[shan_ned]

“UNIX is basically a simple operating system, but you have to be a genius to understand the simplicity.”
---- Denis Ritche

Denis Ritche is the founder of C programming and one of the contributors to the Unix tradition. While growing up during my college days, his quote on Unix had a huge influence on me, and it moulded my thought process. When many had a completely opposite opinion about Unix being complex, there was a very good noble person (my Guru) who showed me a good direction. Through him, I got to know something about a very beautiful concept called “Unix Philosophy”. It was formed based on the experience of the early contributors of the Unix tradition. One of the core mantras of “Unix Philosophy” is taking the minimalistic approach. It is pragmatic and grounded in experience.

There were a few guiding principles or rules behind “Unix Philosophy”. One among them is the following rule:
Rule of Simplicity: Design for simplicity; add complexity only where you must.


In a nutshell about the design of Unix:
The beauty of Unix is the simplicity in its design.

Now, before you start doubting whether you entered the wrong room, hold on for a moment. The concept of “Simplicity” in “Unix Philosophy” continues to have a profound impact on my way of thinking. It also extends to the choice of the products I buy and use. And buying Honda Elevate too is based on such principles.



At a high level, some of the important factors which made me to go with Honda Elevate are as follows:
1) Everything about Honda Elevate, right from its design, engine, interiors, etc,, is its simplicity and minimalist approach.
2) Reliability and fuss free long-term ownership
3) Comfort and convenience
4) Trust on brand Honda in getting the same level of safety design from City to Elevate.

In short, Elevate shines in all the required fundamentals. Having said that, there are some cost-cutting things as well and we will discuss them in more detail in the latter sections.

Decision Process

As mentioned before, I wanted to keep the list of options as simple as possible.
My list of options (in the order of preference):
1) Maruti Suzuki Brezza
2) Toyota Urban Ryder/Suzuki Grand Vitara (Mild hybrid)
3) Honda Elevate

Before I can explain the rationale behind the above list, I had an obligation to look at one more list prepared by my family. Basically, they wanted only a crossover SUV and no sedan. And their list (in the order of preference):
1) Kia Seltos (any engine option)
2) Skoda Kushaq/Volkswagen Taigun
3) Hyundai Creta (any engine option)
4) Toyota Urban Ryder/Honda Elevate.

The above two lists give you an idea of how diverse the opinions are within a family . You can also notice that there is no place for Maruti Suzuki in the list given by my family. To me, Maruti Suzuki is no way inferior just because they are selling cars catering to the different segments of people in the society.

My requirements for owning a car:

1) Long term ownership: I always look for long term ownership of the vehicles I buy. All the vehicles which I bought were/are with me for more than 10+ years. There was one exception when I bought and sold 2014 Ninja 650 in a span of less than 4 years. My current big bike is 6+ years old and I will continue to keep it until I am fit enough to ride the motorcycle. My current old car is a 2008 Maruti Suzuki Swift (Petrol) which came with the beautiful G13BB engine. So, the new car also will be owned on a long-term basis.

2) No Diesel, hybrid and strict no to EV.

3) Reliability: There are a few points to touch upon. As the car will be in for long-term ownership, I wanted no compromise on this.

- No Turbo petrols - The first thing I did was rule out all the turbo petrol versions. Even if Honda/Toyota released a turbo petrol version, I wouldn’t even get closer to it in the showroom. Certainly, the turbo petrols are fun to drive fast, but I do have a strong opinion against considering our roads as a place to have fun and drive fast. I am a defensive driver and drive fast momentarily only when it is absolutely required (overtaking trucks on a 2-lane state highway). Fortunately, I am always accompanied by my family while driving, especially on the highways, and my mother keeps a strict watch on the speedo meter. For her, touching 100 kmph is a strict NO. Apart from the perspective of safe driving, I do give utmost priority to the comfort of all passengers inside the car. I don’t accelerate hard to put some uncomfortable inertial force on the passengers nor I do a quick lane change. For defensive driving, it doesn’t matter whether you drive Naturally-Aspirated (NA) or Turbo engines. I am not saying that all owners of turbo petrol cars drive their cars fast. There are good and bad apples eveywhere

Another reason for ruling out the turbo petrols is the long-term maintenance issue. Modern day turbo petrols are direct injection based. They are prone to more carbon build on the intake valves compared to the port injection method used in Naturally-Aspirated engines. To give you an idea about the problem, here are a few photos of the Throttle body assembly of a Triumph bike which was shared in one of the motorcycle groups. This is for a port injected Naturally-Aspirated engine.

