[John316_WRC]

Originally Posted by GuChDa

My opinion
Agreed that Indian versions are always inferior in general...Driving sensibly and carefully is the only protection. Ratings are mental satisfaction though.

Gentleman, you couldn't be further away from the truth. It is Kia and Hyundai who actively shove structurally inferior products to us Indians. They overload the car with features and majority of us gobble them up. The Global NCAP ratings don't lie. Maruti too does this and yet for the sake of FE we are happy to buy tin cans. The humble Tiago/Tigor, Amaze, old Jazz all could score 4 stars in Global NCAP. Now ask yourself this, why should a car costing 20+ lacs barely scrape through with 3stars even after having 6 airbags?

Tata, Mahindra, VW group and Honda don't play around when it comes to safety. Why should we Indians get structurally inferior cars? Can we put a price tag on safety? Should we trade in features for our lives/disability/injury? Is it worth taking a chance? God help us!

Originally Posted by GuChDa

That's when he drove at 60 kmph speed. So it can't be a figure for reference.

Your negative bias is pretty evident. Bunny clearly mentions in the video the speeds will be 85-90 kmph. And this here is the magic. This engine will surprise you with its economy.

Originally Posted by wheelguy

Driving sensibly and carefully won't help if other motorists on the road are idiots. It only helps if every driver on the road is a careful driver and that can never happen.
I have seen accidents across Delhi and Hyderabad which happened within the city limits, and sadly few people despite no fault of them lost their lives...It doesn't matter if people don't care about their safety, that's their choice, but what irks me is these people pushing various stupid arguments to write off the importance of safety

Passive safety is our last line of defence. Great point! This is why despite other niggles and shortcomings, Tata, Mahindra, VAG and Honda will always have my respect. Indians definitely need more education and awareness towards safety.

Originally Posted by amalji

Without 6 airbags, you will never get a 5 star crash test rating in today's crash tests.

Funny enough, the Kia Carens even with 6 airbags, barely got 3 stars.

[whencut86]

Originally Posted by CarguyNish

Just went through Feature List of Grand Vitara, Toyota Hyryder and here are some major differences I found out as compared to Elevate.

Originally Posted by 07CR

Hyryder is also available in AWD, at about the same rumored price of Elevate. It also gets the Pano Sunroof and 360 degree cam. It gets the semi digital instrument cluster, just like Elevate, if I am not wrong. Then there's few nicities like reclining rear seats, ambient lighting and proper TPMS systems (not tire deflation warning system like Elevate).

The Hyryder or Grand Vitara loses steam after 110kmph. The 1.5 ivtec in the Elevate can cruise at speeds above this on the highway with less strain on the engine. If frequent highway runs are a requirement, the Elevate makes more sense over these 2. This combined with the boot space Elevate has makes this a better pick over the other 2 if one is looking for only a Petrol engine. But all this holds true if Elevate is priced slightly less than the Hyryder or around this ballpark.

[PrideRed]

Being a late entrant Honda should have come with all possible options. A Hybrid could have made this bit more desirable. While I like the looks, I can't a find a reason to pick this over the new Seltos or even Creta/Hyryder(Hybrid). Toyota/MS in contrast went all the way by offering Hybrid and even an AllGrip variant! KIA Seltos with the facelift has become much more desirable in this segment.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by 07CR

I have been driving turbos for a decade now. Prior to that had a NA Chevy UVA. I can for sure say all above points have been proven false atleast in my case. The low end pull has been fantastic in all my turbo cars compared to the UVA. My Amaze S IDTEC, Ecosport S TDCI and Sonet Turbo P, have been absolutely 0 maintenance suffer almost 0 to nil turbo lag at city speeds and have exceeded a total of 1.7L kms of driving between them, without breaking a sweat. Sure the Amaze refinement was horrible, but the refinement of Sonet and Ecosport is absolutely spot on, and no one has had any complaints with respect to their refinements.

I have driven all of the vehicles mentioned above. While I can vouch for the lack of turbo lag on a Honda Amaze Diesel and in some way for the Ford Ecosport Diesel, I will prefer a Honda 1.5 NA any day over the Sonet 1.0 turbo charged unit. Had Honda provided that sweet Hybrid option, I would have preferred it even over the Diesel options you mentioned above. I hope, Honda listens to the rants here in and correct their mistake of not giving us the Hybrid. EVs as mass market cars are still a long way away.

Originally Posted by Pancham

5. Spacious boot.

This is a real differentiator compared to the competition. In fact, it's a pity that Honda did not use it to their advantage by plonking a Hybrid option. Even if they are unable to engineer hybrid battery space utilisation like in a Camry or Yaris Cross or the Hycross, they would have still have had enough buffer boot space to work with thanks to that huge boot.

Originally Posted by John316_WRC

Funny enough, the Kia Carens even with 6 airbags, barely got 3 stars.

