Honda is planning to bring in a new Hyundai Creta challenging crossover SUV to India before the end of this year. Dubbed the HR-V, it was shown to various dealers a couple of weeks back. Now, latest spy shots showing the car being tested have surfaced thanks to a Team-Bhp member. The spy shot reveals the rear end view of the vehicle, though not much could be made out of it due to the heavy camouflage covers its wearing.
Honda is expected to launch the HR-V during the Diwali festive season this year. When launched, the five-seater SUV will be positioned between the seven-seat BR-V and the CR-V in Honda’s India lineup. Also, though the HR-V’s dimensions will be similar to the Hyundai Creta and Nissan Kicks, it is expected to cost much more as it will be brought here via the CKD route and will also pack in more kit.
Honda revealed the facelifted version of the HR-V back in 2018 and the car looked quite good. Also known as the Vezel, the Honda HR-V is a popular compact SUV in many South East Asian markets. However, the Indian version of the SUV is likely to have a slightly altered designing as compared to the international variant. The front end of the HR-V takes design cues from its bigger brother CR-V and looks like its scaled down version.
Talking about the interiors of the upcoming Honda HR-V, they will be quite similar to the newly launched Civic’s interiors. Regulars like infotainment and climate control will be present while a sunroof and other comfort features could also make their way on this vehicle. Top end variants will also get a ton of safety kit like multiple airbags, ABS with EBD, seatbelt reminders, ISOFIX child seat mounts, stability control programme, and hill-start assist among others.
As for the engines, globally the HR-V is available with two petrol engine options However, we expect the Indian version of the vehicle to share its engines with the Civic sedan. The Civic gets both a petrol and diesel engine options. The petrol variants are powered by a 1.8-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that develops a maximum power of 139 Bhp and a peak torque of 174 Nm. It is only offered with a CVT automatic transmission. The diesel variants get the 1.6-litre EarthDreams engine that churns out a maximum of 118 Bhp and 300 Nm. The diesel variants are only available with a manual transmission. The presense of a diesel engine on the BR-V, however is not confirmed yet.
The Honda HR-V/Vezel that will be sold in India is expected to take the completely knocked down (CKD) kit route. This is similar to the approach that Honda has taken with the Civic sedan, which was recently relaunched in the Indian market. The CKD assembled Vezel/HR-V won’t be cheap. Expect it to be priced in the Rs. 15-20 lakh bracket, capitalizing on the premium-ness of the Honda badge.