Team-BHP - Honda Elevate Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suchu90 (Post 5611748)

Haha, maybe since it's been almost 2 years I sold my jazz my views might be a little obscured ? Anyways, the rear windows on Elevate are smaller than Jazz hence giving an impression of roominess on the Jazz !? The width of Jazz is 1694mm and Elevate is 1790mm so we can assume the interior width as well to be more ? But trust me the best way to judge all these parameters is to see the car in flesh for yourself. If I had my Jazz with me now my views could have been a bit more clearer maybe.

The Jazz in the segment that it was launched in had the most space, but the Elevate in it's segment might not be able to create such an impression IMHO hence the discrepancy in views.

Not necessarily. What really matters is the shoulder room and that depends on how curved in the shoulder space is compared to the widest area. For example, the Yaris even though 35 mm wider than the Etios feels very narrow inside in reality compared to an Etios. It's because the Yaris is very aerodynamic in design whereas the Etios is more utilitarian. Similarly, even side impact safety buffers might play a part.

Another example is the Maruti Swift in its initial days. Even though it had the biggest dimensions, it felt the most claustrophobic inside compared to the competition at that time. So, I'll recommend trying it out yourselves and feel it to get a sense of the reality.

Checked out the Elevate today. Here's a few observations

As a 6Ft guy, rear seat comfort was worse than City. Under thigh support when legs are closer to rear was moderate but stretched legs on the inclined floor felt subpar. Front seats were comfortable however.
The front gives it the Creta like look. it might become a good alternative for those who want a Creta looking car without the common sight perception or bad drivers perception of it.
Boot is huge as an SUV. Efficient use of space
AC Buttons felt worse than Seltos which has clicky solidness to it. These felt mushy in comparison. The AC is a chiller however
Wireless charger is not available on ZX MT but only for ZX CVT. It can be installed as a first party accessory which adds the pad and button conveniently but you will have to live with dangling wire connected to the USB.
Bonnet is visible even at the lowest height while not affecting front corners visibility by a lot.
Showroom person told about a few things. They are aiming for 4.5+ NCAP stars with this car. On road price Haryana for ZX MT will be around 17 - 17.5 Lacs. 50-100 were already booked at that showroom with 30 registrations for test drives which will begin on 5th after the prices are announced on 4th. Waiting period of 2 - 2.5 months was quoted. Booking amount was of 21K.

Adding the orange color variant picture for reference:

Checked out Elevate in Whitefield Honda - Bangalore. Being a Jazz 2015 owner and looking for an upgrade, I have put out my observations as below:

1. Elevate is a no nonsense family car. It is practical for anyone looking for a lateral upgrade from a hatchback or compact sedan into SUV category.

2. If you own a hatchback at the times of 2010-2015, then looking at Elevate can give you a sense of pleasure, in terms of:
a. Good Interiors and soft touches
b. Improved touchscreen
c. Good thumb contour steering
d. India's must-have "Sunroof".

3. On the other hand, if you are a hatchback owner of 2016 and above and not a Honda owner, then Elevate will disappoint you with the features which you probably have in your own car.

4. Driver footwell area is definitely smaller than Jazz and even current Honda City. Honda Engineers have reduced seat movability to give more back passenger space and have compromised on driving comfort for a tall driver 6-6'1+ folks.

5. Boot area and Ground clearance is a huge relief for the existing Honda owners. Gone are the days where you are scared of scraping the car when an awkward speed-breaker or concave crater aka inverted pothole hits.

6. Build quality looks nice. There is a strong thud sound when you shut the doors and even your knocks on the metal body feels strong and assuring.

7. Somehow, Elevate looks a more compact-er than its rivals (Creata, Seltos and others), its more an "Elevated" SUV.

8. Existing Honda users will find not anything unusual or unfamiliar. Its the same. All necessary things are in the correct expected places.

9. The SA's were clearly tutored on not to utter anything on indicative prices, variant details. In the current social media age, one feels really sad on SA's trying to persuade prospective customers for a sale specially trying to explain features, when there are tons of new car reviews with varied content available for new age buyers to understand the product. :) SA's here were just trying to cajole prospective buyers to get them booked. It seems online booking amount is Rs 5000, but in-person showroom pre-booking amount is Rs 21000. I guess they are trying to increase a pre-booking coverage.