I wouldn't even call that as 3 stars. It missed the 2 just by a few decimal points. But, we cannot blame Hyundai / Kia. We as a consumer value bling over any of these fundamentals which you cannot see with our naked eyes. And our safety regulations are too lenient which hopefully will change and force these manufacturers to be transparent about safety atleast.

[poised2drive]

The only Achilles heel to Honda Elevate is the lack of Hybrid Option since there is no IDtec anymore!


Most of the Honda Loyalists/People who give least preference to Gizmos would certainly veer towards the Japanese brands like Honda/Toyota rather than Korean brands.

People wanting an automatic Petrol which is Reliable, Easy to maintain, Handsome (with Good GC) & Safe (assuming Honda won't cut corners) would choose the Elevate.

This car may not fire up the charts, but it will certainly move numbers to keep Honda afloat till they introduce the next "OHC"

[Rakeshmbalaji]

I have always followed all your posts with great interest but this particular one highlighting Kia being better does not augur well, given their scant respect to Indian lives. If you look at all extra features of Kia against Honda, probably 2-3 are big misses like rear headrest / lap belt / Illuminated swithces etc. Rest all are mere cosmetic or feel good additions which I expect to influence only a section of buyers that prefer bling, dont keeptheir cars for more than 4-5 years and will move onto the next shiny object in 2028.

Originally Posted by 07CR

Seltos HTX IVT is way better equipped than the Elevate ZX. Gets the following over the Elevate-

1. All wheel disc brakes - If Kia cars dont stop, they will in high probability break into two.
2. Proper TPMS with air readouts(Elevate gets a tire deflation warning system) - Necessary feature to have, if you are a driver so ignorant not to check tyre pressure regularly
3. Front Parking sensors _ necessary if you are a driver who dont know where the front of your car is
4. Sequential turn indicators - Fancy?
5. Pano Sunroof - Enough has been discussed about the uselessness
6. Ambient lighting and Sound mood lamps - Unless you are a tiktoker who wants a reel inside the car akin to a limo ride in Vegas
7. Drive modes - WOnt Elevate Automatic also get Eco, City Sport and Manual?
8. Traction modes - I feel this is useful
9. All LED interior lamps - Not a dealbreaker
10. Illuminated power window buttons - Agreed bad omission from Honda
11. Auto Up down for all windows - Such a boon in modern day cars, even 20 lakh Nexon EV skimps on this sadly
12. Rear camera with dynamic guidelines (Elevate gets static) - Useful addition
13. Driver rear view monitor - Good to have maybe?
14. Rear door sunshades - Easy aftermarket addition
15. 3 adjustable rear headrests (Elevate gets 2) - Sad Omission
16. Dual Zone AC - Good to have
17. 3 point rear seatbelts (Elevate gets lap belt for middle) - Sad Omission
18. Height adjustable front seat belts - Good to have
19. Speed limiter function in cruise control
20. Reclining rear seats - Good to have
21. Navigation display in MID - Sad Omission
22. Smart Air Purifier - Good to have
23. A more loaded and faster 10.25 inch touchscreen - Has Elevate been reported as slow, useless and hanging like the Mahindras?

[atluri_rkc]

A not so exciting product with features, which are segment lagging.

If Honda is trying to grab share from market leaders (Hyundai & KIA), it should have either loaded Elevate with features (including design and looks), offer great performance or go for a competitive pricing. While the review is clear on the first 2 parameters, I doubt Honda will offer anything close to competitive pricing. They have always been very aspirational with their pricing and thus eroding the value perception to any potential customer - lets not forget the quality drop whenever Honda spoke about localization. Dont forget all the buzz around Triumph launch and significant amount of this buzz is only due to pricing. Mahindra started, RE continued, KIA attempted (with Carens), Hyundai (with Exter) attempted and now Bajaj is picking up - launch at killer (in the name of introductory) pricing and make subsequent increases. Lets not forget that all the above offerings were not just playing the price game but had good features vs. the segment they were competing in.

Even if Elevate manages to become successful, it will still be mostly a single offering brand (not counting City here as the product and the segment don't drive volumes) and this always screams insecurity (of brand exiting the market) for potential customers and high service costs (as ASC's will have to earn just off a few customers and one model).

While some argue that turbo is not required in the segment, I am sure turbo offerings (while all the competitors have) will bring foot falls, enquiries and test rides. There could be customers who will settle for NA offering but its difficult to go back to NA offering after owning a turbo offering. Having worked in the turbocharger industry, I can say that the gasoline turbo offerings are evolving and reaching the efficiency and volumes of diesel turbo offerings.

I strongly believe Elevate will cannibalize City sales with minimal-to-nil effect on the competition. Its late to the segment and has a lot to catchup.

[HMV]

The car seems like a good overall package. The interiors look premium in tan shade and it gets a satisfactory set of features as well. However, if priced at a significant premium over the competition, it simply won’t make sense for many buyers. On one hand, there are feature-loaded Korean twins with good powertrain options (especially a diesel engine) and on the other hand, there are dynamically-sorted VAG twins with FAST turbo-petrol motors. I believe only sane pricing can help the Elevate sell in the segment.

