Team-BHP - Honda BR-V : Official Review

@BUXX. Yes it is criminal. But Honda will continue doing it as long as people like us are ready to pay a premium for their over priced vehicles.

Anyways look at it this way. Suppose you don't get these sensors and God forbid you damage your rear bumper, it will be just your fault and trust me Honda will charge a bomb for fixing it. But, if you go for the sensors and by chance rattles do develop in the warranty period it will be Honda's responsibility to sort that out until you are satisfied, and that too free of cost.

But let me add one thing. Probably a bit OT. If you like the BR-V then go for it. Don't let these relatively small issues spoil the fun of actually purchasing a new vehicle. Enjoy it while it's niggle free (hopefully forever). In my case I always dreamed of getting the Fit. That didn't work so got the Jazz instead when I had saved enough. Yes it's not niggle free. But 2015 was a terrible year for me on the personal front. Still, each morning when I look at my Jazz, my first car purchased with my own money, I think... well, atleast something did go right that year... I did manage to cross one item out of my bucket list. As for the niggles, there is plenty of time to sort those out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by -xplora- (Post 3985808)

HR-V competes with Tucson.

CRV competes with high end Tucson and mid level Santa FE depending on various markets. But HRV is clearly not up to Tucson standards. Just Google for 'CRV vs Tucson' and 'HRV vs Tucson' in YouTube and you should have your answer.

Had the same discussion few days back in this thread, and afterwards I went through multiple international comparisons to be sure how these cars stack up against each other.

HRV is a match for Creta in dimensions, specifications and the international ix25 matches it in features as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR (Post 3985819)

HRV is a match for Creta in dimensions, specifications and the international ix25 matches it in features as well.

I agree with you Sir. But if Honda plans for SUV in the form of HR-V for India, I guess they will place it above Creta and call it as a Super/Mighty SUV. Expecting competitive pricing from Honda is what we can not do any more. So, they may price it close to Tucson :deadhorse.

This should have been the Mobilio in the first place. The problem with Honda is that it looks like a half-hearted attempt. Give rich interiors,give good technical features without any miss (example - rear parking sensor) and then please charge a premium. Honda seem to be providing 80% of the features and then charge 100% of the money. Rather give 100% of the features and charge even 120% even if you want!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flanker99 (Post 3985807)

But let me add one thing. Probably a bit OT. If you like the BR-V then go for it. Don't let these relatively small issues spoil the fun of actually purchasing a new vehicle. Enjoy it while it's niggle free (hopefully forever). In my case I always dreamed of getting the Fit. That didn't work so got the Jazz instead when I had saved enough. Yes it's not niggle free. But 2015 was a terrible year for me on the personal front. Still, each morning when I look at my Jazz, my first car purchased with my own money, I think... well, atleast something did go right that year... I did manage to cross one item out of my bucket list. As for the niggles, there is plenty of time to sort those out.

Don't worry about your Jazz not being niggle free. Everybody says Honda Civic was the last true Honda in terms of quality etc - but know what? These are the issues I faced with my 2007 Honda Civic in the last 6 years -

1) CD Player conked off thrice. First two times, I got it repaired - the third time, I just stopped using it.

2) Clutch made loud irritating creaking sound when pedal is depressed. This happened something like 20 or 30 times in 6 years. Solution is to spray copious amount of ZORRIK (its like WD 40)

3) Rear door beading fell off (partly) twice. Didn't bother replacing it again.

4) Improperly worn rear tyres: Idiots at Honda dealer never did wheel alignment properly

5) Unsolvable wheel alignment issue (resulted in rough ride quality and non-centering steering): Happened only once, and was eventually sorted after two months. Only after multiple visits to various wheel alignment centers.

6) Lower back ache in the last 2 years during long drives: Either I'm getting old or the leather seats had hardened.

But the Civic had the basics covered -> engine power, snappy gearshift, solid ride and handling, feelsome steering and rocking sound system. Everything else is forgiven.

The question to ask is - do you enjoy driving the Jazz?

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR (Post 3985819)

I beg to differ. How can you say HR-V and Creta specifications match ? HR-V is a 1.8 litre 141bhp engine to start with. Equipment and feature wise it has much more than Creta/ix25.

Coming to CR-V / Tucson / Santa Fe etc. If we go variants within models, then obviously there will be overlaps.

