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How a senior citizen chose the Honda Elevate: A 10-day review

18th April 2025, 13:43 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

When I started my search for a new car to replace my Honda Jazz, I shortlisted multiple vehicles like the Skoda Kushaq, Citroen Aircross, Toyota Hyryder, Nissan Magnite and offerings from Renault.

BHPian aaren recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

For the past 13+ years, my 'travel partner' was Honda Jazz, a car that served extremely well. It had run about 80k kms - not much for a car. However, my runs became limited after Covid, and I was mostly working from home since about 2019. There are times when, due to a change of context, one takes a decision in favour of a change.

Few points about me:

Am on the wrong side of 60 and needed a vehicle that I can keep for a long time.
Am a defensive driver, but drive the car at an appropriate speed given the situation, with a safety-first approach.

Started looking for a car that will address my above points and

Has basic creature comforts, has good GC.
Has good boot space ~ 400 litres
Can seat 5 people

After driving and having a trouble free Honda Jazz, I was clear that I wanted a NA engine with a more powerful Engine (as compared to Jazz) - the only option was a 1500 cc vehicle. Plus I also had the thoughts of driving some medium and long-distance drives, so needed a vehicle that will run without issues. One might say most of the vehicles serve the latter purpose. However, my bias was towards a Honda make vehicle.

In 2024, just before Diwali, I started looking around and shortlisting vehicles and the following vehicles were shortlisted, in no particular order:

Honda Elevate
Skoda Kushaq
Citroen Aircross
Offerings from Renault
Toyota Hyryder
Nissan Magnite

I had a test drive of Kushaq - the short drive was a good one, but one shortcoming that I felt was that the clutch was way too long for me. Am on the shorter side, and I felt that that could pose an issue down the road. And more importantly, the SA was pushing Kushaq in the mid variant with 2 Airbags with good discounts. But when it came to the variants with 6 Airbags, the discounts started disappearing. And Skoda at that time, started withdrawing the 1.5 Litre Engine from their repertoire, and that was something that went against them in my decision-making process.

Citroen met with all the requirements, but my wife felt that it was a much 'bigger' car as compared to our needs and also our Jazz. And that the manufacturer did not try and go for Safety ratings was a dampener. Also in between Citroen closed their existing dealership, and after a gap of almost 2 months, gave the dealership to Jeep, also didn't instil much confidence.

And then took a look at the mild hybrid variant of Toyota Hyryder. The SA asked me to take a test drive. But, in the meantime, I had an awful amount of professional work and that 'time' never came for me to have a test drive.

Then, my wife and I went to the nearby Honda Dealer from whom we had bought the Jazz. He showed me the vehicle. My wife was impressed by the overall vehicle. Exteriors, the interiors. And then, after some time took a test drive - spanning about 2.5 kms. I found that the vehicle was easy to handle and manoeuvre. It was like driving Jazz, to put it simply. Also, the 'noise' that so many people have written about didn't bother me. The vehicle inspired confidence.

This dealer didn't do any follow-up. Absolutely zilch. Then, I realized that there was a dealer who had set up the shop for quite some time and called them. And then there was a stark difference in their approach. Follow-ups were regular. But by then, it was Dec. 10th and I decided to buy a new vehicle on or after Makar Sankranti / Pongal.

With this dealer also took a test drive, and this time, my wife accompanied. She felt very comfortable in the vehicle and also told me that it is very roomy inside.

The SA kept in touch with me continually, unlike any other dealer. The only exception was the Skoda person. One day I informed that Kushaq is not being considered.

And then 2 points of distraction came up:

Introduction of Skoda Kylaq
Introduction of the upgraded Honda Amaze

With Kylaq, I am reminded of an Olympic 800m Running event, where India was represented by Sriram Singh in the finals of the 800 metre run. In the finals, the commentator narrated somewhat as under: “Sriam ne daud lagaya, aur sabse aage hain…Sriram daud rahen hai…Sriram daud rahe hain…” and concluded saying, “kadi mehnet ke baad bi Sriram ne 800 m run aakhir mein aaye”. Similarly, Kylaq is going through the motions of running, but with so much time being taken, I decided to leave Kylaq alone.

Honda Amaze: For a moment, I was tempted to look at this vehicle, but gave it the pushback – because I will be back with the same 1.2 litre Engine, albeit in the form of a Sedan.

Also took a look at Nissan Magnite: One of my problems is I take a look at a vehicle, am tempted to compare it with my then-current vehicle – Jazz. Mine was a Jazz X, the top-end variant that had a very neat fit and finish. And very few cars could match upto that. And when it came to replacing Jazz, it was hard because of the inevitable comparison. And so from that perspective, Nissan Magnite also didn’t make the cut.

Honda Dealer: The dealer’s personnel were taking things too easy. After the test drive was done, no follow-up call from them. Even from other dealers, save for Skoda, no one called. Maybe because they thought they were dealing with an oldie, who they thought was wasting their time.

Then, one day, I saw that Landmark Honda has a dealership in Indore as well. Just like that, I sent a message, and that set in motion a chain of events. As compared to any other dealers, these guys did lots of follow up. I told them, if I buy a vehicle, it will be after Makar Sankranti / Pongal. And around 8th / 9th Jan. they called me again telling that the prices of the 2015 Honda (for which logistics were being worked out) are likely to go up.

In the meantime, they came with a demo car and asked me to take another test drive – this time with a CVT engine. I used to drive CVT / Auto vehicles when I was in the US. In India, it was always Manual. Nevertheless, took a test drive and felt good about the vehicle and this time, my wife also joined.

