[SmartCat]

Yet another "full house" trip -

- 4 adults
- 2 kids
- luggage in boot
- luggage in roof bag





With this kind of load, mileage drops quite significantly. Got just 12 kmpl on a 400 km highway trip which was a mix of city traffic, 2 lane highways, mix of smooth and pothole ridden ghat road and 4 lane highway.

Charmadi ghat in the afternoon:



Udyavar river on one side and the sea on other, near Matti village (3 km from Malpe beach):





Found a stricken Chevrolet Aveo at the beach. Tied the Rs. 400 tow rope that I bought from Amazon.in to Aveo/BRV's back and pulled it out with ease. No photo/video of the act since I was at the wheel.





The Aveo's front wheels had sunk deep in the sand. To pull out the Aveo, I used the 'D mode' and applied gentle acceleration. Since BRV's front wheels were on tarmac, there was hardly any wheel-spin. Managed to pull out the Aveo with three or four gentle tugs.

[Reinhard]

Nice pictures. Felt peaceful just looking at those. Nature at its best. Car looks great too! One of the more flattering shades for the BR-V I always felt.

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Found a stricken Chevrolet Aveo at the beach. Tied the Rs. 400 tow rope that I bought from Amazon.in to Aveo/BRV's back and pulled it out with ease. No photo/video of the act since I was at the wheel.

I have always had a tremendous respect for the people who drive their FWD city cars with H/T tyres straight onto the beaches like pros.

[harishnavuluru]

SmartCat,
The pictures speak a very beautiful story. I am glad you are having such an awesome time with your BRV. Kudos!

I did a Hyd-Kadapa-Hyd trip last month and the BRV CVT gave me an FE of 14.6. The roads were pretty good throughout. I am assuming my driving style contributes to the slightly lesser than average FE it gives other drivers. I was skeptical about the road between Kurnool and Kadapa passing Nandyal, but was pleasantly surprised with the good roads. Only regret is that there were hardly any good eating joints (it was high time for lunch) though we did manage to grab a few bites in a few places.

One quick question I have for everyone:
I keep reading that the BRV is over priced at 16 lakhs. I see a Creta at 16.8 lakhs not having that tag of being over priced. Is it a function of just a little better interiors and a rear-parking sensors? I feel the USPs of BRV like high GC, Paddle Shifters, 7 seats, IVTEC Engine, Sedan like driving experience, very responsive braking, etc. should weigh in when we consider pricing. I maybe completely wrong and would like to learn from others, hence asking.

On another note, I have crossed 37k on my BRV and notice that the tyres are kind of worn out, although they do still have close to 2-3 mm of depth between the seams. Do you think I should go for a change of tyres? Also, I was considering if I should upgrade to either 205 or 215 tyres this time. I was told that 215 would make the steering harder. Any suggestions/guidance would be highly welcome.
Regards,
Harish

[arun_kun]

Originally Posted by harishnavuluru

SmartCat,
The pictures speak a very beautiful story. I am glad you are having such an awesome time with your BRV. Kudos!

I did a Hyd-Kadapa-Hyd trip last month and the BRV CVT gave me an FE of 14.6. The roads were pretty good throughout. I am assuming my driving style contributes to the slightly lesser than average FE it gives other drivers. I was skeptical about the road between Kurnool and Kadapa passing Nandyal, but was pleasantly surprised with the good roads. Only regret is that there were hardly any good eating joints (it was high time for lunch) though we did manage to grab a few bites in a few places.

One quick question I have for everyone:
I keep reading that the BRV is over priced at 16 lakhs. I see a Creta at 16.8 lakhs not having that tag of being over priced. Is it a function of just a little better interiors and a rear-parking sensors? I feel the USPs of BRV like high GC, Paddle Shifters, 7 seats, IVTEC Engine, Sedan like driving experience, very responsive braking, etc. should weigh in when we consider pricing. I maybe completely wrong and would like to learn from others, hence asking.

On another note, I have crossed 37k on my BRV and notice that the tyres are kind of worn out, although they do still have close to 2-3 mm of depth between the seams. Do you think I should go for a change of tyres? Also, I was considering if I should upgrade to either 205 or 215 tyres this time. I was told that 215 would make the steering harder. Any suggestions/guidance would be highly welcome.
Regards,
Harish

Hi Harish,

Main issue with the BRV is side angle looks. Front looks pretty good with those classic SUV looks. And of-course some gizmos which are missing.

I have BRV V iDtec and I completed 54k kms. I have recently changed to MRF Perinza 205/60 R16 tyres. They have pretty good grip and relatively less road noise(at least i feel so).

[harishnavuluru]

Originally Posted by arun_kun

Hi Harish,

Main issue with the BRV is side angle looks. Front looks pretty good with those classic SUV looks. And of-course some gizmos which are missing.

I have BRV V iDtec and I completed 54k kms. I have recently changed to MRF Perinza 205/60 R16 tyres. They have pretty good grip and relatively less road noise(at least i feel so).

Thanks Arun!
Was there a noticeable difference when you upgraded the tyres from 195 to 205 apart from reduction in noise levels? Like the steering becoming comparatively harder?

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by harishnavuluru

I keep reading that the BRV is over priced at 16 lakhs. I see a Creta at 16.8 lakhs not having that tag of being over priced.

hehe no. Creta is branded an overpriced hatchback on stilts too. The only difference is that Creta sells like hot cakes and BRV sells like Karela Juice.