The outer side of the throttle body assembly which is exposed towards the air filter:


The inner side of the throttle assembly which is exposed towards the engine manifold:


The outer side looks clean, and the inner side looks full of carbon deposits. The magnitude of the carbon buildup in case of a direct injection turbo petrol engine is much higher than what we see in these photos. Though a few turbo engines have a secondary port injection to minimize the problem, it will be still in excess compared to the Naturally-Aspirated port injection engines. And with the quality of fuel in India, it is very difficult to comprehend the long-term impact on the turbo petrol engines.

I was also worried about how sensitive the turbo petrol engines could be to the fuel available in India. I heard about a few cases where the fuel pumps in Hyundai Turbo petrol cars had some issues. Again, I do not know whether those issues are specific to the turbo petrol cars. Certainly, the highly charged up fuel system in a turbo petrol engine is sensitive to the petrol quality. And with Ethanol content increasing in the fuel, there are so many variables coming into the equation which may have some negative impact on the longevity/reliability of the turbo petrols in long run. This thread talks about the fuel pump issues faced by Hyundai turbo petrol cars.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...l-engines.html (Fuel pump failures in Hyundai-Kia vehicles with the turbo-petrol engines)

Please don’t think that I am building a strong case against the turbo petrol. I am just listing some of the thoughts I encountered. My only point is that those who are planning to have long-term ownership of the cars should be aware of the pros and cons before taking a well-informed decision. Of course, all my concerns may not be relevant for people who don’t go for long-term ownership. At the same time, there are a few well maintained turbo petrol cars in other markets which have run 1Lakh+ kms. So, it is not completely a dark picture for turbo petrols. It is just that I am not confident of owning a turbo petrol car in indian conditions and have a peaceful/less expensive long term ownership.

- Time tested engine: Prefer an engine which evolved over a period. I know this goes against the sentiments of a good number of people who prefer engines with the latest technologies and designs. This is just me .

4) Safety: Good shell design for better safety. My own subjective opinion is that I am not fully comfortable with the current state of the collision mitigation technologies available. Again, this is just me. I encourage new buyers to be fully aware of all those technologies for taking a well-informed decision. Certainly, all the brands MUST invest in safety technologies in making them better to enhance the safety and make them available for all the range models.

5) Comfort: Prefer a car which offers good ride quality and comfort for the passengers. As my aged parents accompany me most of the time, ride quality is an important factor.

6) Service support: Last but not the least, the after sales support should be good. I had no issues with the service support from Maruti Suzuki when it came to servicing my Swift car. As per my experience, I would rate 10 out of 10 for the support I received.

Now with the above-mentioned requirements, I had to merge the two lists and filter out the cars which met those requirements. I convinced my family to drop the VW/Skoda cars as they were not anywhere close to meeting all the requirements, except for the safety.

The new list of cars (listed in no specific order):
1) Kia Seltos with NA Petrol engine
2) Hyundai Creta NA Petrol engine
3) Toyota Urban Ryder/Honda Elevate.
4) Suzuki Grand Vitara (Mild hybrid)
5) Maruti Suzuki Brezza

My first preference was Maruti Suzuki Brezza. No brand can get close to the service support of Maruti in terms of network reachability and the spare parts inventory. Then, my family members were not happy with my first choice. Their reasoning was that we already owned a Maruti car, and they felt Kia/Hyundai/VW were aspirational brands. I reluctantly dropped it from the list. Eventually, I had to drop Toyota Urban Ryder/Suzuki Grand Vittara as well. The reason was the lack of sufficient real estate. In my garage, I need to park both my motorcycle and the car. With the Urban Ryder/Grand Vittara, it was too tight to park. This is the main reason for me not to consider the sedans.

The filtered-out list:
1) Kia Seltos with NA Petrol engine
2) Hyundai Creta NA Petrol engine
3) Honda Elevate.

