CARVERSAL

Honda has debuted its SUV, the Honda Elevate, globally today in the event in New Delhi and marking the company’s entry into the SUV category. The bookings for the Elevate will take place in July 2023, and a price announcement will happen later on after that.

Design and Dimensions

Regarding styling, the Elevate looks similar to the new designs of overseas Honda SUVs like the C-RV. On the front, the SUV gets a prominent grille, sleek LED headlamps, and two fog lamps underneath it. The headlights and the LED daytime running lamps are connected by a thick chrome bar, just like on the City Sedan. Elevate has a flat nose with a big Honda “H” in the middle.

Coming to its side profile, the SUV features slightly flared wheel arches embedded with thick plastic cladding that gives the SUV a bulky look. The Elevate also gets big 17-inch alloy wheels similar to the ones seen on the Facelifted City.

And at the back, it offers a slightly raked window with connected taillights. The wrap-around tail lights look similar to the latest-gen WR-V sold in markets like Indonesia. It also gets an indentation on the tailgate for its number plate area.

In terms of its dimensions, the Elevate is 4312mm long, 1650mm high and has a wheelbase of 2650mm, which makes its dimensions almost similar to the Hyundai Creta. It also offers 458 litres of boot space and 220mm ground clearance compared to the 190mm clearance in the Hyundai Creta.

Interior and Features

The Honda Elevate features a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen in the middle of its dash and also gets its signature single-pane sunroof instead of a panoramic sunroof. Further, it also brings a 7-inch digital instrument cluster, wireless smartphone integration with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and a rear parking camera.

The Honda Elevate will also offer its Sensing ADAS suite, including features like a collision mitigation braking system, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, road departure warning and automatic high beam assist.

Engine and Platform

The Honda Elevate is built on the Japanese firm's Global Small Car platform, which also underpins the Honda City. The Elevate is expected to have an electric powertrain in the next 3 years, so it will only have one engine option available till then.

The petrol engine included in the SUV is a 1.5L four-cylinder engine similar to the one seen on the City Sedan and will churn out 121 hp and 145 Nm of torque mated to a 6-speed manual or a CVT automatic. The SUV will be offered with a front-wheel drive configuration.

Launch and Rivalry

The Elevate will rival all the SUVs in the midsize SUV segment, which includes the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Volkswagen Taigun, Skoda Kushaq, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, MG Astor and the Citroen C3 Aircross which will come later on.

In terms of prices, the announcement is expected to happen in the upcoming months, with its launch following directly after that. The Honda Elevate is Honda’s initiative toward the Make In India campaign. Honda has confirmed that the SUV will be exported globally and assembled and created in India.