Honda Elevate vs Toyota Etios Cross

We spent time with the Honda Elevate to see if it is a case of 'better late than never' or 'too little, too late'.

It’s a crossover… It’s a hatchback… No, we don’t know! And since we don’t have a name for this segment of cars, we are going to begin by christening them Hatchovers! The Etios Cross is the latest entrant to this India-specific segment, where the cars look rugged and bulky like crossovers, but offer pretty much the same utility as that of a hatchback. It may be a unique distinction for the Indian automotive market, but not something that we should be proud of. What exactly is the purpose of the hatchover then? What made manufacturers like Volkswagen, Skoda and Toyota enter this segment? Is it just a passing fad or will we see more vehicles of this kind in future? We spend some time with the Etios Cross to get to the bottom of this riddle.

Honda has finally stepped into the fierce mid-size SUV segment with the Elevate. And the Japanese carmaker aims to change its fortunes in the country with it. The Elevate SUV has been developed and engineered from the ground up in India with more focus on the domestic market. So what is Honda bringing to the table where Korean giants like Hyundai and Kia are leading the pack? Let’s find out.