Honda’s SUV, Elevate, was globally unveiled in New Delhi, which marks the company’s re-entry into the SUV space. The SUV segment is not new to Honda as previously it had the CR-V and BR-V in its India portfolio. Bookings for Elevate will commence in July, which will be followed by the price announcement.
On the styling front, Elevate looks similar to the CR-V sold overseas. The Elevate’s 4,312mm length, 1,790mm width, 1,650mm height and 2,650mm wheelbase make it similar to the Creta in size. It gets 458 litres of boot space and segment-leading 220mm of ground clearance — the Creta, in comparison, stands 190mm off the ground.
As far as design goes, Elevate features a big grille and a flat nose — with a big Honda logo in the middle — flanked by thin, LED headlights and two fog lamps underneath. The headlights and the LED daytime running lamps are connected by a thick chrome bar like on the City.
The new Honda midsize SUV features slightly flared wheel arches with thick plastic cladding giving it a chunky SUV look, while the window line tapers upwards towards the thick C-pillar. The Elevate gets 17-inch alloy wheels, with design similar to the ones seen on the facelifted City.
At the back, it gets a slightly raked window and tail-lights that are connected via a red bar, while the wraparound tail-lights look similar to the latest-gen WR-V sold in markets like Indonesia. It also gets an indentation on the tailgate for the number plate housing.
Elevate gets a free-standing 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment. In terms of features, there is a single-pane sunroof like three of its eight competitors, while the rest offer a panoramic sunroof.
A 7-inch semi-digital instrument cluster, lane-watch camera, wireless charging, wireless smartphone integration — Android Auto and Apple CarPlay – and a rear parking camera are the other features.
Honda will also offer its Sensing ADAS suite in the Elevate, with features like a collision mitigation braking system, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, road departure warning and automatic high beam assist. The only other midsize SUV to currently feature ADAS is the MG Astor, while the Seltos facelift will also get driver assistance tech.
Honda Elevate is built on the Japanese firm’s Global Small Car platform, which also underpins the Honda City sedan. Under the hood, the SUV gets the same 121hp, 145Nm, 1.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine as the City with power being sent to the front wheels via either a 6-speed manual or a CVT.
Elevate enters the midsize SUV segment where it rivals the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Volkswagen Taigun, Skoda Kushaq, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, MG Astor and the upcoming Citroen C3 Aircross.
Honda’s re-entry into the SUV segment is a much-needed move as its current line-up consists only of two sedans. Honda will be counting on Elevate to give it a shot in the arm, but much will ride on the pricing given the stiff competition and all players having meaningful slices of the midsize SUV pie.
India is the mother plant for the Elevate SUV and Honda confirms it will be exported to multiple international markets.