That’s when we decided to move forward with Honda Elevate. Was advised to get a Blue or White colour vehicle. My choice was to go with either ZX or VX (preferably) – as I wasn’t very keen on with ADAS system. But as luck would have it, it boiled down to ZX CVT as in the ZX Manual variant, no cars were available either in Blue or White. In VX, white was available, but in the course of discussions, we moved forward with ZX CVT Obsidian Blue.

Then negotiations took place on the matter of price. The original price as quoted by Landmark Honda was Rs. 20 Lakhs with various accessories and Insurance that amounted to Rs. 74,000/-

Removed the following:

Insurance: They were ok with me arranging the Insurance (I am from the Insurance industry only). Even without NCB, I got a quote of about Rs. 48,000/- (as compared to Rs. 74k from Landmark Honda)
Delivery Charges: Got it removed
Every single accessory – Removed
Fastag – Removed
Extended Warranty and RSA – Removed
Added exchange of my Honda Jazz

Final price came with special discounts: Rs. 15.75 Lakhs. I think I got a fairly good deal in the process. Wondering I should take the extended warranty or not.

Insurance: Prior to taking delivery of the vehicle, got the Insurance policy with full NCB at 50% on the Own damage premium – Insurance premium came to about Rs. 38k.

Prior to taking the vehicle, did a basic PDI. And the vehicle had less than 10 km on the ODO. One of my friends, an Auto enthusiast, was also there to check the key points.

Took the vehicle on Jan. 22nd. Gave sweets to SA and the team. In the evening went to the temple and did the Pooja.

The only accessory that I took was Landmark’s Dual Dash Cam – the only reason being no tinkering with any wiring, and since it is from Landmark, the warranty should not get hit. Nevertheless, will reconfirm with Honda directly.

Added from the market following:

Mud Flaps
GFX Floor Mats - from www.carhatke.com

Thinking of doing:

Damping - may not happen, though.
Ceramic coating - may not happen though. I might settle for Waxing.
Ventilated “seats” that people had mentioned in their review of Elevate.

It has been about 10 days since I bought it, and my very initial observations:

Am finding the car very comfortable to drive. In the short rides, where my wife has accompanied me, she is finding it very comfortable in the passenger seat in the front.
Comfortable space in the rear.
The response of the Engine is quite good – mind you, this is within the limited city drive. But where needed, it has pulled up from 20 km/hr to 50 km/hr in good time. The grunting sound when that happens, is something that I like and I don’t find it annoying. But nevertheless, might consider damping.
Not much of night driving, but I suppose the headlights are good and the default setting is low beam. Few days ago, did some element of night driving, and found the low beam light (default setting) to be quite good. Also found out that one can either have lights that come automatically on or one can go into manual mode. That was a discovery for me.
When I am bringing the vehicle to the parking place, the headlights automatically switch on – no prompting. That is a pleasant surprise.
The rear-view camera quality could have been slightly better, and the direction grid should have been dynamic instead of being a fixed one.
Am still understanding the ADAS and the settings of the left side of the instrumentation cluster. Even at low speeds, when am near a person or an object, I get a warning.
On the infotainment display, no issues – both with Apple CarPlay and Android - wireless connectivity. Playing music through Apple Music, Spotify, Internet Radio, and Amazon Music - no issues.
Music – Thanks to this excellent video, have configured to play music from a flash drive rather than depend only on phones. This YouTube video was of great help.

Sound quality – I felt that the sound system on the Jazz was a few shades better than what is on offer on Elevate. It had more fidelity. On Elevate, it appears to have more treble.
Driving position is excellent and the vehicle drives over (potholes / obstacles and the likes) smoothly.
Turning Radius – is higher than even the Kushaq. But so far, not a bother.
In my drive so far, I haven't opened the sunroof, which I think will never be opened. In my view, Sunroof / Moonroof is a superfluous feature and should have been optional.
IRVM: In the ZX variant, the IRVM is supposed to be an Auto Dimming mirror. Am wondering whether the mirror in my car - is it a truly an auto-dimming one? Am saying this because I observe that there is an area in the mirror that is blue in colour and appears to be a coat of chemical film, and even during daytime, the reflection is muted in colour. Not sure if other ZX owners have observed it. Would appreciate it if other ZX owners could comment on this.

After having driven Jazz for 13+ years, driving Honda Elevate is somewhat different. Jazz is a very silent vehicle. Being a hatchback, one can more easily keep in mind and visualise the 4 corners of the vehicle while taking turns. And, the responses / feedback from Jazz were precise and sharp. Very less of electronic gizmos.

In contrast, there is the feeling of driving a much bigger vehicle when driving Elevate. However, within a couple of days, got the feel of the 4 corners of the vehicle while taking turns and in fact, while parking.

To me, physical controls are vastly superior to touch controls, as in the latter case, one has to take one’s eyes off the road. Simple case in point: when starting the vehicle, after being seated, the infotainment system comes on and every time the disclaimer comes on – by which time, the vehicle is on the move. To me, taking my eyes away from the road, to press that “Ok” button is a distraction. Jazz, in that sens,e was better.

These are my very initial observations. Will keep updating. 1st update will be after 1000 kms / 1st service.

Last but not least: My heartfelt thanks to the fellow BHPians for their reviews: @ghost @skt210, and @shan_ned - I found their reviews of great help and also to Team-Bhp for their review.