Creta < HR-V <= Tucson <= CR-V <= Santa Fe < Pilot.

Even pricing in the worlds biggest market mimics this logic and reviews do too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by -xplora- (Post 3985994)

How can you say HR-V and Creta specifications match ? HR-V is a 1.8 litre 141bhp engine to start with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by -xplora- (Post 3985994)

Equipment and feature wise it has much more than Creta/ix25.

Upcoming facelift ix25 has most of it covered. Details here - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post3981753

Anyways, be it Honda or Hyundai, half of these features won't make it to India anyways. The ones that are likely to make it on the HRV are already present in the Creta.

Creta seems to be a developing countries (India/China) only product. Any guesses as to why Creta is not sold in developed countries?

I did this small "Spreadsheet shootout" between Ertiga VXi AT and BR-V CVT. Many aspects of this shootout can also be used by people who want to compare other variants of Ertiga and BR-V. From this spreadsheet, you will get an idea about how much you are paying for all the "SUV" bits of BR-V

The BR-V V CVT also has the following additional features over Ertiga VXi AT -

16 inch Alloy Wheels (Ertiga has steel wheels)
Projector Headlamps
Keyless Entry
Keyless Engine Start Stop
Automatic Climate Control
Electric Foldable OVRM
2nd Row Tumbling Seats
3rd Row Tumbling Seats
3rd Row Reclining Seats
Steering Paddle shifts

Quote:

Originally Posted by smartcat (Post 3985937)

But the Civic had the basics covered -> engine power, snappy gearshift, solid ride and handling, feelsome steering and rocking sound system. Everything else is forgiven.

The question to ask is - do you enjoy driving the Jazz?

I think you answered the question yourself.... Ofcourse I do. I think all Honda owners, current as well as aspiring ones, unanimously will agree to the fact that the iVTEC is an absolute gem. Even the iDTEC, although a bit coarse, has its share of fans here. And in any case what exactly in life is perfect? Be it man or machine, everything has some shortcoming or the other.

Cheers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by smartcat (Post 3986020)

I did this small "Spreadsheet shootout" between Ertiga VXi AT and BR-V CVT. Many aspects of this shootout can also be used by people who want to compare other variants of Ertiga and BR-V. From this spreadsheet, you will get an idea about how much you are paying for all the "SUV" bits of BR-V

This 140 kmph limit, does it apply to all BRVs or it is only for the CVT version?

One important thing is the specs posted by @smartcat above is the rear seat width.
In the older version of the Jazz and City, it was 135 cm whereas BR-V is only 127 cm. That is a good 8 cm/ 3 inches less. I am sure the new Jazz or City might be same or even better. No wonder people are complaining about the problem of sitting 3 in the BR-V second row. Honda should have taken care of this. I guess there are restrictions due to using the Brio platform.

I think someone raised a point about why Honda is failing to read what the India car buyers are looking for in a car like BR-V. The point is - the BR-V is not a car made for India. It is mainly meant for a market like Indonesia which loves 7 seaters. It seems to be doing very well there. It's a matter of fact that Honda India does not have the willingness to put money and effort in understanding the Indian market and making cars or tailoring the features list to match the buyers' preferences. So, in absence of that, they are bringing cars mainly targeted for other markets to India and unable to hit the bulls' eye. Even if Honda continues to do so, I would prefer if they bring their truly global products like Civic/HRV to India along with the ones made for the developing countries like the BR-V

Quote:

Originally Posted by -xplora- (Post 3985994)

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR (Post 3986009)

You are right. But, that's for the US market with its preference for large petrol motors.

UK and other similar markets gets a 1.5L iVTec and a 1.6L iDTec with 130ps, 155Nm and 120ps, 300 Nm respectively. Not far off from the Creta.

Dimensions you can compare. It's similar too.

Upcoming facelift ix25 has most of it covered. Details here - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post3981753

Anyways, be it Honda or Hyundai, half of these features won't make it to India anyways. The ones that are likely to make it on the HRV are already present in the Cretaclap:.

This month's Autocar India has an article about Honda's future plans. They are planning to bring the Civic next year and are evaluating the HR-V. The HR-V will be priced in the 16-22 lakh bracket i.e. against the Tucson. It will be powered by the 1.8 petrol engine. The 1.6 diesel sold internationally is also being evaluated and tuned for India.