[mayjay]

Test drove the Elevate Manual, the Elevate CVT and the Seltos HTX IVT back to back. Please pardon the length of the post, all the usual disclaimers apply and these are purely my impressions.

The distance was about 2-3 kms with the manual, 4-5 with the CVT and 7-8 kms with the Seltos with the same route.

First up was the Elevate manual. Sat inside and it immediately felt better than the last time i had spent in the display vehicle - as I was able to get in easily, with the steering not fouling my legs. I found the driving seat does not slide back enough to what would have been my ideal driving position (I’m six foot tall). I would characterise it as just ok. I ended up sitting a little knees up and felt that under thigh support was lacking.
The window line was a tad higher than what would have been ideal.

Put the car into gear and took pressure off the clutch pedal to get going, but nothing happened - this is because the clutch pedal travel is super long - reference point is my Honda City 3rd gen manual.

Finally got moving and the immediate thing which struck me was the buzzing noise - it was much higher than what I’m used to - and I drive a near 15 year old car that’s done 1.3 lakh kms. The buzzing sound is also a little harsh, with rough edges and not refined at all. Remarked about this to the SA who said that I should wait for the CVT as that is smoother. Going through the gears was easy enough once I factored in the long travel after about 2-3 initial gear changes. I guess the travel felt longer because it is more difficult to press the pedal when you are sitting in a knees up position.

As soon as it was time to turn, hit the turn indicator and the lane change camera came up on the screen. It took some effort to take eyes off the road and look at it, but I guess one could get used to it since the touchscreen is relatively high.
What did strike me was that the turn indicator stalk was pretty plasticky in movement - in the sense that it felt unlubricated / undamped, and nowhere as refined as my City, which again is nearly 15 years old.
The ride itself was pretty smooth and bumps in the road were easily dealt with, though I did note some side to side movement which is not surprising given the high ground clearance.

The drive was fairly short and I left feeling clear that the manual was a clear no-go.

Got into the CVT immediately after getting out of the manual and made the adjustments to the seat. The seat travel had the same issue - but I do have another observation. As the dead pedal of the CVT is set higher than that of the manual, I felt that it forced my left leg into a less comfortable knee up position. Had it been lower or not present, my leg could have been more relaxed and the thigh would have been closer to the seat.

On the move, the CVT immediately felt much smoother. There was no harsh noise as was there in the manual. At slow speeds, it felt pretty natural to drive and the rubber band effect was not apparent. Once I got to the highway I could push it and at one stage the speed did take some time to increase. Again intuitively it felt like my City gets to the higher speeds faster.
On the whole, the CVT did the job well, though the one gripe with it was that the gear lever felt very plasticky in moving from one position to another, did not have enough heft, and like the stalk, felt unlubricated or undamped. This along with the rougher feeling leatherette (as compared to the Gen 5 City) makes the Elevate feel like a cost cutter offering, and not at all premium.

On completing the drive I sat in the car for some more time, trying to re-evaluate how comfortable the seat position was - my conclusion was that given the limited seat travel, it could be ok for short rides but over long distances, it would cause fatigue as the legs don’t get a chance to rest.

Finally, made my way to the Kia showroom and got the Seltos to drive. The route was the same as the Elevate. The first impression was more positive straight away - the seat travel was much more and the seat squab also seemed longer with my legs getting better under thigh support.

The feeling of roughness and lack of a premium touch that was there in the Elevate was not felt in the Seltos. Stalks were nicely damped and the gear lever movement also had some weight to it. The only part which felt a little lacklustre was the top of the dashboard which looked and felt scratchy.

The IVT felt pretty smooth to drive, much like the Elevate, there was no hint of noise on the getaway at low speed. I was expecting the suspension to feel a little firmer, but it felt accommodating for the most part. The side to side movement that I had felt in the Elevate was absent and the car felt like it stayed more flat through the turns.

Only on one stretch on the highway, while picking up speed, did the Seltos get unsettled as it went over a rough patch. This had not been felt in the Elevate.
The NA engine was fine although it seemed to take its time building up speed. On pushing it, it did become a bit noisy without being gruff, and not necessarily leading to a rapid increase in velocity. The paddle shifts seemed to help here, especially in sport mode.

Overall, the Seltos felt more refined than the Elevate, and though it is priced higher by Rs 60k, seemed to be good value for money. If you are slightly on the taller side, the Seltos will definitely feel more comfortable.
Where the Elevate could make up the gap is probably with the ADAS and perhaps the higher safety levels (to be tested), which would be useful if you do highway drives frequently.

