Honda’s WR-V gets its global debut with the India launch

It’s already been an action packed year for Honda in India. Barely a few weeks after launching the new City in the market the Japanese company has introduced a brand new car in India. In fact India is the first country in the world to see the WR-V. It says a lot about the Japanese car maker’s mass market aspirations in the country. A lot of cars have gone the crossover way in the recent time, Honda’s BR-V being one of them. Most have enjoyed more than moderate success so Honda must be hoping the WR-V also is able to pull the consumer to its showrooms.

Looks

The attempt to give the buyer a different looking Honda is very much evident. There’s a lot of emphasis on words like strength, sporty and muscular. Honda wants the WR-V to appeal to the lifestyle buyer and there are a lot of design cues that points to that. There are edges all over and the wing faced grille along with a muscular bumper fir into the sporty DNA. The car which is quite unlike other Honda’s seen in India also gets Daytime LEDs, wheel arches with cladding, roof rails as well as a sunroof, something which was not really seen in the segment. The rear also subscribes to the design theme. There are premium split type rear combination lamps along with LED high mounted stop lamps. There are also a lot of options to accessorize the car which just means your car can get more personal.

Interiors

There’s an all-black colour theme inside the car, be it the dash or the seats. Ergonomically the car is well laid out and offers good storage options. The big highlight is the 7 inch touch screen called the Digipad that was also seen in the new City. The system has internal memory and also has a rear parking camera that gives views of 3 different angles. There’s a Start Stop button but it’s only seen on the Diesel variant. Some more features worth mentioning on the WR-V are the mirror link support for smartphone connectivity, internet access for browsing, email and live traffic via optional wi-fi receiver, voice commands for media, navigation and calling and smartphone voice assistant activation. The rear seat is good on space and comes with a centre armrest. The boot space of 363 litre also adds a lot of value to the WR-V and because of the low height it is also very easy to load and unload luggage onto the car.

Engine

The beautiful roads of Goa gave us a good chance to understand the WR-V in great detail. It’s really easy to get inside the car, and the hatch due to its 188 mm of ground clearance gives a great view of the road to the driver. There are both Petrol & Diesel options here. While the former is the tried and tested 1.5 liter 100 PS motor the Petrol is the 1.2 liter mill seen on the Amaze because of which the car feels a bit underpowered. The 1.5 litre diesel has proven its worth in more than one Honda car in India. Honda was one of the latest entrants into the Diesel segment in the country and despite having the pressure of being the only Diesel engine in the portfolio has performed decently well. The mileage and performance have been good and the only complaint was the NVH levels which also have been getting better with every new car. So while it gives an impressive 25.5 kmpl the Petrol stays around 17.5 kmpl. The WR-V also misses out on having CVT variants and for the time being only the manual variants are available. The Petrol also misses out on the very useful cruise control feature while the Diesel gets it.

Ride & Handling

The WR-V is based on Honda Jazz but here the company has reworked on the suspension to ensure better ride quality. Wheelbase has also gone up which just means a cat that handles better. Safety also is a priority for Honda as the WR-V comes with ABS and airbags as standard on all variants. Some other safety features include the Impact mitigating front head rest and the Pedestrian injury mitigation technology. Honda has gone premium enough with the car.

Verdict

There are only 2 variants each in Petrol and Diesel and both are loaded with features. That explains the starting price of Rs. 7.75 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the Petrol S MT variant. The top Diesel variant will cost you 9.99 lakh rupees. The Diesel engine is suits the car well much more than the Petrol. Because of that and the features, it’s a Honda that will appeal to the buyer despite a slightly steep price. But to give you some comfort Honda is offering a 3 years / Unlimited Kilometers warranty as standard benefit to the customer.

Shams Naqvi is an anchor/producer for the News X motor show Living Cars