2023 Honda Elevate Test Drive Review: Easy to live with, tough to sell? – Times of India
2023 Honda Elevate SUV Review: Jack of all trades | TOI Auto
Considering that popular offerings such as the Hyundai Creta and the Kia Seltos are already in their second generation, the mid-sized segment has grown into a more premium sub-segment of the SUV-verse. The latest generation of cars clearly indicate that customers of this segment want the benefits of an SUV such as high-ground clearance, plush ride and road presence, along with the latest tech, high-end material and components and next-generation safety and connected features. However, in its brochure, the Honda Elevate does not seem to have selective keywords like panoramic sunroof, 360-degree camera, ventilated seats and more that other manufacturers are using to drive sales in 2023.
Confused but still optimistic, we took the Honda Elevate on a 300-odd kilometre drive where we navigated through the busy streets of Udaipur and crossed the beautiful Mount Abu Valley which had come to life due to the monsoon rain.
Bold and confident design:
Our optimism for the Elevate was well-founded in terms of its design which is well proportioned, modern and contemporary. The Elevate can never be mistaken as a loud vehicle to look at, the design quickly grows over you with each passing minute and seems like it has been carefully crafted and refined by a master geijutsuka (artist). The front of the Elevate gets sharp vertical lines and the big centre grille adds to an imposing appearance. The front facia is topped off with a big chrome insert that extends on either side and seamlessly blends in with the LED projector headlamp units and the integrated LED DRLs. The lower part of the bumper is purposefully clad with hard plastic cladding and even the faux scuff plate gets hard plastic elements that make it more practical. On either side, there are sleek-looking LED fog lamps that are housed in a trapezoidal housing and go well with the front fascia.
The clamshell bonnet of the Elevate has bold creases and raised sections that further contributes to a rugged and imposing appearance for the SUV. The best part about the Elevate was the sufficient but minimal use of chrome accents which makes it look more confident.
The side profile of the Elevate is again non-pretentious. It gets big and practical door-mounted ORVMs, chunky door handles finished in chrome and a good amount of plastic cladding on its squared-off wheel arches. The running board is also protected with a chunky plastic cladding that extends onto the doors and has body colour-painted components to make them look seamlessly integrated. The window area is ample and the high waistline runs across from the front to the back of the SUV, giving it an upright and purposeful stance.
The Elevate also gets a set of 17-inch machine-cut alloy wheels which fill up the wheel arches well and are wide enough to look proportionate on the SUV, when on the move and during standstill. On the roof, Honda has given the Elevate a pair of silver-finished roof rails.
Coming to the rear design of the Elevate, this is where it is slightly reminiscent of existing cars in the Honda India lineup. The highlight is the pair of wraparound LED taillamps, which are split at the tailgate. The tailgate gets the rest of the lighting elements and keeping up with the trends, the entire tail lighting set-up is co-joined and runs across the width of the car. It also gets a minimal rear spoiler, a shark fin antenna, an exposed rear window wiper and ample plastic cladding on the lower part to protect against stone chips and other minor impacts. The rear plastic cladding again, gets a grey colour insert that rounds off the design nicely with the rest of the SUV.
The boot opens up to offer segment leading 458-litre of storage space and the rear seats have a 60:40 split configuration to extend it further. While the loading height is high, the Elevate’s boot also accommodates a full-sized steel spare wheel.
Clean and purposeful cabin but no bragging rights:
The maturity that you see on the outside of the Honda Elevate, continues inside the cabin as well. The dashboard is neatly designed with three distinct elements. The top part is finished in hard plastic with raised patterns, the lower part is wrapped in brown leather upholstery and in the centre, you find horizontally placed air-vents with an ash wood insert on the passenger side. The steering wheel in the Elevate is a leather-wrapped unit, which is chunky and comfortable to hold, it also gets several multi-function buttons on either side, including functions for ADAS, which we will talk about shortly. Behind the wheel, you get driver information via a 7-inch full-colour TFT screen and an analogue speedometer.
Coming back to the dashboard, the centre-piece is the high-resolution 10.25-inch infotainment screen which is decently responsive and supports both wired and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The Elevate also gets an 8-speaker audio system which compliments the driving experience well. Beneath the infotainment screen, you will find the automatic climate control and other air-conditioning functions. The system also gets a PM 2.5 filter to keep the air inside the cabin free clean and fresh. The tactile switches dedicated to fan speed and temperature control are instinctive to use, while you are driving.