I was watching FK’s video review and noticed plenty of exposed screws in the cabin. They look so out of place in an otherwise premium cabin:




The sunroof cover seems pretty flimsy as well:

[Rakeshmbalaji]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

This car will be dead on arrival.

Give me three reasons to buy this car over the Creta or the Seltos!

I find none.

This car is the WRV equivalent in the SUV Space. Great at nothing, but equally expensive.

On a lighter note - Only one reason I can easily convince myself against anything from Maruti / Hyundai / Kia stable is my probability of survival in an unfortunate situation.

[PreludeSH]

From all the reviews it seems Honda has a vehicle with good driving dynamics, good suspension, clean good quality interior, good boot space etc. Safety should be good based on their own testing.

They however shirked from giving features that other cars have in this segment. Being so far front in hybrid implementations, its unfathomable why they wouldn't do it on something that's key to their sales/future. An EV based on this is late. Even then they would limit features and not be the first choice.

[Spaced Out]

Originally Posted by CarguyNish

Just went through Feature List of Grand Vitara, Toyota Hyryder and here are some major differences I found out as compared to Elevate.

As a Jazz owner, this would have been a perfect upgrade for me. I don’t care for most of the missing features and am delighted that the Elevated does not have a panoramic roof.

The lack of a Hybrid option is however the key factor.

With petrol prices never showing any signs of coming down + my lack of belief in EV infrastructure in India - Hybrid was the bet to make. Let’s see what unfolds.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by Rakeshmbalaji

On a lighter note - Only one reason I can easily convince myself against anything from Maruti / Hyundai / Kia stable is my probability of survival in an unfortunate situation.

I would recommend removing Maruti out of that list atleast in this segment. Global C platform on which Hyryder/Grand Vitara is based on has proven its mettle multiple times unlike the Heartect platform used in cheaper Marutis.

[wheelguy]

Originally Posted by Pancham

A no-nonsense car with a Honda badge and it doesn't look like Honda cut a lot of corners to build it - which means they are serious about the Elevate. Clearly my pick of the segment.

After reading about Seltos' safety ratings, I developed a mental block and cannot think of buying a Kia or a Hyundai ever (although I have owned two and have one currently).

Owning Hyundai cars for so long, I can say they don't age too well compared to Hondas. But alas! We only look for features these days.

They are selling solely based on features and cool interiors. Not just safety, there are numerous issues with reliability and after-sales-service. One has to see the plight of Hyundai and Kia car owners in USA & Canada. The companies were slapped with multiple lawsuits effecting millions of Hyundai & Kia car owners, they were now forced to resolve those issues. If that is the plight of their customers in USA and Canada, imagine what will happen to the ones in our country down the line, we don't have strong consumer focused laws. To put it briefly, the troubles faced by the effected owners are:

1. Sudden engine seizures

2. Excessive oil consumption, some are forced to replenish oil every 1000 miles.

3. Multiple cars suddenly catching fires.

4. Engine failures happening again and again despite multiple engine swaps. Note, only few are getting new engines, rest are getting refurbished engines.

5. Cars are being easily stolen, due to deceitful skimping on anti-theft feature in millions of vehicles by these companies, funnily this was discovered due to a tik-tok video. Later it became a big lawsuit and they were forced to update the vehicles and compensate the owners.

6. There is a separate class action lawsuit for engine failures issue.

7. Poor after sales service

8. Service centers intentionally damaging car parts to inflate bills.

9. Vexed with poor after sales support and customer care, the owners are selling off their cars at huge loss and are moving to other brands.

10. They are now paying two EMIs, one on the car they sold off at loss, another on the new car.

11. Wiring harness failures.

12. Surprisingly, the issues are not limited to just ICE cars, they extend to their hybrids and EVs too! And more surprisingly the issues are present even in the cars bought in 2023.

No exaggeration here, one can checkout this FB page wherein all the troubled owners are discussing the above listed issues. All these owners were not any fake complainers but the real owners whose VIN numbers are included in the lawsuits for resolution. There is more to it, the rot is deep.

If that is the spate of their consumers in countries like USA and Canada, I don't think they will provide any better quality products in India.

These companies are good at containing the bad press, they know how to manage the popular automotive figures and contain the bad press. For reference, recently around three Kia Seltos caught fire by themselves in a span of few days, one freshly after the service in the hands of service personnel themselves. The popular automotive websites/figures which questioned fire accidents of other OEMs were dead silent now.

[capnemo]

Is it just me or it seems like there is a considerable amount of external noise filtering into the cabin, in most of the Youtube reviews of the Elevate ?

[07CR]

Originally Posted by capnemo

Is it just me or it seems like there is a considerable amount of external noise filtering into the cabin, in most of the Youtube reviews of the Elevate ?

NVH has been a bane for most Honda cars. The engine noise is not an issue. The general insulation is a major one. That could be it.