Honda BR-V to be launched in India on May 5, 2016

Team OD Updated: April 16, 2016, 10:00 AM IST

Honda's highly anticipated compact SUV, the BR-V has finally received a launch date. The Japanese car manufacturer recently announced that the date to look forward to is May 5, 2016. Based on the Mobilio platform, the Honda BR-V aims to compete with the Renault Duster and Hyundai Creta. With a length of 4.46m, the BR-V is longer than both the 4.27m Hyundai Creta and 4.31m Renault Duster.

Honda BR-V

The engines on offer in the Honda BR-V are a 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol engine, producing 118PS and 145Nm of torque, and a 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine, making 100PS and 200Nm. Both of these engines feature on the Honda City and Honda Mobilio as well, and are mated to either a 6-speed manual or a CVT. The same CVT features on the Honda City.

The exterior design of the Honda BR-V has hints of the CR-V in the front while the rear features wrap-around taillights as seen on Honda's other offerings. The sides however remind strongly of the Mobilio the Honda BR-V is based on, and it remains to be seen how customers will respond to this. Fortunately, Honda has improved the interiors over the Mobilio and they now feature a design theme similar to the Honda City and Jazz. Like the Mobilio, the Honda BR-V is also a seven seater. In our first drive report we found the last row to be decently spacious but noticed that Honda has cut back on middle row knee room to liberate space at the back.

We expect the Honda BR-V to be priced at around Rs 8.1 lakh for the petrol, and Rs 9.70 lakh for the diesel variant in Mumbai.