10. A prospective buyer like me was checking out Honda Elevate today. Upon entering the rear seat of Honda Elevate made a first comment "Oh, there is no Sunroof" and a little later observed a sunroof on the driver's side and corrected the statement by saying "its not panaromic". This nails the expectation benchmark prevailing in current compact SUV market. A disappointing but a re-assuring look from the SA saying "Its a Honda" says it all on how Honda is still trying to rely hard on the brand value.

11. No test drive is available. It is like one is waiting for September 4th to unveil prices and then test drives are permissible. 2 test drive cars are available. Blue Elevate which is manual and an Orange one which is CVT automatic.

At the outset, Elevate does not look to put a fight with Creta, Seltos. Atleast, features-wise, interior fit and finish areas. Both Creta and Seltos are upmarket and will definitely fit any new-age person to have all gizmos and technos requirement in a car.

Honda Elevate is clearly 5 years older in the current market. It would be a run-away hit if it was launched in 2018. This car is defintely for a B1, B2 segment hatch-back owners of 2010-2015 who are looking for a "SUV" feeling from a reliable and trusted brand like Honda. Not sure, if this is a correct example here; a Maruti Alto/Ford Figo/Chevrolet Beat/Maruti WagonR etc user looking for an upgrade to do one's daily duties and also give a hassle free experience and pride of having owned a Honda, then Elevate is definitely worth a try.

Honda Elevate with its super 1.5 i-VTEC engine which still rules the roost of most peppy, drivable, reliable and "re-saleable" engine will bring a smile in your face.

But, for 2016+ owners having a Hyundai i-20/ Nios i-10/ New WagonR etc, it might not appeal to them. The competitors Hyundai, Kia, Volkswagen, Skoda have given much more here.

I just hope Honda Cars India prices it well. It is definitely not in the range of a 25L price for a top-variant of Kia or Creta loaded with features, new-age tech. At the same-time, it is not dull or lack-lustre considering the fact ADAS is offered from mid-variant itself (Courtesy Reviews, Youtube reviews and definitely not from Honda showroom SA's :Frustrati).

The curious case of HCIL is clearly evident from how SA's were proud of showcasing Honda City as the best Sedan one can get. HCIL needs to be known as a best sedan car in the country, at the same time they cannot price Elevate higher than City or atleast near to City (currently running at 25L). Also, it cannot be priced close to a Kia Sonet/Hyundai Venue, the whole Honda Elevate segment itself gets changed with a different set of competitors which Honda probably does not want to compete.

HCIL should price this for 17L ex-showroom to have a decent bookings for Honda to have a smile after a 5 year research of what an Indian consumer needs in Compact SUV segment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by itzvicky201 (Post 5612403)

Honda Elevate is clearly 5 years older in the current market. It would be a run-away hit if it was launched in 2018. This car is defintely for a B1, B2 segment hatch-back owners of 2010-2015 who are looking for a "SUV" feeling from a reliable and trusted brand like Honda. Not sure, if this is a correct example here; a Maruti Alto/Ford Figo/Chevrolet Beat/Maruti WagonR etc user looking for an upgrade to do one's daily duties and also give a hassle free experience and pride of having owned a Honda, then Elevate is definitely worth a try.

Can't disagree with this observation. The sale is predominantly through the brand than the vehicle. Of course, with the Honda brand comes the reliability of the engine, easy maintenance, etc. Just to clarify a few points based on my visit to the showroom,
ADAS is only available in the ZX versions (both manual and CVT). This is unlike City which has ADAS on all versions except the base.
Elevate will undercut City by a lakh or more. I think, I'll carry a measuring tape next time I visit the showroom for the backseat. The day I checked out Elevate was a bit rainy and gloomy. Add to it the smaller windows (read "glass area") of Elevate, the back seat looked smaller and darker (TBH, a bit claustrophobic). I'm 5'11" and didn't have any issues in the back seat, except for the middle which is definitely not comfortable even for kids. A 5th passenger can only travel for hardly an hour on that seat.
I also agree on the point, people may end up buying a City after checking Elevate. Except GC, I don't have any other issue with City.

Got a chance to test drive the Honda Elevate yesterday. It was a fairly decent test drive covering open road streches as well as city traffic, good enough to get an idea on the capabilities of the car and the engine. The variant distribution as per attached brochure shared by SA confirms the one that was leaked and seems final.

