Upgraded from an i10 to Elevate CVT: My experience via 12 key points

So far, I haven't felt any inconvenience using the ADAS features in Bengaluru traffic.

BHPian nreddy recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My experience of shifting from a 2009 Hyundai i10 1.2 Sportz to a Honda Elevate ZX CVT

The first reason for looking for a new car was to get free from the clutch hold/release hassle in the city traffic.

Upgrade points

1. Definitely, the ease of driving is there in the traffic with the CVT. Auto-hold is not there in Elevate; so just releasing the brake, moves the car forward gently, without the need for pressing the accelerator. This feels effortless.
2. Hill-hold is there in Elevate; no button needs to be pressed, it seems to just detect the minor slopes and doesn't roll back for some time even though the brake is released.
3. i10 has very good acceleration in 3rd and 4th gears, capable of overtaking any truck on the highways easily. Elevate also overtakes good in the Drive mode. Not much difference when compared with i10. Elevate doesn't seem to be much of an upgrade in this regard. Maybe I have yet to experiment with the sports mode and paddle shifters more. (As of now only 367 km driven in 14 days). And I didn't experience the much talked about "rubber band effect" till now, it drives smooth for me.
4. Went to Nandi Hills during the previous weekend with 4 adults and 3 kids onboard; it was slow-moving heavy traffic during the uphill encountering oncoming vehicles at each turn. That journey was super effortless with Elevate CVT when compared to the i10, where we had to switch off the AC during the steep uphill and use all the expertise with the clutch, brake and accelerator. This situation showcased the difference of power between the 2 cars clearly to us.
5. ADAS: Just checked if the things are working: Lane keep assist is working at above 72 kmph. Adaptive cruise control is working well but disengages below 30kmph. Collision Mitigation braking system gives a warning while getting too close to a completely stopped vehicle, but does not give a warning if the front vehicle is slowly moving and if we approach it fast; didn't dare to go too close to check if the emergency brake really works after the warning. And it seems to be not recognising the bikes as a vehicle in front in the traffic. I didn't feel any inconvenience with ADAS features in Bengaluru traffic as a few people have mentioned that ADAS features are intrusive to the driving experience in Indian road conditions. If we press the brake a little while approaching the front vehicle fast, I think it's understanding that we are in control and not activating the automatic braking; if we are approaching the front vehicle fast without touching the brake, then it's activated and displayed the warning and the alerting sound.
6. I don't remember whether my i10 has 2 airbags or none, so having 6 airbags is an upgrade; hope we will never use them.
7. i10 has sufficient boot space for us now, so it would take some years to say Elevate has just enough boot space.
8. The width may be a half foot extra but it doesn't feel much of an issue during the driving; the length being 2 extra feet, no issues during the straight line driving but takes some time to adapt to the big car in tight/narrow lane turns. The driving position and looking around during the driving requires many adjustments. To say exaggeratedly, Elevate feels like a tank with technology and controls inside to look around, while i10 feels like a bike (now after adapting to Elevate) to look around with windows down & to navigate through narrow lanes.
9. Reliability - the Hyundai i10 never had a breakdown on the road till now and wear & tear parts replacement also never felt heavy on the pocket. Bought the Elevate believing that Honda is even more reliable based on the popular opinions from the reviewers.
10. Brand reputation - There are some companies like Infosys, Shell, etc, which drive the values system from the top management to the on-field employees and work heavily on maintaining their brand reputation. I thought Honda was also in the same league before booking the Elevate. But I didn't come across any experience that differentiates Honda from any other car brand till now, every thing is very ordinary and got the feeling that customers shouldn't blindly trust the brand name and need to be alert like anywhere else.
11. Service - To compare, no issues with the Hyundai service at all and some very good experiences as well; yet to go for the first service with Honda.
12. Missing features - Elevate has a lot of features missing when compared to other competing cars in its segment. But I don't care much about all those features. The really missing feature for me is the "Walk away Auto lock along with Windows and Sunroof close", which is available in Honda City. But in Elevate, only the "Walk away Auto lock" works, the windows and sunroof don't get closed automatically.

Overall, I can say that I am happy with this purchase till now.

Here's what BHPian Chrome6Boy had to say about the matter:

Great unbiased review, and also a good perspective for people looking to go up a couple of segments! My comment below is about your comparison of the acceleration between the i10 1.2 manual and the Elevate 1.5 CVT.

I think people should clearly understand that despite a decent engine, the CVT will hamper the initial acceleration. While this won't make any difference in the city, it will drastically reduce the "fun" factor on the highways.

I think most people buy an automatic because it changes the gears for you. But to have to fiddle around with the gearbox when we need to overtake on the highway is less than ideal, and for inexperienced highway drivers even dangerous.

Most of us spend most of our time in the city so this is not really a deal breaker and I understand some people like to change gears manually on the highway and use the smooth CVT in the city.

If you can make do with a manual transmission, this car is a good proposition. The manual will be a good upgrade over the i10's performance too.

Here's what BHPian CentreOfGravity had to say about the matter:

Congratulations on the new steed!

The Honda City doesn't close the windows and sunroof automatically, they close only when you press and hold the lock / unlock button on the key.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.