My better half and my son were more interested in Seltos/Creta. For them, the brand names of Kia/Hyundai were more aspirational than that of Toyota/Honda. Both Hyundai/Kia need to be appreciated as they invested their money/effort in enhancing their brand image. This is reflected in their sales figures. Having said that, I still preferred Honda over Kia/Hyundai. My very subjective opinion and based on the popular perception is that the Japanese brands are still one step ahead when it comes to quality control assurance. I admit this is purely based on my gut feeling/perception and not backed by any statistical data. Hearing a couple of stories from my friends on premature clutch wear&tear in Creta with less than 30000 kms on the odometer didn't help me. In the past, I had interacted with my office counterparts from Japan, and I know how diligent they are when it comes to ensuring better quality control. They used to walk an extra mile to get the desired quality.

This thread made me even more nervous about owning Hyundai or Kia.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...-response.html (Hyundai India - The occasional serious quality lapse and apathetic manufacturer response!)

Cars from all the brands do have some niggles, but the magnitude of the issues discussed in the above thread and Hyundai’s response didn’t give me the confidence. Certainly, not all Hyundai cars had the problems, but there was a good number of cases reported by multiple owners. Though my own opinion didn’t place trust on either Kia or Hyundai when it comes to long term reliability factor, I am sure both would have worked hard to improve their Quality control assurance.


Test drive:

As the Honda showroom was very close to my house, we decided to test drive Honda Elevate first and later with Seltos/Creta. I called Magum Honda showroom to check on the availability of test vehicles and they had the ZX CVT version. Before the test drive, my family and I wanted to check on the display vehicle. To my surprise, my family members felt very good about Honda Elevate’s overall appearance. They felt it was more like a true SUV due to its muscular appearance. We sat inside the display car to check on the interior. To put it in a nutshell, it can be described as “Simple and Elegant” without too many gadgets.

Then came the actual test drive. My family members accompanied me for the test drive. Just two things blew my mind: The suspension set up and the steering wheel response. The ride quality was in a different league. More on this in the later sections.

I wanted to make sure whether my family felt good about the ride quality. They too were impressed by the incredible ride quality. This sealed the deal in favor of Honda Elevate. So, our next plan for test driving Seltos/Creta was immediately dropped. Certainly, this is neither a fair way of comparing things nor an open-minded approach. When my family and I were impressed with the overall experience provided by Honda Elevate, we thought of not over complicating our choice.

Honestly speaking, my family would have loved the interiors of the Seltos/Creta. They look more premium and up market feel compared to the interiors of Honda Elevate. For me, I personally preferred a much simpler and elegant interior layout of Honda Elevate, and my family was impressed with the comfort, ride quality and the amount of space available inside the car. The ingress and egress were very good as per my son who is close to 6 feet. Finally, it was a big relief that we selected the right car for the family.

While my first test drive helped us in finalizing Honda Elevate, I did not get an opportunity to test drive the Manual Transmission (MT). My choice was MT and not CVT. I felt more connected to the car with MT. And my usage of Honda Elevate would be restricted to Highways ONLY and so I didn't have any issue of going with MT. Having said that, I experienced the CVT for the first time during the first test drive of Honda Elevate. I really liked how comfortable it was driving in the city traffic. It was extremely smooth as well. In short, driving the CVT was really a very good experience.

[shan_ned]

Buying Experience:

Once it was decided to get Honda Elevate, two concerns were there. My first concern was about the ease of parking the car inside the garage along with my motorcycle. The second concern was raised by my family about my ability to drive a big car like Honda Elevate. They were initially paranoid and felt intimidated due to its true SUV like stance (even though it was not the case in reality).

To address my first concern, Magnum Honda was ready to send the test vehicle to check on the parking. As promised, the test vehicle was sent to my house, and we could park it easily in the garage. Honda Elevate measured 4312mm in length. Anything above would have been tight. I had no concern about the width of the car.

Similarly, the dealer arranged for the test drive of the MT version test vehicle after a week or so. The sales advisor was ready to accommodate all the requirements I had. All these test drives happened in December 2024.
Once the major concerns were addressed, the next thing was to select the model and color of choice. After many debates and deliberations over a period of two weeks, we finally concluded on opting for model V MT silver. In my opinion, “V” had all the necessary features. The dealer didn’t have our choice of model/color in their inventory. They had blue color, but I rejected their offer. It meant I had to wait for a month or more to get the color of my choice. Though the dealer was very helpful, I took one more week of time to deliberate on choosing another color. In that period, I visited another dealer, and they too didn’t have the silver color for any of the model variants.