[LowRpmHighTorq]

Taking into account the fact that I have personally test-driven these three, your observations are absolutely accurate.

I stand at 6.1 feet tall and experienced driver seat discomfort and higher noise levels during the shorter city test drive!

Indeed, the Seltos provides a superior experience in terms of driving comfort, features, and interior quality. As a result, I have canceled my booking for the Elevate and am currently awaiting a test drive of the Nexon DCT to make a final decision between the Nexon and Seltos IVT.

[capnemo]

Originally Posted by mayjay

On the move, the CVT immediately felt much smoother. There was no harsh noise as was there in the manual. At slow speeds, it felt pretty natural to drive and the rubber band effect was not apparent. Once I got to the highway I could push it and at one stage the speed did take some time to increase. Again intuitively it felt like my City gets to the higher speeds faster.

@mayjay, May I ask how was the general noise insulation viz. other vehicles, honking, road noise etc. in the Elevate like ?

I am yet to test-drive the Elevate, but have test-driven the Seltos facelift (diesel with the TC AT gearbox) recently and was amazed at how hushed the cabin felt from the inside, while on the move.

[mayjay]

Originally Posted by capnemo

@mayjay, May I ask how was the general noise insulation viz. other vehicles, honking, road noise etc. in the Elevate like ?

The route I took did not have much traffic at the time so wouldn’t say that there was a chance to test that aspect.

Having said that, in the CVT, the noise levels were pretty contained, don’t recall noticing much external noise filtering through. The manual variant was making enough of its own noise which was tough to ignore.

[ashish2135]

I took delivery yesterday and what a joy it has been to drive Elevate in city roads!

Likes:
1. Steering feels nice to hold, it feels more premium than the Tata Safari steering. The steering is easy to maneuver as well!
2. The drive is just superb! Fuss free engine-gearbox combo, feels very light!
3. The Apple Carplay pairs up pretty fast and the sound system is decent for a non-brand setup!
4. The car gather a lot of attention from people. Last night while I was out on a drive a random person looking at the car asked me about it and told me that he was planning to book it himself.

Dislikes:
1. I would have liked powered seat controls
2. The illumination for the buttons below the touchscreen and AC controls could have been better. The flipping lever for adjusting Fan and Temperature have no illumination and I found myself fiddling for them at night
3. The doors feel like they lack the build quality robustness as compared to my old Creta
4. The sense of space inside seems to be smaller than a Creta

Overall, I am satisfied with the car after 1 day of ownership. Some pictures from the delivery.

PS: I got a call from the SA in the morning today which was very weird. He asked me not to show to the car to my friends as the Dealer is waiting to launch the vehicle in my city. They have a bulk delivery planned and they don't want the public to see the vehicle on the roads or people to know that they can deliver the car before the launch day.
I found this quite bizzare. I told him that if the car has been launched by Honda and the customer has paid for the car and all the formalities are done, how can they ask the customer to hold off their delivery. I also told him that I am showing the car to my friends who are genuinely interested in Elevate and the fact that I like the product.
This episode really soured my otherwise very pleasant experience with the brand and the SA.

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by ashish2135

I took delivery yesterday and what a joy it has been to drive Elevate in city roads!

Many congratulations mate. Probably the 1st Elevate delivery on TeamBhp?

Do consider starting an ownership thread. BTW seeing JH05 number plate brought back lovely childhood memories.

[lightfootdriver]

Originally Posted by LowRpmHighTorq

currently awaiting a test drive of the Nexon DCT to make a final decision between the Nexon and Seltos IVT.

Please do share your feedback on Nexon DCT and it's comparison with Seltos. Awaiting your thoughts.

[avdhesh15]

While people are praising a lot about the iVtech engine saying its a gem and while I found it to be very quiet during idling , but take it past 2000 to 2500 rpm and it sounds pretty bad.

You are going to be probably banned for insulting the holy grail of iVTEC engines. You even spelt it wrong. And it's by far the best sounding engine consistently in this segment for years and years.

Which car have you compared to by the way?

[Yogesh274]

Originally Posted by nreddy

Attached the sheet.

