been the preferred car for many more.

The 40-liter fuel tank has to be the lowest in the segment, which is a glaring mistake.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AYP (Post 5596077)

My question to the mods-

1. What's up with the speed markings on the speedometer? Marked only till 180? This maybe a personal peeve of mine or whatever but I'd rather have a car with the speedo marked till 220 than 180 even if the car has an 800cc engine. And here, we are talking about a car with a 1500 cc engine which has the potential to reach these speeds. I am not suggesting driving at those speeds but this is something I just can't unsee. You may call this my fetish and I wouldn't mind it at all but it is what it is. Is the speed limited to 140 or something like the Brio platform cars? If not, what could be the reason for offering different speedo markings in the Elevate vis-a-vis the City?

2. Are the LED headlights projector type or reflector type?

I just saw one of the Youtube vloggers (Faisal) mentioning the top speed is capped to 160 kph. I wonder if this was briefed during the media drive as well. This 180 kph marker caught my eye during the car unveil. I guess we are getting to know why. Depending on who you ask, this scores another negative for the car. It also appears that the Lane Watch on the car is limited to the LHS side of the driver. In Indian conditions, an all-round view is better advised.

All in all, this car should have arrived by 2019 or so. I am sure it would have dissuaded some folks from getting the Creta besides giving existing Jazz/Amaze/WRV an upgrade path. Right now, it looks a bit lost in the gaggle of tech/feature laden CSUVs.

The Elevate measures 4,312 mm in length, 1,790 mm in width and 1,650 mm in height. It has a wheelbase of 2,650 mm and a ground clearance of 220 mm. Turning radius = 5.2 m:
Attachment 2483027

Ground clearance of 220 mm?? Doesn't it put it next to the likes of thar and all

Though looking at the pictures doesn't look like it has 220 mm of ground clearance.

Not launching Elevate with the hybrid power terrain is a mistake. They are already late in the CSUV segment. They are still playing catch up with respect to the feature the competition offers. Launching it with the hybrid option would have definitely given them an advantage. The only hope would be to launch it with a killer price tag, but IMO that would be very difficult for Honda. I would love to be proven wrong though! :Cheering:

Great review as usual but just 1 feedback, the unladen ground clearance of Taigun/Kushaq is 188 mm & not 180 mm.

Honda has a good package at hand but sadly with no differentiating factors that would make a buyer apart from Honda loyalists to outright consider this.

It would have been great if Honda would have not skimped on features & offered beige interiors like City here as well, it looks better than brown & would have made the car feel more roomier.

Frankly I am a bit disappointed as I was thinking of replacing my Kushaq with automatic Elevate but now going to hold on.

Great review as always. Kudos to Team-BHP for keeping up the quality of reviews top-notch!

My thought is that unless they price this well, it is not going to hold up against the competition which offers far more features, bang for the buck, and most importantly superior engines.

The front design is not to my taste at all. Like the review says it looks very American, butch but with a heart under the hood which does not match the look. The side profile has a shade of Ignis at the rear.

3200 RPM for 120 KMPH is high and this isn't going to give you great fuel efficiency.

Plastics and interiors are underwhelming and that stand-up screen looks terrible! and Jeez, what's with those AC vents? They look so dated!

This will likely be a car for those who want a no-nonsense car that can be driven sedately.

Great review, thanks !

I see this as the perfect car for my dad (and probably other ~55-60+ year old's) as this perfectly meets his requirements;

Good looking SUV with high seating
Does not care about features :p
A nice smooth engine with decent efficiency (does not care about outright accleration, midrange turbo punch, etc.)
Loads of space, including a big boot that can probably fit in 2 golf kits
Loves the Honda brand !

Time to convince him to replace his tractor like sounding diesel WRV with the Elevate now !:D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain (Post 5596066)

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Now, everything comes down to pricing. New Seltos HTX CVT costs 18.75L on road here in Faridabad, and is better equipped than Elevate. This is the benchmark. Problem is, City ZX CVT already costs 18L +, without considering the small discounts. Honda needs to pull a rabbit out of its hat here.

Was just checking on this, but am not sure how HTX IVT is better equipped than Elevate Top end.

It's getting Panaromic and Dual Zone AC over Elevate which are significant.

But Elevate's more importantly getting ADAS 2 which is a lot more Premium feature along with Wireless Charging and Wireless Connectivity.

Not withstanding the Larger Rear legroom, Ground clearance and Larger Boot it has over it along with a possibly better Crash NCAP rating.

There's no doubt that Elevate ZX shall feel more Premium than Seltos HTX IVT.

I think features are adequate but the absence of ventilated seats is a huge miss because they are a boon in a hot and humid country like ours.

I like everything about this car except the texture of some of the plastics like the ones around AC vents, door panel which holds power window buttons,the ugly fog lamp housing etc. They look and feel very cheap. They're a big turn off.

And who decided to skip the hybrid option? This is not a small hatchback and therefore needs that extra oomph. 250 Nm of torque would have helped Elevate a lot and that fuel economy would have been a blessing.
People would be lucky if they could extract 15 kmpl from this brick on a box.

I think the Elevate is a head over heart car. Very balanced, understated feel with solid engineering. Function over form has been followed. If they jazz up the front end a bit (especially the area below the headlights) the car would look a lot better.

I love that they have carved out space at every level: Front, rear and boot. That, coupled with the highest ground clearance, solid suspension, great transmissions (its MTs, CVTs are among the best), free revving engine, tan leather interiors, 10.25" touchscreen and great music system (the bane oh Honda City), 6 airbags and level-2 ADAS make a strong case for the Elevate.

Yes, certain features such as 360 degree camera, panoramic sunroof, electric seats etc. are missing, but its not like competition offers these in all variants. In fact, most of these features (and some others listed above) are usually found in top variants which don't account for majority of sales of any car.

Assuming that the 'features' distribution across the variants is the same as in the CITY, and if it allows Honda to undercut some variants of the competition, the Elevate has a solid chance in the market.

As GTO said, I wouldn't write off the brand loyalty that Honda commands in India.

Hi, I am glad to read review of a SUV which look like a 2018 product but reviewed in 2023 and will be launched when 2024 is 2-3 months away. Only nice thing about Elevate is good ride & handling despite 220mm ground clearance, which I was not anticipating to be so good. Everything else is just like another Honda.

I hope Honda work on image building to ensure that other than the hardcore Honda loyalists, others also take interest in both City & Elevate because as of now it appears that Elevate will sell at the cost of City and it will not impact Creta-Seltos-G.Vitara-Hyryder gang.