Finally, I decided to wait and so approached the first dealer (Magnum Honda) to convey my decision in the third week of January. The service advisor said that he had to place a new order to get V MT silver. He requested me to give a token advance amount of Rs. 5000/- as some sort of confirmation for him to proceed with placing a fresh order. And he clearly mentioned that it would take a month or even more for the car to arrive at the stockyard and I had no issues waiting. A funny twist happened when I was about to get the final price quotation and pay the token advance. When I was in the process of negotiation with the sales advisor, my son was looking and comparing two new cars which were parked next to each other and they were kept ready for delivery. One was the V model, and the other one was the VX. The alloy wheels on VX played some tricks on his mind and he took a stubborn stand on going with VX. The sales advisor laughed at the situation and asked us to take a few more minutes to decide. My son had the final say and so I proceeded to book VX MT silver. It was a spot decision made under some pressure from my son. As VX MT silver was not readily available in the dealer’s inventory, they ended up placing a new order.
While the booking happened in the third week of January, the tentative time for the arrival of the stock was given as February end. Sometime in the second week of February, the service advisor confirmed that the car would be arriving at the stockyard in a week time. As promised, the car arrived at their stockyard which was at a different location. I took my son along with me to do the PDI check.

Here are some of the photos taken while doing the PDI check.




I was surprised and happy to see the car was being parked safely inside a building. I was given close to an hour to complete the PDI. The car was January 2024 manufactured. Once I was satisfied, I gave the green signal to proceed with the final registration and the finance part was completed.

Finally, I took the delivery in the first week of March.

With his blessings




The overall experience with Magnum Honda was very good.

----

What I liked the most:
- Overall design, exteriors and interiors look simple, neat, elegant and more functional without any traces of over styling.
- Excellent ride quality, suspension and steering response.
- No hint of body roll.
- Refined, reliable and butter smooth engine.
- Shorter gear ratios for better torque at the wheels.
- Smooth gear shifts.
- Well thought out ergonomics.

What I disked the most:
- A few external body sheet metals flex a little bit.
- Providing 6 airbags for the top end model only (before the introduction of R model).
- Inability to switch off the auto headlights feature.
- Usage of fabric cloth around the door panels.
- Useless sunroof.
- No headrest and seatbelt for the middle passenger in the rear seat.

What I preferred to have:
- Fuel tank with 45 to 50 liters capacity.
- Front parking sensors.

OEM accessories installed:
- Floor mats. Mud guards and Body cover.
- Seat covers (Black and Beige).
- Front fender garnish (for aesthetics).

Additional accessories installed:
- VIFO A229 Plus Front&Rear dashcam

I did not opt for any other accessories including ceramic coating or PPF. Plan is to use Collinite 845 wax for paint protection.

[shan_ned]

Exterior Styling

The front grille looks huge compared to other crossover SUVs. In VX, it is of matte finish. The plastic quality looks decent, and it is not as sturdy as expected.



There is nothing much to say about the side profile. The overall shape of most of the crossover SUVs looks similar.



Like any other crossover SUVs, the rear looks simple and neat. I do like the rear view of Suzuki Brezza more.



Front Fender Garnish is sold as an accessory. This is the only accessory which I bought for aesthetic reasons.





The 17 inches alloy wheel has a very neat layout.






The panel gap of the bonnet is slightly more compared to any other cars. Of course, all the external panel gaps are very consistent.

[shan_ned]

The front LED projector headlamps look well aligned with the other lines for a sharper styling.





The tail lamps too have a sharper styling and come with dual trail LED lamps.




Photos capturing the top view.


The reflective strip on the rear side.

The overall exterior styling is neither revolutionary nor bland. At least the front view looks muscular like a true SUV. In my eyes, it can be described as simple and neat.

[shan_ned]

Interior styling

Honda Elevate has a very simple interior layout which can be viewed subjectively. Certainly, it is not as stylistic and sophisticated as what the competing brands offer. I preferred the simplistic design of the interior of Honda Elevate. The VX model interior’s theme is a combination of black and beige.






The seat cover is purchased as an additional OEM accessory, and it is in sync with the rest of the interior.



The steering wheel on VX comes with a leather based steering cover.



The information display panel displays the tachometer and the speedo meter. Again, nothing sophisticated here.



The 8’’ infotainment system along with the AC control panel













The front glove box. The plastic looks average.




The VX comes with 4 speakers and 2 tweeters at the front.


Wireless charger and with USB ports





The fabric is used on the door panel. Preferred to have plastic instead of fabric. Likely chance of the fabric getting dirty.

