Honda BR-V : What’s cool and what’s not.
A look at Honda’s previous product line-up was enough to tell you that the Jap’ manufacturer was missing something important. It was missing a product in a rapidly growing, radically interest shifting segment. 5 years of the compact SUV madness and craze, Honda decided to launch one.
Honda put out some numbers during the press conference this week and stated the SUV market in India grew by 35% last fiscal. Also mentioned was that the compact SUV segment alone grew by 43% — which added to their conviction that the BR-V concept would work.
All said and done, Honda’s BR-V isn’t a vehicle that you’d Facebook-react ‘WOW :O’. The BR-V simply becomes an alternative that one can pick from (and also get confused). It’s like the new contender in the elections that causes a vote-split, and I think that’s what Honda is expecting this to be.
The BR-V is not segment disruptive, it is not innovative and it doesn’t offer something that is out of the world. But at the same time, ‘compact’ isn’t the word to describe it though Honda uses it for the sake of projecting the vehicle as a lesser expensive and more value for money option.
Honestly, I feel that the BR-V is more of a cross-over than a compact SUV. If you can consider a vehicle like the Hyundai i20 Active as a beefed up hatchback, the BR-V is more of a beefed up MPV. Fair and square, the BR-V is the Mobilio with a ride height increase, black plastic cladding, revised front and rear bumpers, roof rails and better designed alloy wheels.
The BR-V uses the same engine line up that comes available with the Honda City — 1.5L i-Vtec petrol and 1.5Li-Dtec diesel engines. Transmission options include a 6-speed gearbox for the petrol and diesel and a CVT option with the petrol engine. (You can expect a 6-speed manual gearbox for the Honda City soon.)
Though every product in that space comes with it’s own pros and cons, I’m summarizing my impressions on the BR-V based on what the compact SUV segment offers and where the BR-V stands.
What is cool:
- Lots and lots of space.
The BR-V is generous on the dimensions and opens out a lot of space especially when you tumble fold the 3rd row of seats. This utility area, combined with the advantage of a low loading deck improves practicality and convenience. - Rear seat comfort
With a lot of space, comes generous rear seat comfort. The rear seats are fairly cushioned and comfortable. The rear legroom is good and you get more knee room thanks to the mildly scooped front seats. The headroom is generous and the well positioned roof mounted rear AC vents should do the job well.With the single action tumble fold rear seats, the third row entry and exist hassle is lesser. Moreover, the third row packs some ‘manageable’ leg room to squeeze two short adults inside. - Airbags as standard
When Hyundai and Renault shy away from equipping dual airbags in the base variants, Honda makes the ‘bigger person’ move and makes dual airbags standard across all variants. ABS is standard on the diesel variants but starts only with the second trim in the petrol variants. - 3 year warranty
Ownership wise, the BR-V stands out with a 3 year + unlimited Km warranty which is bound to keep your worries about manufacturing defects and other minor issues low.
But not all that glitters is gold.
What isn’t cool.
- Feature and equipment
With the on-road price of the base variant going above 10 Lakhs, it has become a standard to provide a touch music player/ just a large display with a video input from the rear camera. Also, it misses out of on other essentials like auto-headlamps/rain sensors for auto-wipers.When you make a dimensionally generous vehicle, some things become an un-said thumb rule. Given the length of 4456mm (~4.5 m), even the top-end VX trim does not get you a rear camera or just rear parking sensors. Agreed, there’s no display space in the music player for the camera, but there are other cars like the Xcent which gets a display in the inner rear view mirror. - Safety
Yes, I did mention the safety features in my ‘what is cool’ list, but it was more contextual about the intention of providing airbags as standard.But taking a look at competition, the top of the line Creta and EcoSport come equipped with 6 airbags, which is again redefining the benchmarks in the segment. I’d imagine the Honda BR-V to have them available too given car buyers’ growing priority of safety features. - Flexibility of options
Seeing the growing change in preference for an automatic gearbox or a functional equivalent and the rise of competitors’ engine and gearbox flexibility (Creta gets a diesel/petrol+AT combination, Duster gets a Diesel+AMT), it would only be beneficial for Honda to have a Diesel+AT combination at least with the BR-V.Currently, the BR-V only comes with a petrol + CVT option that is available with the same engine in the Honda City. - That dashboard
No, this is not about the dashboard not looking good or its functionality. But when it comes to a product at the price point where the BR-V stands, I wouldn’t want it to appear to have the same dashboard layout as that of the Amaze entry level sedan. I’m positive this dashboard would find its way to the updated Honda Brio when launched as well.Please don’t get me wrong, I’m all in for the smart move of part communization, but when it comes to prizing, I tend to think only from the customer’s perspective.
Do let me know about your perspective in the comments below — I’ll respond to as many as I can.
Images from the BR-V’s Chennai launch.
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Images by Arvind Ramanathan