On another note, I have crossed 37k on my BRV and notice that the tyres are kind of worn out, although they do still have close to 2-3 mm of depth between the seams. Do you think I should go for a change of tyres?

40,000 or 4 years, whichever comes first, is a good time to change tyres. You will immediately notice less road noise and nicer ride quality with new tyres.

Also, I was considering if I should upgrade to either 205 or 215 tyres this time. I was told that 215 would make the steering harder. Any suggestions/guidance would be highly welcome.

Originally Posted by arun_kun

I have recently changed to MRF Perinza 205/60 R16 tyres. They have pretty good grip and relatively less road noise(at least i feel so).

205/60 is the perfect tyre upgrade for BR-V because:

- Negligible speedo/odo error
- 10 mm wider tyre
- 6mm taller side wall

when compared to standard 195/60 R16 tyre. Steering does NOT become "hard" when you make an upgrade. I'm running MRF ZV2K 205/60 R16 tyres (same as the one on Ford Ecosport). Other popular tyre sizes for 16 inch wheels are 215/60 R16 (Nexon, S-Cross, Brezza etc) and 205/65 R16 (Creta, Seltos, Innova). However, you will see large speedo/odo difference if you upgrade to these sizes. 205/55 R16s (for Baleno/Ciaz class cars) are available but tyre sidewall is too small for a 7 seater MPV.

Also, 205/60 itself is a pretty tight fit:



Note that both 215/60 and 205/65 will have taller sidewalls and it might scrape the insides of the wheel well on humps or while making turns. No issues with 205/60 tyres.

[arun_kun]

Originally Posted by harishnavuluru

Thanks Arun!
Was there a noticeable difference when you upgraded the tyres from 195 to 205 apart from reduction in noise levels? Like the steering becoming comparatively harder?

Yes, Tyre noise was reduced and same can be felt. There are no issues with the steering being hard(any ways BRV steering is relatively harder than Baleno etc.. I was really scared of going beyond 100 on baleno as i felt like video game steering). But the big difference has been grip, when thrown around the corners.

[mohansrides]

Totally OT. But, I could not stay quiet.....

Originally Posted by SmartCat

My neighbor "Gym Ravi" bought a homestay......

Gym Ravi? Really?

Originally Posted by wangdu

...
The Pabbar River - extremely cold, I couldn't stand for more than 3 secs but took a few dips......

Wait. If you could not stand more than 3 seconds of that cold water, how on earth did you manage to take a few dips man?!!

[indranilmuk]

Well, wanted to share on this thread as well. I had been to Hyderabad from Bangalore and back for a family trip with my Honda BRV, VX IVTEC (Style Edition) and was delighted overall. Here is a picture of the odometer readings after reaching Bangalore.

[saisree]

Originally Posted by harishnavuluru

SmartCat,
One quick question I have for everyone:
I keep reading that the BRV is over priced at 16 lakhs. I see a Creta at 16.8 lakhs not having that tag of being over priced. Is it a function of just a little better interiors and a rear-parking sensors? I feel the USPs of BRV like high GC, Paddle Shifters, 7 seats, IVTEC Engine, Sedan like driving experience, very responsive braking, etc. should weigh in when we consider pricing. I maybe completely wrong and would like to learn from others, hence asking.

Just assume a 5 seater BRV instead of this 7 seater. The proportions would have changed and would have enhanced the overall look. 7 seater made it look like an MPV than a SUV. Honda can still cut the third row and call it some *RV and see it selling. Will Honda listen? NO

[Nithesh_M]

If Honda does that then people will complain its a longer Brio.

[ani_meher]

Originally Posted by Nithesh_M

If Honda does that then people will complain its a longer Brio.

That is the key problem, that it is based on Brio platform. No matter what they do, there is no hiding that narrow platform.

[harishnavuluru]

Honda is looking for its pound of flesh in the compact/midsize SUV segment desperately.
A few videos I came across:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNQQJaYgV_E

(Looks really good, but not sure how much of it will actually be carried to India, if ever)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1P6qOxf6wo&t=366s

(This can be my next one, it almost has all that BRV misses)

[SmartCat]

Honda has launched facelifted BR-V in ASEAN countries. Has -

- Apple CarPlay / Android Auto
- New alloy wheel design
- Slightly modified front-end

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKqefay31As

[indranilmuk]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Go for it, Sudhakar, if you like the car.

A friend and I checked out the Hexa XMA, the Crysta GX AT, the Ertiga automatic and finally zeroed in on the BRV CVT, despite the two of us knowing that sales are only around 600-800 units a month. The reason- this is the best trade off on cost, convenience and features, with a lot of parts in common with other Hondas.

I've seen a lot of discontinued models of Honda being serviced without fuss at the service centers and believe that service support would be available for at least 10 years.

You are absolutely right. I spoke with one of the showroom person, who deals with the resale cars and inspects the vehicles which comes for exchange. He told me not to worry and showed me a Honda City 2nd generation. He said, see Sir, this model is from 2006. We still get spares without issues. If spares are stopped, still no worries, if required Honda will manufacture them for you and send you. It will take some more time, thats it. Don't worry on BRV production being stopped. Service will continue. This he told me when I have already purchased BRV from there last year itself. So, it was not for marketing push and moreover he has no relation with marketing / sales as well.