Pros:
1. Power is adequate. Though the initial torque feels a bit lesser than the city, pushing the throttle further brings the i-VTEC to life. The engine keeps pulling with a sweet sweet sound which was absolute music. Made me want to push the engine more. The engine has not lost it's character even with the heavier body and boxy design.

2. The engine felt much better than than Maruti K15C and city driveability was better than the 1.0 TSI due to no turbo lag and smooth and linear acceleration. Other than the first gear, rest of the gears are tall enough and the engine is tractable. So one can easily potter around in 2nd or 3rd in the city. Also absence of turbo lag makes city overtakes much smoother and you don't need to wait for the power to kick in in any gear.

3. Gearshifts are not super short, but slick and sure slotting. Also the clutch is quite light and effortless. So shifting gears is a joy. This is one engine which is great fun to drive in it's manual avatar.:Cheering:

4. The high bonnet makes it easy to judge the dimensions, but also creates bit of a blind spot in front due to it's height. A front camera would have been super useful.

5. Legroom in the rear seat is plenty to move and strech your legs. The seat base for the all seats being low makes it very easy to get in and out for even senior folks despite the higher ground clearance.

6. The multi-mode reverse camera is good and the resolution felt adequate. Adaptive guidelines are big miss though. The lane watch camera works great but comes only in the VX and ZX trims.

Cons:
1. Though the car is big, the cabin space has been a bit goofed up. The seat base is short and under thigh support for all seats other than the driver is inadequate. Specially sitting in the front passenger seat creates a knees-up position and one has to keep their feet on the angled floor, but that's also not too comfortable. Rear seat passengers will also need to keep their feet on the angled floor to be comfortable. The City is more comfortable to sit in.

3. The rear seat width is a bit tight for 3 people and the angled door edge does not have padding like the Honda City. Best for 3 slim people. 3 heavier folks will not be too comfortable for sure. Also the raised middle seat is a bit of an issue for long drives. Will be best to add foam in the seat covers to level it (not possible in the top variants though).

4. Overall fit and finish is not as good as the City which definitely feels more premium.

5. No idea why Honda has removed the rubber beading from the doors and placed it on the body. Not sure whether this will cause water seepage issues and require a compulsory rain visor. Can't figure out what Honda achieved by doing this.

Overall this is a decent all rounder without excelling in anything. Thats why it has to under-cut the competition by a fair margin to attract attention. The SV variant of the City is better specced than the V variant of the Elevate. So ideally the Elevate SV variant should start at 9.99 or max 10.25 lakhs with the V variant coming to 11.25 lakhs. Honda have a tough job pricing this by under-cutting the City as well as the competition. If Honda over-prices this one, it will be another failure. Honda has tried with a decent attempt and hopefully will not screw it up with the pricing.

PS: The Pheonix Orange colour is proper metallic and not like the old Jazz orange. Plus it's available only on VX and ZX as per attached brochure. Also attaching image of the colour palette. Except the orange one all colours are carried forward from the City.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Djay (Post 5612796)

Checked out Seltos and Elevate back to back today and 100% agree with all of your points. I'll like to add my 2 cents:

1. Overall materials are more premium in Seltos.
In the Elevate, the cabin looks good, clean and minimalistic but the quality of materials and plastics is visibly poor. More so when you check out the City showcased adjacent to it. The cabin of City undoubtedly appears more premium in terms of cabin. The AC vents are such an eye sore and appear to be decades old.

2. The omission of features that are available in City pinched even more as these omissions could have easily been avoided and could have made it slightly better.

3. Driver seat travel is definitely less and felt cramped in its most rear position even for someone like me who's 5'11". My knee was touching the lower extent of dashboard.

4. No dead pedal in ZX MT which was available. However, the SA said that it'll be available in AT.

5. The rear seat is less wide than Seltos and can accommodate only 2 adults and 1 child in comparison to Seltos where 3 adults of which one is quite slim could sit comfortably.

6. The comfort of the rear seats was decent cushioning wise. However, the thigh support was not good. Middle seat was not comfortable due to the hump.

7. The look of the car is definitely good and is amongst the best looking cars in the segment in terms of road presence along with Seltos. Kushaq also looks good but lacks road presence.

