Honda might launch Brio based SUV in India

Honda Cars India had revealed an ambitious plan. The plan was to have three body types on the Brio platform – hatch (Brio), sedan (Amaze) and MPV (Mobilio), and three body types on the City platform – hatch (Jazz), sedan (City) and an SUV (Vezel). All these cars are now ready and some have already made their debut in India as well. The Brio and the Amaze have been doing good business and the Honda City due for launch on the 7^th of January, will most definitely take this momentum forward.

But, as we are aware, the most popular body style currently in India, is the SUV. But, Honda isn’t rushing in with the Vezel just yet. Honda has realised that the Honda Vezel may prove to be too expensive for a price sensitive market like India where they have successfully undercut rivals like Maruti with the Honda Amaze. The Vezel, based on the Jazz platform (on which the City is also based) will be considerably more expensive to manufacture than the City, which will put it in the Rs 14-16 lakh segment.

Honda, therefore, needs a better plan to take on the likes of the Ford EcoSport and in fact the Renault Duster and the Nissan Terrano. And that plan includes building an SUV on the Brio platform. The new SUV may not be a sub-4 metre offering like the EcoSport, and given the brilliant space packaging we have seen on the sub-4metre Amaze, the Brio-based SUV should easily lead the space battle in its class.

It will have higher ground clearance – a must for an SUV in India – similar to maybe even higher than on the Mobilio. We also expect more muscular styling and a more attractive face for the new SUV. It will also run on 15 inch wheels. The Brio-based SUV will not be offered with all or four wheel drive, however. The engine options will include the tried and tested 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol and the latest 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine, both of which do duty under the bonnet of the soon-to-be-launched new Honda City.

We expect this new Brio-based SUV to be ready by 2015 considering how the developmental process will have to be started from scratch due to the fact that the Brio platform was never made with an SUV in mind. With competitors like Maruti readying its XA Alpha and Hyundai its ix35 - both expected next year - this delay might hurt Honda.

As for the Honda Vezel, the Japanese company might have put the Honda Vezel on the back burner, but it will still make it to India. And when it does, it will be priced similar to the Skoda Yeti. The Honda Vezel has been developed with higher technological advances like an electronic handbrake and all-wheel drive, which makes it expensive. Even if Honda decides to negate these features for India, the initial development costs will still trickle down to the production versions of the Honda Vezel. As we have already seen, the Skoda Yeti, which is roughly the same size as the Honda Vezel has not seen the kind of numbers it deserves in India and although we believe the Honda Vezel may definitely surpass what the Skoda Yeti did, it still won’t get the numbers Honda expects out of a compact diesel SUV.