Launched in Thailand in January 2016, the Honda BR-V has finally arrived in the Indian market. Now that it’s here, Honda India is looking to take on two of the hot sellers in the compact SUV space, namely the Hyundai Creta and the Renault Duster.
Here’s all you need to know about the new Honda BR-V.
The BR-V has been developed at Honda’s R&D facility in Bangkok, Thailand. It has been conceived to suit India and other Asian markets where compact SUVs have gained a lot of prominence off late.
Now although it shares a lot of greasy bits with the Mobilio MPV, the BR-V features a longer wheelbase, wider front and rear track and a higher ground clearance. Aesthetically, the BR-V takes inspiration from other Honda models as its looks somewhat echoes the CR-V and even the Mobilio. The window-line, for instance, gets an interesting kink on the rear door just like in the Mobilio. In profile, the BR-V seems like a jacked up station wagon, however, there are a few rugged looking bits like the chunky roof rails and the plastic body cladding for better road presence.
The BR-V is available in both petrol and diesel options. The petrol-powered car is equipped with the popular 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder i-VTEC engine that makes 118bhp of power and 145Nm of torque. The diesel car, on the other hand, houses the same 100bhp/200Nm 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder diesel unit that also powers the City, the Jazz and the Mobilio.
While both petrol and diesel models get a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard, Honda is offering the convenience of a CVT for the petrol powered BR-V. Interestingly, the CVT also comes with paddle shifters behind the steering wheel for better control over the gearbox.
The petrol BR-V has a company claimed fuel efficiency of 15.4kmpl for manual version and 16kmpl for the CVT version. The diesel model, as expected, is rated much higher at 21.9kmpl.
Unlike the Hyundai Creta or the Renault Duster which are sold as 5-seaters, the BR-V comes with three rows of seating, making it a 7-seater. The second row seat features a 60:40 split with slide and recline option while the third row seat is a 50:50 split folding type which can also be reclined. Once folded flat, the third row can be tumbled forward to maximise the boot space. The base boot space for the BR-V is rated at 223-litres which can be enhanced to 691litres with the third row folded down.
The BR-V is available in four trim levels in petrol and diesel variants – E, S, V and VX with manual gearbox. The CVT-equipped model, meanwhile, can be had in V trim. The entry-level E gets projector headlights, roof rails, tilt steering, power windows and even dual airbags and ABS (for diesel variant) as standard. The top-spec VX variant, meanwhile, is fully loaded with standard features including leather seats, leather wrapped steering wheel, electrically foldable wing mirrors, push-button start, multi-information display, climate control, rear AC vents and a 2-Din infotainment system.
As for the all-important pricing, the petrol BR-V range starts from Rs 8.75 lakh and goes up till Rs 11.84 lakh, while the similarly-specced diesel range is priced between Rs 9.90 lakh and Rs 12.90 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
