It has been quite long since Honda had unveiled their long awaited SUV. Audiences were anticipating its official launch since then, and finally Honda has launched it, and priced about ₹50,000 cheaper than its Sedan sibling Honda City.

We are talking about the Honda Elevate, yes! It is a C1 segment SUV, which is to go head on against the likes of - 

• Hyundai Creta

• Kia Seltos

• Volkswagen Taigun

• Skoda Kushaq

• Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara

• MG Astor

• Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder

These SUVs lie under the C1 segment or the Midsize SUV segment.

Price

The Honda Elevate has been priced between ₹11 lakhs to ₹16 lakhs, though this price has been revealed as Introductory Price; So ultimately, it will increase significantly later in the future. 

Adding some facts to it, this price doesn’t really make it the Most affordable car or One of the most affordable cars in the particular segment, instead it makes it the Third most expensive car of its particular segment.

And don’t forget that Honda pricing it so high, still have told this price to be as an introductory price. Hence, it will rise even more, maybe it might lie under the shadow of Skoda Kushaq, or who knows, it might even pass it.

Opinion

Our opinion on this is towards the opposite direction, and there are quite a few reasons for it to be so.

Firstly, Honda Elevate is an SUV which doesn’t really offer much, in terms of its features, and even engine options. Therefore, it makes it One of the Most undervalued cars of this segment, or to be honest, it is the Most undervalued car of this segment. As rest all of its present rivals offer a much better package than what the Elevate offers. What do mean by a ‘better package’? Answering this, Honda Elevate is surely a great car, but, when made to stand in front of its rivals, somewhere its greatness just mellows down a bit. Because, when we analyze what its rivals have to offer in terms of visual bits, it becomes quite an undervalued car.

Secondly, talking about engine options, the Elevate lacks behind in this aspect too. Offering just one engine option  - 1.5 L VTec engine - in an SUV segment, which actually has the capability to make one of its SUVs - The best selling SUV in a month. Missing out on such an important point is a definite mark of unappreciation towards Honda. And it is not even like, they don’t have any kind of extra engine option, they do - they have a hybrid avatar of the same 1.5 L VTec engine, which is currently being used in the Honda City (its Sedan sibling). But unfortunately, they have decided not to offer it with the Elevate, instead they have their plans reserved for an Electric Elevate in the future.

Now, having all these cons, and still being the third most expensive car of the segment is really not a good spot to be in. But, as they say - Everything should create a Balance, it is not like, whatever the Elevate has, is bad, there are also some Good points which should be noted.

Firstly, even though it lacks some practical, or much appreciated offerings, the Elevate is still a good choice, and here is why - For the past 2 decades, all Honda as a brand has been known for is Reliability. And the Elevate also heavily represents its reliable nature, when we see it. All the Panel fittings, Features on offer, and even the only Engine option - they all have been put together in a way that Honda Elevate digs deep into your trusting aspect. 

Secondly, the 1.5 L VTec engine is a Gem, even though it is the only one, we did not anywhere mention it being worse. And repeating it, it is just a perfect Gem. And wondering by what means? Then basically it is a thoroughly Tried & Tested piece of mechanism for the past 10 years. We can bet you that if you buy the Elevate today, drive it for the next 10 years, the engine will work the same as it works today. By the way, all this is definitely not presumptuous, these statements have a strong user experience behind them. As we are known to a 10 year Honda City user, and all he has to say about that 1.5 L VTec engine is WOW!

Conclusion

Therefore, at the end, what remains is that the Honda Elevate, as per our assumptions, will be sold in decent numbers every month, and the numbers can be expected between 2,500 - 3,500 units. Thanks to Honda’s quality of products, as they last long, people will buy the Elevate based on this belief for sure that they want to use it for long. 

Which ultimately makes the Elevate a good enough option, if you want some a Decent engine performance, Good space, High reliability, and a Sense of safety. As unfortunately, all this together is neither offered by the Koreans or the Germans and even the Japanese.