Honda’s compact SUV will be getting seven seats and will not be as compact as expected. It will feature premium interiors and compete with the likes of the Renault Duster.
After the instant success of the Ford EcoSport and Renault Duster, most manufacturers including Maruti, Hyundai, Nissan, Volkswagen, Tata, Toyota, etc. are mulling to enter the segment with their own range of compact SUVs to increase their market reach. Honda is also one such car maker that has taken the subject very seriously and is planning to launch a vehicle in the segment towards the end of next year.
In the beginning of this year, we brought you news that Honda will be launching a compact SUV by late 2016. Many were expecting Honda to enter the segment with the Vezel, but this plan did not materialise further as launching the Vezel compact SUV in India did not turn out to be a good option due to high production costs, the company stated. The vehicle won’t be sub 4-metre in length and will thereby not be positioned alongside the Mobilio in terms of pricing.
Latest news suggests that Honda recently took many of its top dealers to the company’s R&D facility in Japan to give them a glimpse of the production version of the compact SUV. As it turns out, the newly developed compact SUV is not actually compact per say. The SUV will have seven seats and will rival the likes of the Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano and also the Mahindra XUV500 to an extent.
The freshly designed SUV will be sharing its underpinnings with the Mobilio MPV and may even resemble the vehicle upto a certain extent. Similarities to the Vezel may also be retained as it has largely been appreciated in other countries. The SUV will have the normal rugged nature with large wheels, black body cladding and skid plates and will also be more premium as compared to the Mobilio, Amaze and Brio. It may share many bits and pieces with the hugely successful City as Honda has received quite a bit of criticism with the interior quality of their cheaper products. The company hence would not want take the same chance with their new SUV as the segment has been booming for quite some time now.
Mechanical details of the SUV still remains in the dark, but Honda’s 1.5-litre petrol and diesel motors that are found on the Mobilio are likely to be offered. The manufacturer will most likely showcase the new SUV at the upcoming 2016 Auto Expo before launching it later the same year and prices are expected to be a little higher than the City.
Source – AutocarIndia.com