8. With such high bonnet, the visibility of whatever is just ahead of the car is going to be an issue. A front parking camera would have been helpful addition.

9. The paint job was good and doors appeared heavy and closed with a satisfactory thud in compared to Seltos where they were definitely one or two notches lower.

10. Sound system was amazing and despite not being branded, music sounded astonishingly good. I am an audiophile and sound quality was undoubtedly much superior to the Bose branded system of Seltos GTX+.

11. I personally feel that powered seats are only good when they have memory function. Else, it's just slow and another electric component that can go bad. I would always prefer powered seats with memory but with memory function like in Seltos, I would rather prefer mechanical adjustment of Elevate.

12. Ventilated seats of Seltos work well. Liked the features offered in GTX+ compared to HTX + with regards to price difference. However, I prefer the interior of HTX+. That white leather insert on the door is what I feel going to be the worst nightmare as it's the most contacted touch point and is going to get dirty in few months. Probably will require to change it to black aftermarket. The black interiors also make the car feel claustrophobic.
The tan of Elevate was definitely better.
The SA said that ventilated and massage seats are going to get offered in Elevate as an accessory for roughly around 15k and will be connected to the 12V power socket at the back. The only gripe is that I assume that means that only drivers seat can be changed as 2 seats can't be connected or may be they provide some sort of connecter to connect both seats.

13. The display car had a dashcam which the SA said will come as an accessory.

14. The SA told that VX will come with 2 airbags. That's a bummer. I was hoping they would offer 6 airbags as standard. Also, I feel a ZX without ADAS and ADAS being offered only in a variant above ZX , maybe ZX(o) would've been a good option.

15. SA was sure that Elevate ZX CVT will undercut City's price by 30-35k. That was a pleasant information.

As gist, I feel Elevate is definitely going to sell well at this price and will give competition to 1.5 NA of Seltos/Creta in view of good looks and sturdier feel. Wifey also said that it appears to be a larger car due to the sitting position and due to high bonnet. A good NCAP rating and Honda badge will also add to it's repertoire.
I just felt bad for Honda as to why couldn't they give a few more basic features and get their beautiful hybrid engines and iVtec Turbo engine to India as with these additions, they would've blown away the competition. For me a Hybrid or Turbo, had it been offered would've become a no brainer. And I might still end up with Seltos for the 1.5 Turbo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pixeldynamic (Post 5612995)

I literally saw the same variant as the picture you have sent. ZX was pasted on the front windows of both the White ZX MT which had the dangling wire and Blue ZX AT which did not. Orange one was a ZX in which I did not sat inside.

Wireless charger was available on the ZX MT that I checked out.

Finally got the chance to visit Whitefield Honda to see the Elevate in person, which I had been eagerly anticipating for the past few days. However, my excitement turned into disappointment as the car did not meet my expectations. While it appeared spacious in all the reviews, the live experience was quite different.

I began by testing the rear seat comfort, as it had been highly praised by many. Undoubtedly, the legroom and seat cushioning were good, but I found the slight elevation on the floor meant to support the legs to be uncomfortable personally. Shifting to the driver's seat, I prefer a relaxed sitting posture by moving the seat back as much as possible, but the driver's seat travel in the Elevate was limited compared to the front passenger seat travel. Additionally, the lack of sufficient under-thigh support caused my knees to bend higher, resulting in greater discomfort. Despite multiple attempts to adjust the seat positons including height adjustment, I couldn't find a comfortable position.

Although the passenger seat had better travel, the slight elevation for leg support was also uncomfortable for me. After careful consideration, I made the decision to cancel my booking for the ZX CVT. I had been eagerly looking forward to this experience, but I was left feeling thoroughly let down. I want to clarify that I don't believe the Elevate is a bad vehicle, but it simply doesn't match my requirements for a relaxed driving posture in the driver's seat. I was seeking a driver's seat with extended travel and adequate under-thigh support. Despite the positive feedback on seat comfort and rear legroom from many families, my Elevate journey ends here:sadface. I now need to explore other options, and while I'm not particularly interested in the Seltos, I would appreciate your input on whether the Grand Vitara Hybrid is suitable for highway cruising. My primary focus is on highway driving, as I already have the Comet EV for city use.