Honda Cars India, the leading premium car maker of the country is already known to be launching a slew of new models which already started with the launch of the BR-V compact SUV in May this year. With the Honda BR-V’s launch, the Japanese car major has entered the highly popular compact SUV market of India. The Honda BR-V has been a highly anticipated car launch in the Indian car market and the vehicle has been getting very good response since its market launch in the country. Now, apart from the already expected upcoming model launches that include the new Honda Civic, the all new CR-V, and the next-gen Brio and Amaze, it is being speculated that the Japanese car maker is also considering bringing in the Honda HR-V to further enhance its SUV footprint in India.
Honda HR-V
Earlier, the Honda HR-V was expected to come to India, but it soon came to light that being a premium vehicle Honda won’t bring the HR-V our way as India is a price sensitive market. Instead, the more affordable Brio based BR-V compact SUV was to come to India, which has already arrived. However, now Honda is thinking of capitalizing on the increasingly popular SUV market of India by launching the HR-V as well, as the Indian market is growing in a big way when premium cars are concerned.
Nevertheless, right now nothing is confirmed and nothing has been revealed by the company as yet. Based on the speculations, the HR-V is expected to arrive in India sometime in the year 2017 if things really fall into place. The president and Chief Executive Officer of Honda Cars India, Yoichiro Ueno had earlier said that the SUV segment of the country is the fastest growing car segment and if the segment witnesses further growth, then the company will definitely launch new models in it. Going by his statement, it won’t be surprising if Honda really goes ahead with the plans of launching the HR-V compact SUV in India.
If and when, the Honda HR-V launches in India, it will be filling in the gap that exists between the BR-V compact SUV and the flagship CR-V SUV. The HR-V’s price range is expected to be around Rs. 15 lakhs to Rs. 20 lakhs. Thus, if the HR-V really launches in India, it will go straight up against the new Hyundai Tucson SUV which is going to launch in India pretty soon.
The Honda HR-V is also known as the Vezel and is based on the new generation Honda Jazz’s platform. The HR-V gets driven by a 1.8 liter in-line 4-pot petrol mill which has the capability to churn out a max power of 142 bhp and 172 Nm of peak torque that is coupled to a 6 speed manual or a CVT gearbox choice. For India, the Honda HR-V might get the 1.5-liter turbocharged petrol motor that also does duty under the hood of the Civic, while 1.5 liter i-DTEC diesel mill should power its diesel version which could offer more power.