[shan_ned]

Engine Bay

Massive radiator fan



OEM Amaron battery - Not able to find the CCA and Ah ratings.



The sound insulation pad's coverage area is small. And the inner side of the bonnet cover is not painted. Looks like a cost cutting measure.



The rubber seal around the edges of the bonnet cover lid - The rubber thickness is thin and its quality is poor.

[shan_ned]

About the 1.5 Naturally Aspirated i-vtec Engine

Specs:
Power: 121 ps/119 bhp rated at 6600 rpm
Torque: 145 Nm rated at 4300 rpm
Inline 4 cylinder – DOHC with 4 valves per cylinder

The engine’s name is L15ZD. Some articles refer to it as L15ZF. This engine design has evolved over a period, and it is in a well matured state now. Many say that it is an outdated engine design. I see it as half cup full. As the design evolved over multiple iterations, the engine is mechanically solid and reliable. Even if this is an outdated design in a negative sense, this engine stood the test of time. Though the engine is famous for its high revving nature (7200 rpm) due to the i-vtec technology, the engine is on par with any other modern 1.5L based NA petrol engines in terms of overall refinement, smoothness, and other parameters. And I think Honda will continue to use this engine for many more years.

On a side note, Honda did not help itself for better sales by not bringing in the 1.5 Diesel engine in Elevate.

NVH factor – Noise-Vibration-Harshness

Many reviews point out these problems:
1) Engine noise/refinement
2) Tyre/External/wind noise
Some of the comments are highly exaggerated and some are true. So, I will address each of the points one by one.

Engine noise/refinement:
- In some of the review comments, there is no clarity on distinguishing engine noise and refinement. To set the record straight, I can say that the engine refinement is top notch. The engine is butter smooth and no vibrations felt even on the gear lever.
- While the engine is super refined, engine noise is heard inside the cabin when it revs beyond 3000 rpm. Having said that, there is no way we can term it as excess or loud to make you feel concerned. The max rev limit I touched was 4000 RPM and it neither bothered me nor gave any feeling of harshness/strained. Certainly, the engine noise is slightly more at higher rpms when compared to my Suzuki Swift, but it is no way bad as it has been projected. You will never feel uncomfortable even if you are cruising at or above 4000 RPM. The engine note, at max, can be termed as sporty in higher revs.
- NOTE: I personally don’t prefer revving the engine even if it can hit 7000 to 7200 rpm.


Tyre/External/wind noise:
- First, I would like to address the tyre noise. It was high for the first thousand kms. On clocking more kms, the tyre noise reduced gradually to a point where it was no more of a concern. I do find a few owners complaining about the tyre noise even after clocking a good number of kms. Either I got very much used to the noise in a way that made me feel not so concerned or the review comments are playing tricks on the mind of a few in making them feel bad about the tyre noise . My suggestion to new owners is to drive the car for a couple of thousand kms and see whether the tyre rubber noise has reduced.

- The wind and other external noise do creep in. Again, it is not to the level where you will feel concerned. I had done close to 500 kms in a single day on the highways and never felt uncomfortable. And for half part of that journey, I didn’t switch on the audio system as well for masking the noise. Certainly, the NVH level of Honda Elevate is not great, but it is also not bad as suggested by a few comments. I can say this with 100% certainty after driving on the highways close to 2800 kms. I even checked with my family members to know whether they were feeling uncomfortable due to the noise creeping in. They did not even feel that there was an issue.

- As NVH level is not bad, I will not think of going with any aftermarket solutions in sound damping. I am happy with the current setup.

Overall build quality

Though the overall build quality is good, I do feel it is not keeping up to the reputation of brand Honda. Here are a few things which made me feel so:

1) The door edges don’t have sufficient rubber beading. Please refer to this link for more details.
https://www.team-bhp.com/news/feedba...ld-swift-owner

2) The front glove box compartment looks fragile.

3) At certain places, the exterior panels flex a bit. I don’t know if this is for some engineering reasons to create crumple zones. Here comes an interesting piece of information which I have observed. My neighbor has TATA Nexon. On checking closely at its exterior panels, they look stronger compared to Honda Elevate. I am not offending Honda fans here because I am just stating what I have seen . The flip side is that the gap between the panels is not consistent in TATA Nexon.

