Now, this was a car that kept me anticipated so much. I’ve always loved Honda, for their powerful engines and neatly attractive looking designs. Honda had many surprises for Indian market this year. They reduced the price of their all time favourite City and very recently they made huge reduction in the price of their B+ segment hatchback, The Jazz. But what really excited me was the news that they are going to launch a B segment car that will give us good mileage and good city drive. But despite all these, the sales of Honda only went down due to the tough competition and rivalry. And so finally, Brio is here. And it faces a very huge competition, fighting nearly 10 other giant manufactures and their cars. Will it crumble under the serious pressure of competition or will it rise among the other rivals to become peoples’ favourite? Only time will tell. But what I can do is tell you guys what I thought about this little of a beauty and how well it behaves on our road and in our condition.
Even at the very first look this car is really attractive. Even though I felt it is a tad too little small, it looked neat and very premium like any other Honda. It has a rather futuristic design which might turn some heads at the early stage of its launch. The headlamp is neat, the grille is neat, the bumper is neat, and everything from the front side just looks neat and attractive. Even though there is nothing much peculiar about its look that will literally ‘woo’ the people or me it still can be considered as one of the good looking cars around. Despite from its futuristic look and design, the lines are really fresh and the whole stance of the car is aggressive. It looks aerodynamic and really feels as if it can go three digits real easy. The whole detailing of the car is given a sporty edge and got me arguing with my friend that it will be real quick too. The car is really compact it surprised me it had enough space in the interiors. The compactness of the car compliments the whole look of the car. The pitched forward stance of the car increases its aggressiveness and the car has short overhangs around it. The whole skin around the car is nicely and tightly stretched which gives this car a dynamic look. The glass in the back though is a disappointment. It is not at all great and it kind of takes away the premium feel of the car. The tail lights aren’t that great either. The tiny clear lens doesn’t look that attractive when compared to the other parts of this car. This car doesn’t come with a demister which might result in real poor visibility in the rain or winter season. Another problem I felt with this car was that it is really small when compared with other cars in this segment. Almost all of us go for buying a car depends on how much spacious it look from the outside and this thing might just go against Honda. But while considering our packed Indian roads this might just give them an edge. This vehicle comes with Honda’s brilliant packaging. And the best use of its short wheelbase (2345 mm) is evident here. Moreover, this vehicle only weighs about 925 kg which will ultimately result in better mileage. Honda promises a mileage of nearly 18 kmpl with its powerful engine and low weight. Brio comes with high strength steel and rigid body and Honda haven’t compromised about it at all. Overall, this vehicle looks good for a hatchback (not the rear though!) and sure feels like it will blend in with its indifference and difference of its own.
Once inside this car, you are greeted with typical Honda kind of interiors. But it didn’t attract me much like the way the good old Jazz did. The space inside the car is really good and it’s spacious than you might actually feel from the outside. Even though Brio is not as spacious as Jazz it still might beat Swift for space in the front. The windscreen is huge and it gives an airy feel and with it better visibility. One terrific thing about this vehicle’s space is that you can get in and out of this car very easily. In the back, the leg room is plenty and the back seats are substantial and really comfortable. Even though expecting three of your family member to sit comfortably at the back would be a bit of cruelty. To be honest, I expected a bit more nice interiors from the Honda. The dashboard is a two piece and is offset. The central console is only good and I felt it was a bit unusual from Honda. The equipments are not generous and I had more expectations from Honda here also. However, the soft touch steering feels upmarket and so does the instrument panel and hooded dials. The chrome rings around the air-con gives it more premium look and feel. The switch gear looks solid and feels good to operate. The one thing I liked about the car is that it comes with plenty of storage spaces. But, there were many things that I didn’t like about this cars’ interior and its features. It doesn’t have driver seat height adjust which many other rival cars have. It also doesn’t have a parcel tray at the rear. It doesn’t come equipped with a CD player (Yes, you will have to pay extra) and the power window switches at the rear feels like it was copied from a generation old car. And the boot space is also really small, only 170 litres. Looks like many manufacturers doesn’t expect us to carry lots of bag in a hatchback. The safety features are also really good. Brio comes equipped with ABS, EBD and SRS dual airbag. The airbag has a unique feature; it controls airbag deployment and the pressure exerted by it depending on the impact. And they call this feature I-SRS airbag.
