Honda BR-V: What's Inside?

Honda launched its first ever compact SUV a few day ago. We drove the BR-V and our road test reveals some interesting facts about it, do take a look. The BR-V looks quite good from the front and the rear, save for the Mobilio-ish side profile, but how it is to sit into one and the features that you get? We list the major interiors highlights of this all-new and only seven-seater in the category.

To put it simply let’s focus on the features one row at a time -- and there are three in total, each one with its separate positive and negatives.

The first row

The dashboard of the BR-V is the same unit from the facelifted Amaze and looks very modern with a black layout and silver accents. Speaking of the seats, the driver seat is height adjustable, while both the seats are equally comfortable with ample thigh supports and side cushioning.

The steering wheel is a tri-spoke unit and for some weird reason, it is taken as it is from the Civic, which was discontinued in 2012. It isn’t a bad thing though and it blends in the layout of the interiors. The BR-V also gets air conditioning unit with automatic climate control all its variants. Strangely, there’s no touchscreen infotainment system. I mean, it is available in the City and the Jazz, and how big of a pain was it to provide one in the BR-V.

Other than this, the first row gets the most number of storage spaces, such as the two cup holders on the central tunnel, the bottle holders on either side and the glove box.

The second row

While in the second row, one gets a sense of more space and rightfully so as the BR-V is longer in wheelbase as compared to the Mobilio. The wide tall windows of the middle row let in lots of light, thereby making the cabin feel airier. However, three adults might feel a little congested while sitting abreast. The middle seat doubles up as a hand rest with cup holders. The BR-V also gets the roof mounted AC louvers so as to aid in faster and uniform cooling across both the rear rows. The middle row can also be tumbled over in a 60-40 split ratio, which liberates additional space in case you want to carry oversized luggage. The middle row can be reclined, which lets you stretch your legs and feel more comfortable in there.

The third row

First thing first, how do you get in? The second row gets a topple-over seat to facilitate easy ingress and egress to the rear seat. The last row of seats get space for two, however, either the people sitting there should have a lean and short physique or should be children. The seats definitely won’t make adults feel comfortable over long distance journeys. The reason for this are the low-set seats, which leads to less under-thigh support. As far as the storage spaces are concerned there are two cup holders on either side. Moreover, the 50-50 split seats could be tumbled down to liberate more storage space for the luggage if nobody is sitting in the last row.

Bottomline? 

The BR-V is a good car for your weekend getaways as it offers plenty of space and gets those extra seats when compared to the competition. However, the presence of an infotainment unit would have made its appeal stronger. So, if you are fine without a touchscreen unit then the BR-V 's interior will certainly impress you.