Why You Should Wait For Honda's Upcoming SUV

Honda may be one of the oldest carmakers in the industry and have a storied reputation, but there's no denying that they've had a difficult few years in the Indian market, owing to their lack of an offering in the extremely popular mid-size SUV segment dominated by the Creta and Seltos, and while they did try to plug the gap with the WR-V and BR-V, they had too many shortcomings for their own good, and Honda ultimately chose to pull the plug on them entirely, joining the ranks of the Civic, Brio, Mobilio, Jazz, and CR-V.

The City and Amaze are the only cars currently left in Honda's arsenal, but with demand for sedans dwindling and SUV popularity skyrocketing by the day, they need to adapt to the market, otherwise they may go the route of Ford. Thankfully though, after almost 2 years of development and claims of extensive market surveys, they're ready.

What you see above is the design sketch Honda released a few weeks ago for their brand-new, built-for-India mid-size SUV that will go up against the Creta, Hyryder, Grand Vitara, Seltos, Astor, Kushaq, and Taigun.

While the sketch is just a silhouette, keen-eyed observers will notice styling similar to the 2022 HR-V sold internationally. The front lights have a sharp, swept profile, and it's pleasing to see that Honda haven't bothered with a split-headlight arrangement like many others in the segment, offering it a distinctive look. The DRLs blend smartly with the large multi-slat grille. Fog lights and cladding can be observed on the front bumper. Overall, the front-end design is aggressive and butch, while maintaining the Honda identity.

The side profile carries over the upright aesthetic, with flat lines and chunky cladding around the fenders and skirts. I do hope Honda gets the wheel-well-gap-to-tyre-size ratio right, as it's something that their designs have suffered from in the past, making their cars look like they're on stilts.

Roof rails can also be spotted in the sketch, although whether they're functional or not remains to be seen. Similar to the HR-V, this new SUV seems to have a tapering "coupe" roofline, which I'm not sure about. It looks awkward on a high-riding vehicle. That's about everything we can decipher from the sketch, but here's everything else we know about the new Honda SUV.

1. Built on the Amaze platform

This is good news, since the Amaze scored a 4/5 in the Global NCAP crash tests and in typical Honda fashion, is a very dynamically sound platform, which bodes well for comfort and driving pleasure.

2. No diesel variant, only petrol and strong hybrid

With BS6 norms about to reach Phase-2, tuning diesel engines to comply is proving to be an increasingly tedious task for carmakers, to the point where most have stopped offering diesel engines entirely and are now focussing their efforts on electrification (read: Toyota, Maruti, MG, and Tata). In the same vein, Honda will also offer their SUV with the famed 1.5L 120hp i-VTEC mated to either a 5-speed manual or CVT, or the 1.5L petrol strong-hybrid powertrain from the City e:HEV, developing 130hp and mated to an eCVT. The latter being an option is good news since the City e:HEV was widely regarded to have superb fuel efficiency as well as an enjoyable driving experience.

3. ADAS features

Another set of features rumoured to be carried over from the City e:HEV will be ADAS functionality — namely lane keep assist, collision mitigation braking, adaptive cruise control, road departure mitigation, and auto headlamp beam adjust. This will make the Honda SUV the only other vehicle in its segment to offer ADAS, with the first being the MG Astor.

4. High levels of localisation should make for a competitive price

If there's something Honda's been famously bad at, it's pricing their cars higher than the rest of the segment while offering an equal or fewer amount of features. Hopefully, with their extensive research into customer demands and market trends, coupled with high levels of localisation, they can offer competitive prices for their SUV, ideally starting from 11–12 lakh for the base petrol variant going up to 20–21 lakh for the range-topping strong hybrid.

5. Reveal this summer; prices and launch by festive season

As per their social media channels, Honda have confirmed that the SUV will be revealed by summer 2023, and according to Autocar India, pricing announcement and launch will take place by the festive season.

Honda cars have always excelled at driving dynamics, quality, and comfort. However, the market has wildly pivoted in the last few years and Honda just haven't been able to keep up, leading to a loss of two-thirds of their market share in the past 7 years. This new SUV might just be what brings them back up amongst the top players, provided they hit bullseye on every mark when it comes to pricing, as well as offer a smorgasbord of features to successfully sway buyers. They already have some of the best powertrains in the business, but they can't coast on that reputation any longer. Honda must adapt.