Now, it was my chance to see how well it drives and how much it delivers. To my amazement this car is extremely powerful in its class. It feels like Brio is the fastest and strongest performer among its rivals. I felt a noticeable spike in power once I reached around 4500 rpm and the enjoyment of revving it way up to 6500 rpm i.e. the redline, cannot be expressed with mere words. This car might actually be the only car in its class to reach 100 kmph in just less than 13 seconds. Unlike many cars in its class, this car lacks any low and grunt. And it looks as if this small beast can outrun any of its rival hatches. The gearshift is good and it feels absolute smooth with good accuracy. Like the gearshift, the engine is also very smooth like any other Honda would be. But, I didn’t feel it was as refined as the Maruti- Suzuki swift ZXI. A new handy feature that Honda added to Brio is the ‘Eco indicator’. This little light beeps up every time you drive economically (sadly, it only blinked up once or twice while I drove). This device will help you drive more economically thus saving your fuel and thus your money. Another thing that impressed me was the steering. It was light and easy to twirl while cruising at low speeds. The suspension is also up to the mark, it is quite absorbent and silent, hardly making any sound while tackling those bumpy roads. However, with such small wheelbase, the ride isn’t that consistent or flat. It took me 5.14 seconds to reach 0-60 and a very good 12.47 seconds to reach 0-100. Even though the interior was a let off for me, I enjoyed every bit of driving this car. It handles well and has a really powerful engine that makes sure you get a bit if adrenalin rush every time you stomp your feet hard on the gas pedal.
This little baby (you should understand my attachment with it since this is an awesome car to drive) has a 1.2 litre I-VTEC engine that generates about 88 bhp. We saw this same engine in this car’s ‘bigger brother’ Jazz. The exact cubic capacity of this car is 1198 that is four cylinder inline engine. Each stroke is about 71.6 mm and the compression ratio is 10:2:1. Having four valves per cylinder this car produces a maximum of 88 bhp at 6000 rpm. The torque is a good 111.1 nm at 4600 rpm. Comparatively the power to weight ratio is really good too, it produces about 95.13 bhp per tonne. Brio has front wheel drives and once you really push your feet down the way the tires peel off is an incredible feeling (one that you should experience of course). The gearshift is a normal 5 speed manual gearshift. Whether Honda will introduce an automatic version is yet to be known. The ground clearance of this vehicle is 150 mm. the total wheelbase of this car (if you haven’t noticed earlier) is 2345 mm while the length is 3610 mm, width being 1680 mm, and a total height of 1500 mm and from all the given specification it sure is a small car for its segment. Honda has gone with a five door monologue construction for this car. It only weighs about 925 kg which has a considerable effect on the economy of the car. Honda has opted for good 14 inch tyres for the Brio, the exact specification being 175/65- R14. It also has a full spare in case of any emergency puncture. Every specification of this car is good and so is the suspension. They have gone with independent McPherson strut in the front while the rear got a non independent torsion beam axel which promises to keep us from the little impacts our discs might suffer from gutters. There is not much surprise when it comes to brakes. Brio has ventilated discs at the front and drum brakes at the rear. The high end version is also equipped with ABS that will ensure efficient braking whenever there is a need. This vehicle has a tummy (FUEL TANK) capacity of about 35 litres.
For me, Honda has done a great job bringing a car like this to our market. Even though the interiors are a bit ordinary, the car drives really well and it generates awesome power. If you are buying this car, it should be because it’s spacious, it’s comfortable, it looks good, and it has a fabulous engine. If what said above is what you need from your car, then you must but this car. But, I still believe the interiors could have been better. But the car makes up for it through its engine which is absolutely top class. Honda once again has shown us that they have what it takes to make cars that are absolutely superb.
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