After months of speculation, comparisons, hotly contested debates and long nightmares suffered by rivals, Honda Cars India has finally launched the Mobilio MPV in the country at a very competitive starting price of Rs. 6.49 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi). Based on the Brio hatchback, the Mobilio is the third vehicle to share the platform after the Brio and Amaze and is offered with the choice of petrol and diesel engine options, while following the Japanese automaker’s ‘man maximum, machine minimum’ philosophy.
The Honda Mobilio is a 7-seater MPV measuring 4386 mm in length, 1683 mm in width and 1603 mm in height. The Mobilio shares its front fascia with the Brio hatchback giving a soft and pleasing appearance, while the transformation into an MPV is visible at the side profile, starting from the B-pillar. At the rear though, the Mobilio sports the new Honda City inspired tail lights that certainly add to a more upmarket appeal to the MPV. On the inside, the cabin has been extended to offer maximum space to its occupants.
While the dashboard has been carried over from the Amaze compact sedan, and even though boring, they do not look out of place on the MPV. The overall fit and finish too is appreciable as expected from Honda. You get head rest integrated front seats, while the second and third row can be fully folded to maximise luggage space. There is plenty of headroom and knee room in the front and the second row, but the third can be a bit cramped for tall passengers. Nonetheless, the large windows and beige interiors make the cabin appear roomier.
The Honda Mobilio is equipped with features such as a 2-DIN audio system with USB and AUX connectivity, manual air-con with roof mounted vents for rear passengers and alloy wheels. The MPV does miss out on automatic climate control, which should have been on offer at least on the top end variant along with Bluetooth connectivity. Customers can opt to retrofit the AVN package that adds a touchscreen system with navigation, reverse parking camera screen and the audio system at an additional cost from the dealer.
In terms of powertrain, the Mobilio gets the 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol engine producing 119 PS power at 6600 RPM and 145 Nm of torque at 4600 RPM, while the diesel variants are powered by the 1.5-litre i-DTEC engine with Earth Dreams technology and produces 100 PS of power at 3600 RPM and 200 Nm of torque at 1750 RPM. Both the engines are paired to a 5-speed manual transmission. Honda has limited the top speed to 140 km/hr in the interest of fuel efficiency and the MPV returns an ARAI certified 17.3 km/l on the petrol and 24.2 km/l on the diesel versions.
Safety tech on the Mobilio include dual front airbags with ABS available on the top-end variants, while stopping performance comes from front discs and rear drum brakes. Honda is offering the Mobilio is 4 trims namely E, S, V and RS. Honda has also offered the Mobilio in RS trim which gets a host of sporty bits on the outside, including projector headlights, all round body kit, sportier wheels, rear spoiler, etc. The RS variant is only offered with a diesel engine and deliveries for the same will commence in September. Honda will commence deliveries of regular Mobilio variants from today. This MPV has been specially developed for Asian markets and has sold 46,000 units in Indonesia. The target audience are people aged between 30 to 40 years with upper C-segment customers and extended families being prime customers.
The Honda Mobilio will be competing against the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, Toyota Innova, Chevrolet Enjoy and Nissan Evalia in the segment. After the back to back success of the Amaze and City in India, Honda is certainly going to make it big for the third time with the Mobilio. The company has been the fastest to achieve 50,000 unit sales in the C-segment with the City. It sold 1.34 lakh units in the last fiscal, the growth fuelled by the i-DTEC diesel engine. The automaker will expand its dealership network to 230 outlets in 150 cities next year.
You can read our 2014 Honda Mobilio review HERE.
2014 Honda Mobilio Petrol Prices (ex-showroom, Delhi) –
* Honda Mobilio Petrol E – Rs. 6.49 lakhs
* Honda Mobilio Petrol S – Rs. 7.51 lakhs
* Honda Mobilio Petrol V – Rs. 8.77 lakhs
2014 Honda Mobilio Diesel Prices (ex-showroom, Delhi) –
* Honda Mobilio Diesel E – Rs. 7.89 lakhs
* Honda Mobilio Diesel S – Rs. 8.60 lakhs
* Honda Mobilio Diesel V – Rs. 9.76 lakhs
* Honda Mobilio Diesel RS – Rs. 10.86 lakhs
