Honda has officially removed the covers of its latest mid-size SUV called the Elevate, It will go against the likes of Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Volkswagen Taigun and Suzuki Grand Vitara. Honda said it is a global model and they will export it from India to other countries.
Exterior
In terms of styling it takes inspiration from some big SUVs like the Toyota Land Cruiser especially from the front with its massive vertical grill and high upright bonnet, the head lamps are LED and also looks like a tweaked version of Honda City’s Headlamps. from the side it is quite plain and devoid of any curves and haunches. The rear of the car looks like a traditional SUV with main feature being the connected tail lamps, However only the outer parts of the tail lamps light up the center is just a reflector.
Honda Elevate is based on the same platform as the city. Although it looks and feels like an SUV through and through. This is helped by the fact that it has a class leading ground clearance of 220mm, Plenty of plastic cladding on the side and its SUV like stance. Its not going to win any design awards but nothing will in its segment will.
Powertrain
Honda is sticking to its tried and tested 1.5L four cylinder 119HP i-vtec unit shared with the City which has its advantages and dis-advantages over the downsized turbo units from the likes of Hyundai and Volkswagen. It would come with a 6 Speed manual or CVT option. Hybrid spec is in the works too, said Honda.
Interior
Now interior is where the Honda edges out in my opinion, it is a very nice place to sit with a clean and straight forward approach. Furthermore the dash has multiple finishes like a brown leather strip which spans for the entirety of the dashboard. It is complimented by a wooden finish panel on each side. It looks posh and feels very homely. Other key features include a brand new 10 inch screen which looks modern and slick to use. Most importantly it features all physical buttons for the climate control systems which a massive win for Honda and its owners. In fact we believe that all cars should have physical controls for AC and other important features.
Although a lot of the interior bits are carried from the City, it is to note that the city had a great interior to begin with. We love the instrument cluster as it takes the best bits of both digital and analog. It has all the modern creature comforts like wireless Apple carplay, Andriod auto, ventilated seats, sunroof and wireless charger.
Price
Price is yet to be revealed but we expect an increase of 60-80K over the Honda City. Honda will officially reveal the price closer to the launch date which will take place near Diwali.
