Japanese car maker Honda has finally made a much-awaited entry into he crowded and lucrative compact SUV segment in the country. The Elevate comes at a time when the likes of Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos and Volkswagen Taigun are attracting consumers in huge numbers and Honda would like a share of this pie too. The SUV was launched earlier this week starting at Rs. 11 lakh (ex-showroom) and comes with a host of tech and features.
Design
According to Honda, the Elevate has been developed under the concept of an ‘Urban Freestyler’. The car is 4312 mm long, 1790 mm wide and 1650 mm tall and comes with a wheelbase of 2650 mm. On the front it gets a raised front fascia and sharp character lines. The slim and sharp headlights present a nice contrast to the big grille while the SUV also gets full LED projector headlamps with LED DRLs and LED Turn Indicators, LED taillamps and two-tone finish diamond cut R17 Alloy Wheels. The Elevate gets many single-tone and dual-tone colour options including the new Phoenix Orange Pearl, Obsidian Blue Pearl, Radiant Red Metallic, Platinum White Pearl, Golden Brown Metallic, Lunar Silver Metallic and Meteoroid Gray Metallic.
Interiors
The cabin gets a 7-inch high-definition full colour TFT meter cluster and a new floating type 10.25-inch High-Definition (HD) resolution LCD touch-screen display audio and Wireless Smartphone Charger. The brown leatherette upholstery with soft touch pads on Dashboard and Door Trims adds luxury to the cabin. The SUV also gets Honda Connect which offers a connected car experience that allows the users to control the car remotely and get up to date with important notifications about the car. With this update, Honda Connect now offers 37 Connect features and comes with industry best 5-year free subscription package. Honda Connect also works with smart watch devices and Alexa remote capability. The SUV comes with a class-leading cargo space at 458 litres, according to Honda.
Honda Elevate comes with an exhaustive line up of Accessories. Customers will be able to purchase things like Ventilated Seat Top Cover with Massager & DVR & TPMS linked to H-Connect at all our dealerships. Additionally, to give customization choice to customers, 2 Packages too have been introduced: Signature Package – To enhance exterior appearance with Spoilers & Chrome Garnishes and Armor Package – To provide protection and enhance rugged look. In total, Elevate will have 36 accessory items on offer.
Engine
The Elevate is powered by 1.5 litre i-VTEC DOHC petrol engine that makes 121 PS and 145 Nm torque. It is paired with a 6-speed Manual Transmission and a 7-speed Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) which comes with a claimed fuel efficiency of 15.31 kmpl and 16.92 kmpl respectively. These are the same engine and gearbox options seen in the Honda City and the numbers on this new SUV have gone a bit. Honda Elevate is E20 material compatible which means it can run on up to 20% Ethanol Blended Petrol.
Safety
The Elevate comes equipped with many active and passive safety technologies, including the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) of Honda SENSING. Apart from this the SUV gets 6 Airbags, Vehicle Stability Assist with Electronic stability & Traction Control, Hill Start Assist, Emergency Stop Signal, Multi-Angle Rear-view Camera, Rear Parking Sensors, ISOFIX compatible Rear Side Seats with Lower Anchorages & Top Tether.
The Honda Elevate will offer a 3 years of unlimited kilometers warranty as standard benefit to the customers. They’re hoping a customer can also opt for extended warranty up to 5 years, anytime warranty up to 10 years and Road Side Assistance from the date of the car purchase.
The author is a Senior Editor at carandbike.com.