Honda Vezel Compact SUV – FrontView
At the Tokyo Motor Show this-year, Honda had showcased a very interesting concept. It was the Honda Vezel compact SUV. Honda intends to launch this SUV in developed markets like Europe and America as well as emerging markets like India and China, and they are heavily relying on this vehicle to boost sales in Europe and America.
The Honda Vezel is definitely a looker, the design is such that, people will end up buying the car just for its good looks. It looks like a CR-V with coupe architecture and has all the right curves at the right places. The headlamps with integrated daytime running lights look excellent as well. Dimension wise, the Vezel measures similar to other compact SUV’s like the Renault duster, but pricing wise, the Vezel will be placed much higher than the duster. The prices are expected to start at INR 10 lakhs for the base petrol, and go all the way upto INR 15 lakhs for the top-end diesel variant. Honda will not let this SUV be just a rip off for its customers, but will justify the high pricing by the amount of equipment that will be offered in the car. Moreover, what the Vezel will do is, fill in the gap left over by the Civic.
The Vezel will be powered by 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines, and since Honda also recently showcased the newer turbo-petrol V-tec engines with cleaner emissions and higher specific output, we would not be surprised to find one of these engines in the Vezel. Dynamics wise, the Vezel is bound to be excellent, as Honda is known for the way they fine-tune the dynamics of a car, the way the age old CR-V handles is a testimony to this.
Honda Vezel Compact SUV – RearView
Given the high pricing, the Vezel will compete with the likes of the Tata Safari Storme, the Mahindra XUV 500 and the recently announced Nissan Qashqai, which is also a compact SUV with similar pricing. It has not been confirmed whether the Vezel would be launched in India, but it can be manufactured here by Honda without any troubles, as a majority of the parts are manufactured locally for the Jazz as well as the City, Honda can locally source parts for the Vezel as well. Given the boom in the compact SUV segment of our country, it would be sheer ignorance or stupidity for Honda not to launch the Vezel here. If signed-off for production, the Vezel will be launched by end-2014.
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See more pictures of Honda Vezel Compact SUV –
