Come 2016 and Honda India will finally enter the hotly contested compact SUV space with its all-new BR-V. Shown as a prototype back in August this year, the BR-V will soon taken on its production guise and is scheduled to go on sale in the Indian market by mid-2016. Until then, here’s a brief look at this striking new model straight from the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan.
Straightaway, the design of the new BR-V echoes the CR-V and even the Mobilio MPV if we look at the thick chrome grille and the window-line which gets an interesting kink on the rear door.
In profile, the BR-V looks like a jacked up station wagon, but there are a lot of rugged looking bits like the chunky roof rails and the plastic body cladding.
The design highlights at the rear come in the form of the protruding taillights and the boot-mounted single piece reversing lights assembly. Note the Creta-like lower placement for the number plate.
Inside the cabin, Honda is promising class-leading levels of space and features such as multi-Information display and rear air conditioner between the first and second row seats.
Top-spec variants are expected to come with the striking looking alloy wheels. These look similar to those found in the Mobilio RS.
The BR-V will be powered by Honda’s familiar 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol and 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine options. Both these engines will come paired with a 6-speed manual gearbox.
Honda India will showcase the BR-V at the next year’s Auto Expo. When launched, it will compete with other compact SUVs like Hyundai Creta, Renault Duster and the Mahindra XUV 500.
