Anirban Mitra | Honda Cars India’s latest offering for the market is also the most important one in recent times. City and Amaze have been doing fairly well but the sedan segment at large isn’t the flavour of the town. Hence, the latest Elevate — as symbolic as the name can get — is a chance for the company to re-enter the compact SUV market. How good has been the attempt? We aim to answer it through this review after spending a few hours with the C-SUV in Udaipur.

Let’s address the elephant in the room upfront. Elevate borrows the 1.5-litre i-Vtec petrol engine from City, which can be either paired with a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed CVT. Could there be more options on offer? We definitely think so. However, Honda’s logic for not bringing any other powertrain (even a hybrid, which is available with City) is an all-electric SUV based on Elevate, which is a work in progress.

The tuning of the engine and gearbox is quite similar to that in the City. The naturally-aspirated engine is rev-happy and gradually builds on the momentum. The torque curve is well-spread out, thereby making the engine highly tractable. You can carry as low as 30 kmph in the fifth gear, and if need be zoom it to 100 kmph in the third.

That being said, the initial gears are tall, which means, the driver has to drop a gear or two to overtake vehicles on the highways. The CVT on the other hand should make your life easier in stop-and-go traffic, however, the overall experience becomes noisy when the accelerator is floored. People who wish to drive the Elevate enthusiastically will find it uninteresting.

Elevate shared City’s platform, albeit heavily reworked. Healthy ground clearance of 220 mm makes light work of potholes, speed breakers or wading through water-logged areas. The suspension tuning is on the softer side, allowing the springs to soak up road undulations easily at lower speeds. I found the ride quality plush over most road conditions thrown at the Elevate. On the flip side, Honda’s offering isn’t the sportiest SUV in the segment which you would wish to cut corners with.

There is a bit of body roll when pushed around the corners. Elevate is anchored by disc brakes up front and drum brakes at the rear, which provide progressive bite and are adequate for the performance it offers. Lastly, the visibility from the driver’s perch is something I enjoyed a lot. It’s clear, and commanding and there is a sense of good control.

Honda took the wraps off the Elevate a couple of months ago. What’s your take on design? I firmly believe the design cues flow from the Honda Pilot, a 4x4 sold in the international markets. The gloss black, squarish grille with round edges lends an upright stance to a rather boxy-looking SUV. A healthy swathe of chrome sitting atop the grille runs the full length of the face. The fog lights are identical to the City, while LED headlights are finished with sharp edges.

Honda Elevate

Strong shoulder lines, contrast-coloured roof rail, meaty wheel arches, creases on the bonnet and dual-tone bumper and skid plate amplify SUV-ish appeal. Elevate rides on 17-inch machine-cut alloy wheels on the top trim, which are identical to City in terms of design. The C-pillar has a slope which makes the SUV appear slightly bigger in flesh. The inverted L-shaped LED tail lamps are neat and incongruous with the silhouette.

The cabin lacks ‘wow’ features but the kind of material appointed will definitely wow you. The seats for instance are by far the most supportive and cushy that I’ve experienced in the segment. The touch and feel of the dashboard and the finish of the plastic are decent. The steering has a healthy girth, and it gets reach and rake adjustability. At the centre of the dash is a new 10.4-inch touchscreen, which packs the latest connectivity features. The user interface, however, is still far from crisp.

A fast charging pad and a couple of C-type USB ports are also housed in the area under the infotainment. The semi-digital driver’s display is uncluttered and (again) identical to the one in the City. There is a small sunroof much like the City. The boot space stands over 450 litres and there was no difficulty placing four full-size trolleys. The rear seats are spacious for three adults and well-contoured fabric will keep longer journeys comfortable.

Many of us who have driven the Elevate, and potential customers, will complain about the slew of creature comforts the other SUVs in the segment have, and Elevate does not. Of many, I feel the lack of seat ventilation may bother me during peak summers. A panoramic sunroof, 360-degree camera, head-up display, ambient lighting, and electronic parking brake or seat adjustment are among the many features Elevate misses out on. Will that be a deal breaker? Well, unless, Honda Elevate undercuts its rivals by a fair margin, buyers will knit-pick the features, or rather the lack of them.

There is level 2 A-DAS (autonomous driving assistance system), which goes down a long way in keeping you and your family safe on the move. The camera-based helping hand aids adaptive cruise control, lane assistance and collision mitigation features. In fact, the manual trim will also pack A-DAS functionalities. Six airbags aren’t standard and will be available with higher trim lines. Safety equipment kit includes ABS with EBD, hill hold assist, vehicle stability management, and lane assist camera among a few more.

Existing City customers may find the Elevate to be a good upgrade. The prices are set to be announced by August-end, and a lot rides on it. Honda Elevate may lack features, but there is a sense of sophistication that tags on with the SUV. Even with 2,000 units a month for Elevate, Honda Cars India have a winner in hand.