4) The driver side window glass panel is not well damped. If it is partially open, it has a very mild rattle when going over potholes. This does not happen when the window is either fully closed or fully open. Certainly, I didn’t expect this from Honda. Though this is not a big issue to be worried about, Honda should ensure these minor things don’t pop up.

In short, I would say that Honda Elevate’s build quality is neither exceptional nor bad.

Ride Quality and overall comfort

I would say that Honda Elevate really shines in this category. The suspension tuning is on the mark. I guess it has a longer suspension travel compared to the competing brands. As a co-passenger, I have travelled in cars like Creta, Nexon, Vento, etc., In comparison, Honda Elevate suspension is more supple. It glides over road undulations and bridge expansion steel joints. Even though Elevate is a taller car, I never felt any hints of body roll.

Adding to the exceptional ride quality, the steering response is even more brilliant. One must drive the car and see how excellent the steering is. It is super light at slow speeds and gives the right level of feedback once the speed increases. For me, the very first test drive of Honda Elevate made me fall in love with its ride quality. Going by various other reviews, they point out how stable the car is at high speeds. Thanks to Honda engineers for making an excellent suspension setup in Honda Elevate.

With excellent ride quality, the overall comfort for the passengers is very good. The rear seat has very good knee room. Thanks to the longer wheelbase. Reviews do mention that the shoulder room will be an issue if three passengers sit on the rear seat. As far as the front seats are concerned, taller drivers of 6 feet and above may have an issue with reduced knee room. I am 5’-9” tall and I don’t have any issues with the knee room. The seats do provide good comfort for longer distance journeys.

The AC performance is good. Never felt lacking in keeping the cabin cool even during hot summer. I don’t prefer switching on the automatic climate control. During summer, I used to keep the temperature set around 23 to 24 degrees Celsius and slightly higher during other seasons. I haven't tried the Max Cool feature.

Engine Performance, Transmission and Fuel Efficiency

Though I am not the right person to comment on the outright performance of any engine, let me share my own thoughts based on my style of riding.

- The first thing that needs to be mentioned is the transmission. I opted for manual transmission for the simple reason that I do feel more connected with the car when the gear change is in my control. Also, the usage is restricted for highway driving only. There is no doubt that CVT is the way to go for city driving. I drove both CVT and manual transmission as part of my test drives. I was amazed at the level of comfort offered by CVT. Then, my heart is always with manual transmission. The gear shifts are very precise and smooth. This smooth gear shifting adds a very good vibe to my overall driving experience. The clutch travel is slightly longer for my liking. Prospective owners looking for manual transmission should be aware of this longer clutch travel if their usage is for city driving.

- The overall gear ratios are shorter. So, the car offers better tractability. The car doesn’t lug even if you are in wrong gear for a given speed. In other words, with shorter gear ratios, there will be more torque available at the wheels. The other side is that the engine will be at slightly higher rpms for a given speed. For example, Honda City will be revving at 2700 rpm while cruising at 100 kmph in the 6th gear. For the same speed and the same gear, Honda Elevate will be revving at 2900 rpm. In lower gears, Elevate’s gear ratios are even shorter compared to the gear ratios of City. While the fuel efficiency in City will be slightly higher, Elevate will have slightly better in-gear acceleration.

- Coming to the engine performance, I am very happy with what the engine offers. For my style of driving, it is more than sufficient to keep the revs between 2000 and 3000 rpm while shifting the gears. Below 2000 rpm, the engine feels anemic in 6th gear. The car will be coasting around 60 to 70 kmph in 6th gear if the engine rpm is below 2000 rpm. The 6th gear offers good grunt only when the engine rpm is kept above 2300 or 2500 rpm. In lower gears, the engine has enough grunt even at lower rpm ranges (< 2000 rpm). It is just that the 6th gear requires the engine rpm close to or above 2500 rpm for providing the required grunt. I haven’t revved the engine beyond 4000 rpm and my typical range for cruising in 6th gear is around 2500 to 2700 rpm. As said before, I will never encourage anyone driving cars for high speed or mad acceleration. The lives of other road users (including ours) are much more precious than our highly regressive thought of seeing cars as toys to have fun on the public roads. I was surprised to see a few going mad about the limited top speed of Elevate. The top speed of Elevate is electronically restricted to 160 kmph. Honda engineers must have worked out on restricting the top speed from the perspective of vehicle stability and safety. Of course, even 160 kmph is highly dangerous for our unpredictable roads. Doing such crazy speeds is an act of either committing suicide or taking the lives of other road users. Period!!!