Basic kit is optional as told by them; but I suspect that things might change as we progress towards the delivery by seeing their attitude like:

1. asking payment before confirming the VIN.
2. saying that car can not be seen before registration.
3. No outside insurance allowed and their insurance with zero dep and engine add-on comes around 85k whereas another provider Future Generali gave quotation for Elevate ZX CVT with 1 year comprehensive + 3 years third party+ zero depreciation+ engine and +RSA+ rat bite protection, etc for 41k

I received the same call today from Whitefield honda pushing for the payment before PDI, just wanted to check if you managed to do the PDI or proceeded with a different dealer?

[nreddy]

Originally Posted by Yogesh274

I received the same call today from Whitefield honda pushing for the payment before PDI, just wanted to check if you managed to do the PDI or proceeded with a different dealer?

Going with the same dealer; received the engine number details of the allocated car on 12th Sep. They are asking to pay at least 2 lakh for seeing the car. I am going to pay the 2 lakh on 16th and the PDI is scheduled for 19th. The plan is to do the complete payment by 20th and the delivery on 25th Sep.

They gave me the option to to choose from their insurance or to go for outside provider. Acko has quoted me 34k for ZX CVT with 1 year comprehensive+ 3 years third party+ zero depreciation+ consumables cover+ return to invoice cover+ roadside assistance+ rat bite protection+ some other add-on.

Honda insurance doesn't cover roadside assistance+return to invoice cover + rat bite protection for 56k.

Some friends are suggesting to go with the Honda insurance only for the 1st year even though it's on the higher side to get a hassle free claim experience if anything happens to the new car.

Requesting the advice here from the team-Bhpians.

[Yogesh274]

Originally Posted by nreddy

Going with the same dealer; received the engine number details of the allocated car on 12th Sep. They are asking to pay at least 2 lakh for seeing the car. I am going to pay the 2 lakh on 16th and the PDI is scheduled for 19th. The plan is to do the complete payment by 20th and the delivery on 25th Sep.

They gave me the option to to choose from their insurance or to go for outside provider. Acko has quoted me 34k for ZX CVT with 1 year comprehensive+ 3 years third party+ zero depreciation+ consumables cover+ return to invoice cover+ roadside assistance+ rat bite protection+ some other add-on.

Honda insurance doesn't cover roadside assistance+roadside assistance for 56k.

Some friends are suggesting to go with the Honda insurance only for the 1st year even though it's on the higher side to get a hassle free claim experience if anything happens to the new car.

Requesting the advice here from the team-Bhpians.

Thank you for the update. Even I have pushed back, waiting for an update from their end.

On the other point I'm considering going with the Honda insurance but planning to negotiate on the price as the market in general is providing much cheaper deals, fingers crossed on how it goes.

Do keep us posted on your PDI and delivery experience and anything in general I should keep a look out for from this particular dealer. They said I could expect delivery of my car (ZX MT) by October 1st week.

[AKSwamy]

I got my vehicle delivered yesterday as well! Here you go...



Initial impressions,

1. Pearl Orange looks far better in real on road. I was skeptical but it turned out to be a good choice
2. Looks massive and great road presence, it is already a head turner!
3. Driver view and driving pleasure is fantastic
4. I am happy with the overall quality

I am yet to figure out,

1. ADAS functionality
2. Driver seating position is comfortable so far but have to test over a longer drive which I am planning to do over the weekend

I will keep posting as I learn more!

[rg_sv]

Took the delivery last evening . I was in dilemma whether to go for blue or silver and finally took this as blue was not available. I wish it was available in black colour.

Per my initial views, steering is buttery smooth and gives a feeling of joy while driving. Sound system is pretty decent and Android car play connectivity is also fast.

I couldn't not get to drive it much due to a busy schedule but I am going to take it for long drive coming weekend.

[satish.gawai]

Originally Posted by ashish2135

I took delivery yesterday and what a joy it has been to drive Elevate in city roads!

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Attachment 2503022

Many congratulations... This color looks awesome. One of my colleagues has also booked the same color and expecting delivery during Dushera. If possible post some interior images and give your view on quality.

Happy miles ahead....

[Cry0gen]

Mod note: Post trimmed, please avoid Quoting entire large post for replies. Thanks.

Originally Posted by ashish2135

I took delivery yesterday and what a joy it has been to drive Elevate in city roads!
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Attachment 2503022

Hey nice one Ashish! Congratulations for the new car and best of luck for the ownership.

Is the famed IVTEC kick in the higher RPM range present? Or is it lost in traslation like that in the WR-V?