Honda Brio-based Compact SUV (speculated rendering)
It is no secret that Indians love SUV’s, but the catch is that, we Indians want everything at a low price, and that is where the Compact SUV’s come into play. Compact SUV’s have many advantages in a country like ours, they give us the confidence that an SUV should give, they can tackle bad roads with ease, they are spacious, which aids utility and last but not the least, they can squeeze through tight spots with ease due to their size. Most of all, what impresses the consumers is the pricing. Because most of the Compact SUV’s measure less than 4-metres in length, they get benefits in taxes and are very cheap to purchase, compared to other cars. Due to the boom in the Compact SUV segment, manufacturers are trying harder than ever to get at least one product of theirs into the Compact SUV segment.
Ford has the EcoSport and Renault has the Duster, which were both massively successful, selling thousands of units. It wasn’t long, before other manufacturers tried to get the same response by launching their Compact SUV, and Honda too had been considering the launch of a Compact SUV for quite some time now. Honda first planned to launch the Vezel Compact SUV which was based on the Jazz, but then found out that it would not find many buyers at that price point. So, they scrapped the plans of launching the Vezel, and decided to make a new SUV based on the Brio.
Honda Brio dashboard (image used as an illustration)
The Brio platform is a small car platform and is already shared between the Brio hatchback, Amaze sedan and Mobilio MUV. This shows that the platform is versatile and hence Honda has decided to use that platform for the upcoming Compact SUV as well. We can expect many similarities between the Compact SUV and the trio that currently uses the Brio platform as Honda will definitely resort to part sharing to bring the costs down to earth. As for engine options, the SUV will most probably get the 1.5-litre i-DTEC, EarthDreams engine currently found in the Amaze, and by the time the Compact SUV is ready for production, Honda will also have the turbo-petrol i-VTEC engines in production and will in all probability use these engines in the upcoming Compact SUV. The SUV will also have the ride quality and driving dynamics Honda is known for. Design wise, the SUV will look similar to the Mobilio, but with more muscular body lines all over the car, interiors will be spacious and loaded with features and gizmos.
The Brio-based affordable Compact SUV will be revealed to the world by the end of 2014 and will most probably go on-sale, early or mid-2015.
Also see – India will not get Honda Vezel, Instead mulls adding a Brio-based Compact SUV
Image Credit – MotorBeam