- Fuel efficiency: I do get an average FE of around 17.5 to 18.5 kmpl (measured by tank-to-tank refill approach). The indicated FE on the information display has error of showing an extra 0.8 kmpl. For example, if the indicated FE is 19 kmpl, then the actual FE is 18.2 kmpl. To be on the conservative side, we can safely assume that the actual FE is less than the indicated FE by 1 kmpl. If I am on the highways for a longer duration, the indicated FE shows 21 kmpl. The moment I enter the city, the indicated FE drops from 21 kmpl to 19 or 18 kmpl. For pure city driving, I am guessing the FE will be anywhere around 11 kmpl. For CVT, the gear ratio is taller at cruising speeds. So, CVT will have a better FE than the manual transmission on the highways.

Additional points

The biggest advantage of going with NA pertrol engine is that we can simply stick with the normal fuel (91 RON). We just need to ensure that we get fuel from a well trusted fuel station. I use Shell Normal petrol. Going for premium or higher RON fuel is not required.




33 psi is the recommended tyre pressure for all the tyres.
When I took the delivery from the showroom, the tyre pressure was set at 40 psi for all tye tyres and I got to know about it only after reaching home. If you are buying the car, please ensure that the car tyre pressure is set at 33 psi on the day of delivery.


Though I am happy and satisfied with the overall list of features, I do hate one particular feature - The sunroof. It is a useless feature, in my opinion. Thank god that Honda didn't go for panoramic sunroof. It may compromise the structural integrity of the shell. Also, it makes the cabin hot and there-by making the AC to work hard to maintain the temperature. The other useless feature is the display of G force display. Too many features is a receipe for problems in long run. In that sense, I am glad that Honda has put the required features only. I do accept that the majority of car buyers will not agree with me.

How easy is Honda Elevate to drive ?.
It is very driver friendly due to its tall boy design. As a driver, I can see the full bonnet hood. It becomes much easier to judge and drive. It is completely opposite in Swift when it comes to the bonnet hood visibility. On Swift, I take extra effort when taking tight turns. It is not the case with Elevate. Also, Swift and other cars do have the front lower portion, right after the bonnet hood, projecting out for aerodynamics. In case of Honda Elevate, the projection is almost NIL. So, making tight turns in a cramped car parking area is not an issue. Some beginners may find the full view of the bonnet hood a bit initimidating. It is not the case in reality. As said before, it is extremely easy even for new drivers to get adapted. Having said that, a 360 degree camera feature could have been provided to boost the confidence of the drivers. Again, absence of it is not a deal breaker.

Another important point which I like to highlight is the drivers view obstruction by A or B pillars. In Swift, I have tough time while taking the right turn on merging with the road. The B pillar obstructs my view when I try to look over my left shoulder for any oncoming vehicles. And the problem becomes worse if there is a co-passenger. In Honda Elevate, I never felt this problem. The placement of pillars do not hamper the drivers view.

Features which I am actively using:
1) The infotainment system for map navigation and music listening - Nothing much to boast about the video quality or the audio quality. They are sufficiently good. We must not forget that Car audio systems are not high fidelity systems .

A couple of times, I had andriod airplay disconnection issue. Need to patch the infotainment system firmware with the latest bits during the 2nd service. I am aware that even the latest firmware version is not a complete solution for solving airplay disconnect issue.

2) Honda connect feature: Frankly speaking, I did not bother to get the feature enabled even when the sales advisor reminded me a couple of times. I will get it enabled when I visit the dealer during the 2nd service.


The car remains idle in the garage during the week days because it is used for Highways only. So, I have the Bosch C7 charger which I connect to the car once in 3 or 4 days.


As I have two cars and one motorcycle, I purchased Karcher K5 power control pressure washer.

Though my car is safely parked inside the garage, I am very nervous about rats getting inside. A few years back, Honda cars were the favourite cars for the rats to get in and chew the wires. The reason was that Honda moved to bio-degradable soya based insulation wires. More than Honda fan boys, rats do have more liking for the Honda cars . I am not sure whether Honda moved away from those soya based insulation wires. So, I am actively exploring ways to have a second level of defence from the rats.

For car aesthetics, I am going to follow my good friend (n_aditya) who gave me a good advice almost a decade back - Use NXT car shampoo and Collinite 845. I am not going with PPF or ceramic coating.

