Honda will open bookings for its much-awaited Elevate midsize SUV on July 3 – according to our dealer sources – at Rs 21,000. Our sources also confirmed that Honda will announce prices by late August or early September. The Elevate will be available in showrooms for static display by the end of July, with test drives expected to begin by early August.
- Likely to be offered in four trims like the City
- Will come with a sole 121hp 1.5-litre petrol engine
Honda Elevate variant details
Dealer sources have suggested that the Elevate will be offered in four trim levels. Although exact trim details are not known yet, it will likely mimic that of the City sedan – SV, V, VX and ZX. A manual gearbox will be standard across the range while the automatic gearbox is expected to be offered on all but the base trim.
Speaking of which, powering the Elevate will be a 121hp, 145Nm, 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, naturally-aspirated petrol engine mated to a 6-speed manual or an optional 7-step CVT gearbox. While this powertrain is shared with the City, the 1.5-litre petrol-hybrid powertrain from the sedan will not feature on the Elevate as it has not been localised yet, and would have been a pricey proposition.
Honda Elevate design, interior and features
To give you a brief recap about the Elevate, it's sized quite similar to the Creta and Seltos, measuring 4,312mm in length, 1,790mm in width, 1,650mm in height and has a wheelbase of 2,650mm. It also gets segment-leading 220mm of ground clearance. The styling is typically Honda, deriving cues from the brand’s global line-up such as the CR-V and WR-V, and although it has all the essential SUV styling attributes, some could call it conservative.
What really impressed us about the Elevate was its interior quality and space. The cabin feels quite premium with soft-touch panels and comfortable and spacious seating. It’s even quite well equipped with features such as a 10.25-inch touchscreen, a 7-inch semi-digital instrument cluster, lane-watch camera, wireless charging, wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay as well as Honda’s ADAS suite with collision mitigation braking system, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control and more. It, however, only gets a single-pane sunroof although panoramic ones have become the norm in this segment.
Honda Elevate price and rivals
Upon launch, the Elevate will rival the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Volkswagen Taigun, Skoda Kushaq, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, MG Astor and the upcoming Citroen C3 Aircross. Much will ride on how Honda prices the Elevate given the stiff competition with all players having meaningful slices of the midsize SUV pie.
Rivan RS 
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Uday Singh
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