2013 New Honda Mobilio MPV review

This is the Mobilio, Honda's first MPV for India and the third car to be built on the Brio platform. When launched in mid-2014, it will go head on against the Maruti Ertiga which, until now, hasn’t had a real rival. Since its launch, the Ertiga has enjoyed a favourable response and we reckon Honda’s first MPV in India will not go unnoticed. The Mobilio was recently unveiled in Indonesia and while we’ve earlier reported about the car’s mechanicals, we’ve now spent some time with the car in Japan to get up close to this all-new MPV.

 

To save costs, the Mobilio is similar to the Honda Brio and Amaze when viewed from the front as all three siblings share body panels all the way to the B-pillar. There are a few tweaks like a wider grille and sportier chin but when viewed head-on, you could mistake it for either the Brio or the Amaze. 

Move to the side and you can see that Honda has resorted to some clever illusions to mask the car’s elongated and van-like proportions. There’s a kink in the window line and two upward moving cuts along the side of the body that act as a sort of guide for your eyes to follow. Then there are the flared wheel-arches and even a ‘floating’ design for the rear pillar of the car, the latter achieved using part sheet-metal and part blacked-out glass. The Mobilio gets larger 15-inch wheels, which fill out the wheel arches and give the Mobilio a good stance. Move over to the rear and this Honda MPV shows you probably its best angle. The wraparound look of the rear windscreen, the flared haunches, big tail-lights and an attractive split at the bottom makes it look a lot more dynamic and youthful than the Ertiga’s rather reserved rear.  Continued..