[shan_ned]

Concluding remarks

If you are looking for a big list of features and brutal performance, Honda Elevate is not the car for you. It also doesn't have the rich interiors. It is a car for people who can appreciate the rock solid mechanicals, practical utility, comfort, reliability, simplicity and long term ownership. I guess such people (like me) are in minority

If I may repeat again about Elevate's design philosophy: "Strong in fundamentals, simple and minimalistic approach".

There is no doubt that Honda has adopted some cost cutting measures which is disappointing. Of course I do forget all those negatives the moment I start driving. As said before, the driving experience is enhanced by the slick gear shifts, excellent steering response, supple ride quality, etc.,

Please note that I never believe in calling a particular car as THE BEST. It is highly subjective. To me, Honda Elevate meets my specific requirements and the game ends there. For others, they may have N number of genuine reasons to believe that there are more superior cars than Honda Elevate - Each to their own. I do respect their views as well.

I finally thank Team BHP for posting the official review of Honda Elevate. It helped me a lot to know more about the product.

And an appeal to fellow TBHPians who read this thread - Drive safely, defensively and patiently for your own safety and of other lives using the public roads. Safe and Happy Driving.

[KarthikK]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

Congratulations on the Elevate! thanks for the comprehensive report and happy motoring!

[amalji]

Excellent ownership thread! The way you articulated it, it felt like experiencing the car in real.

The Honda Elevate is a very sensible buy. A car with strong fundamentals that'll serve you for decades.

In my friend circle, 2 of my friends asked me for advice on car buying. Both of them were almost decided with their choice ( Seltos and Hyryder ). I told them to just do a test drive of Elevate CVT before buying the car. They were not even aware of the Elevate brand name. One of them ended up buying the Elevate. The other person was floored by the Elevate but still went ahead with the Hyryder because their high running demanded a hybrid engine. It's a pity that Honda doesn't offer hybrid as an option even after having a sorted hybrid technology.

[TheHondaLover]

Originally Posted by shan_ned

Concluding remarks

If you are looking for a big list of features and brutal performance, Honda Elevate is not the car for you. It also doesn't have the rich interiors. It is a car for people who can appreciate the rock solid mechanicals, practical utility, comfort, reliability, simplicity and long term ownership. I guess such people (like me) are in minority

With more electronic equipment, the potential for adversity rises. Honda Elevate, in my opinion, strikes the correct balance between convenience gimmicks and functionality.

A car with adequate ground clearance, boot space, interior space, and a reliable NA engine is the car which will stay with you for a long time. The 6 airbags is a BIG miss in my opinion (even swift offers it now!!)

People might not agree with me, but mandatory auto-headlights is the need of the hour. In Delhi, half the traffic is driving without headlights on at 7pm, it's a menace..

It's a great a car, congratulations.

[ritedhawan]

Originally Posted by shan_ned

Concluding remarks

If you are looking for a big list of features and brutal performance, Honda Elevate is not the car for you. It also doesn't have the rich interiors. It is a car for people who can appreciate the rock solid mechanicals, practical utility, comfort, reliability, simplicity and long term ownership. I guess such people (like me) are in minority

This paragraph actually sums it up. And you are not in the minority, I am of the same opinion and had I gone for Honda Elevate, my reasons for it would have been the same ones that you have set forth in detail. I dont like feature laden cars and yes a NA engine outlasts a forced induction turbo/supercharged propped engine hands down. When it comes to Japanese car makers, there is no match for the rev-happy nature of Honda engines. You did well by going for MT variant.

[arjab]

Originally Posted by shan_ned

Concluding remarks

If you are looking for a big list of features and brutal performance, Honda Elevate is not the car for you.

Thanks for the very informative write-up. Liked your well balanced insights covering all the important vehicle parameters.
Wanted to know one thing: Does the Elevate have a split folding rear seat?
If such an option is available, is the base cushion also split and foldable or only the rear seat backrest?
Look forward to your feedback.

[shan_ned]

Originally Posted by arjab

Wanted to know one thing: Does the Elevate have a split folding rear seat?
If such an option is available, is the base cushion also split and foldable or only the rear seat backrest?
Look forward to your feedback.

As far as I know, only the rear seat backrest is foldable. I will double check and confirm. And, the backrest can be split folded.

[daredemon]

A very detailed writeup. Even I agree for the negligible tyre noise. It doesn't bother me. I have V MT model and I am very happy with my purchase