Honda Brio Review
Honda Launched its all new baby entry level car Brio in India at an event in Delhi. The Brio means energetic and cheerful in Italian and has been especially designed for the Indian market. Honda is targeting the youth with the Brio. The car is available in six colours – Rallye Red, Urban Titanium, Energetic Blue, Taffeta White, Crystal Black Pearl and Alabaster Silver. Seeing the launch of the car on Honda's website i got a bit excited and due to less work i thought of checking it out
Honda Brio Specs And Prices:
Engine: 1.2 SOHC,i vtec 4-cyls in-line(Same as Jazz)
Power: 88bhp at 6000rpm
Torque: 11.11kgm at 4600rpm
Gearbox: 5 Speed Manual
Length: 3610mm
Width: 1680mm
Height: 1500mm
Wheel Base: 2345mm
Ground Clearance: 150mm
Tyres: 175/65-R14
Tank Size: 35litres
Prices:
(on-road, Delhi)
Brio E – Rs. 4.31 lakhs
Brio S – Rs. 4.76 lakhs
Brio S (Option) – Rs. 5.35 lakhs
Brio V – Rs. 5.58 lakhs
Honda has got really serious about the Indian Car Market and at last after a lot of hard work they have finally come up with its new small car Brio. Is their hard Work enough to take on its rivals? Lets See
Exterior:
Brio has a futuristic look. The car has simply outstanding style and contemporary looks. The front view of the car has elegant curves. The front is a little low-slung and seems serene. The nose of the car sports bigger and aggressive symbol of Honda. The head lights looks like sharp cat eye which makes the car look different and impressive. The upper and lower grille melts in a wonderful shape. The indicators are again placed inside the eye shape headlamps making it a single assembly. The sides of this car are front falling and this is made far more attractive with elegant crease. From the side, larger windows are conspicuous and the design stands out by sharp lines running upwards and backwards. Notice that there is a complete absence of the front and rear quarter glass, this gives it a very airy feel. The Brio is been designed aerodynamically. Light weight alloy wheels, short rear spoiler and edge shaped bumper provide optimized air flow and reduce the under body turbulence. Even the outside rear view mirrors are said to be aerodynamically efficient which is really cool. Honda has concentrated on making the best use of its short 2345mm wheelbase. I personally liked the exterior of the car and think that its going to appeal the Youth of India seeing its modern looks.
interior:
Honda has not compromised on interior quality with the Brio. Infact, it beats some of the car above its segment in terms of quality. The interiors feel premium and upmarket. The Fit and finish of the car is so good that for a moment I was searching for panel gaps..!! Plastic quality feels better than most cars in the segment or even a segment higher up. The dashboard of Honda Brio gives a little retro hint and the music player is embedded horizontal on the instrument panel. The AC and other allied controls are there on a typically shaped central console that has a very mundane look. The chrome rings around the air-con vents add a bit of class and most of the switchgear feels solid and good to operate. The car also has a lot of storage space too like we have in all Honda cars. For the price the car is decently loaded too with a 2-din music system which provides USB and Aux support. 4 speakers are provided, one in each door. I liked the sound quality a lot especially the bass. Infact, it was better than the music system of Jazz and i20..!! .Honda’s soft-touch steering wheel looks very upmarket and has steering mounted audio controls on it for the driver's convenience. The air-condition is normal and cools really quickly though i missed the climate control feature in it. Ingress and Egress is also really easy as the doors opens to almost 90 degrees. Rear visibility is best in class owing to the large glass boot and parking the car in tight spot is really easy due to it. The 3D triple analog instrument cluster looks futuristic and the multi information display shows you the trip meter, odometer and fuel efficiency but i missed the Distance to empty feature. I got to find a bit cost cutting too, not in terms of quality but in terms of features like no driver’s seat height adjust, no rear parcel tray and no CD player(music system of Honda City has been given).The ORVMs are electrically adjustable with the help of a button. The most interesting feature I found was the ECO Light which is present on the instrument cluster and goes green when you are driving in the ideal gear with respect to the rpm at that given speed. It also indicates that you are getting the highest fuel efficiency at that point of time. Footwell are also nicely placed but the dead pedal is absent which is again an important thing in a car. The boot space is small but Honda engineers very well know how to utilize the space and has carved out every millimetre of the Brio’s limited luggage area and you can squeeze in more bags than you thought possible. The rear seats can also be folded completely(just like Jazz's) for extra space.
Comfort:
1st I checked out the front seats, it provide good back support and just like i10 it has integrated headrest which i personally don't like much was still really comfortable. The thing which is found really nice for such a small car that Legroom and especially knee room is adequate for a six footer thanks to a scooped out dashboard (understood it as sales executive was 6.1) but the under thigh support was a little below than average which is bad.
Now comes the backseat. As the front seats are relatively thin you get good amount of legroom and knee room for the rear passenger. The only problem with the backseat which I felt was the headroom. It was not that good which could be a problem for a long person sitting at the back.
Performance:
The suspension of the car is nor too soft nor too stiff. It is adequate in city conditions.The suspension is good enough for most undulations on the road but at high speeds it tends to get a bit stiffer. The Handling of the car is really good like any other Honda. It takes sharp corners with a smile on its face and the steering is direct and goes into direction you want it to go. High speed handling is really good compared to its rivals as the car feels planted at high speeds. The steering is light and easy to twirl at low speeds, but surprisingly well weighted and pretty direct and it makes the car really easier to drive in day to day city traffic and adding to the easiness is the 4.5 turning radius which even improves driving in city more. Sudden lane changes sometimes doesn't gives you enough confidence from the steering though its really good. Now, the best part about Brio. It is the fastest, strongest performer in its class. In 1st gear the car goes about 30 kmph, goes all the way to 90kmph in second and hits 130 in the third gear. I was not able to do a see the 4th and 5th gear because a car came in front of me so I had to brake. Now, the brakes here are worth mentioning.The brake feel is solid and it stopped comfortably without any problem. The car touches 0-100kmph mark in just 12.5sec which is really quick for a car of this size. The engine churns out 88 PS @ 6000 rpm and generated 109 NM of Torque at 4600 rpm and like all the Honda cars it also has a free revving nature. The car is really fun to drive and I loved the drive. Overtaking is also really easy in Brio due to its small and quick gearshifts. The highest I could do in the car was a little above than 140kmph. Brio has got a ARAI certified mileage of 18.4kmpl which is pretty good for it.
Safety Features:
Immobilizer
i-SRS airbags( control airbag deployment and pressure)
ABS
EBD
EPS
Verdict:
Honda has got a winner in its hands. After a lot of hard work and research honda has finally been successful in making a nearly perfect car for the Indian Car Market. The car is spacious, comfortable, looks good and has a wonderful engine which gives decent fuel economy and the best part has been priced right. This car is going to change Honda's future in India. Cars like i10,Beat WagonR and Swift(to some extent) are going to be in serious trouble. Personally its 1 of the best car I have driven till date..!!
Rating: 9/10
What I Like:
Performance
High Speed Stability
ECO Light
i-SRS Airbags
What I Did Not Like:
Few Features Missing Like CD Player,Rear parcel Tray
No Rear Wiper and Defogger
Front Under Thigh Support
Note: Sorry guys could not click its pics because my cell did not had battery.
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