On the passenger side, you will find a suitably sized glove compartment and a storage area with the integrated wireless charger in the middle with two USB 2.0 points. The centre console gets two handy cupholders, then you get the drive selector, followed by the manual handbrake lever with small storage places around. The earlier mentioned, brown leather-wrapped panels, also extend to the front doors and armrests to give a more uniform and premium look to the cabin. The seats of the Elevate will remind you of the 5th generation Honda City and are covered in the same brown leather upholstery as the dashboard elements. The front seats also get a centre armrest that opens up to offer added storage area for small tid bits. Each door of the Elevate has storage compartments that can hold up to 1-litre water bottles with ease.
However, the high beltline of the SUV translates into a raised window line inside the cabin but that can be offset by opening up the fabric shade for the electric sunroof.
In terms of seat comfort, the front seats offer a good amount of back support but taller drivers may feel a lack of under-thigh support on longer drives. Although only manually adjustable, the front seats can be adjusted for both reach and height to get the ideal driving position. The rear seats are equally comfortable, Honda also claims that they get extra cushioning for added comfort over bumpy roads and the floorboard is almost flat, allowing better comfort for the centre passenger. However, four passengers inside the Elevate would be most comfortable. The rear cabin also gets dual air vents and a 12V power socket.
Overall, the Elevate’s 2,650 mm wheelbase makes up for a good amount of room inside the SUV for both front and rear passengers. However, headroom at the back could feel less for taller passengers during long drives.
Features:
Up till now, we were not particularly impressed with the roster of tech features that Honda is offering in the Elevate. It seemed like someone had made a long list of features that are being offered in this segment, then cut it in half based on what is practical and what is gimmicky or superfluous. But did they take it too far?
The Elevate gets digital screens for infotainment and driver information but they are neither the biggest nor seamless. It gets an electric sunroof but that looks dated in front of the competition’s panoramic sunroof units. The unified automatic climate control is sufficient but again a feature that is now becoming more common in lower segments. The rear camera offers three different views but the Elevate does not get a 360-degree view parking camera. There is no ambient lighting, no Heads-Up Display, no front ventilated seats or even an electronic parking brake.
Where it stopped making sense:
By this point in our review, the Elevate started seeming like an SUV which is not only late to the party but quite underdressed as well. Holding on to the last bit of our optimism, we began our drive through Udaipur and ended up on the Mount Abu Valley highways. The powertrain options for the Elevate are pretty straightforward, it gets the tried and tested 4-cylinder, 1.5-litre i-VTEC, naturally aspirated, petrol engine that produces 119.3 hp and 145 Nm of torque. Buyers can choose between a 6-speed manual transmission or a CVT automatic transmission with paddle shifters.
We drove the CVT automatic during our drive and the day before, Honda management had explained to us that engineers had worked on giving the CVT gearbox a more natural feel by programming augmented shifts into it, which would offer a more engaging driving experience and reduce the typical rubber band effect that CVT automatics have. While the augmented shifts were barely noticeable in the normal drive mode, the SUV did change character when we used the paddle shifters. However, under hard acceleration, the motor got very vocal without resulting in much pace. The engine revs cleanly over 6,000 rpm and starts making a noticeable sprint only after crossing the 3,500 rpm mark. We observed that while it seems redundant to give the Elevate hard acceleration inputs, the system will conjure up a similar performance with just 30 to 40 percent acceleration input in the CVT. So the takeaway is, there is no point in wrestling with the Elevate, instead, a firm amount of acceleration input will be received much better and the vehicle will cope with it more readily. Keeping things on the boil is where you will find yourself in agreement with the Elevate and its CVT, however, that will not bode well with people looking to drive enthusiastically or even when you want to make a quick overtake on the highway. To top it off, the Elevate has a top speed of just 160 kmph. In the real world it shouldn’t make a difference as no national highway in India has a legal speed limit of 160 kmph but to some, it may matter.
Braking performance was adequate and in line with expectations. In terms of equipment, it gets disc brakes on the front and drum brakes at the rear. Considering the modest features list, combined with the modest performance of the SUV, we were not able to understand what demographic Honda is planning to sell the Elevate to.
Where it started making sense:
While the initial impressions from the powertrain had us confused, as we travelled further, things started to fall into place. The Honda Elevate is a champ, when it comes to the ride and handling department. Starting with the NVH levels, the cabin did not throw a single squeak or rattle during our entire drive across the highway, rough patches and even mud-slung areas. The 220 mm of ground clearance is ample to slowly drive over most obstacles that the Elevate is due to confront in the real world. The car feels planted at high speeds and the 5.2-metre turning radius is very practical in city conditions. The Elevate is also super comfortable and masks all the road bumps and undulations thanks to the gas-filled shock absorbers on all four wheels, there is also an anti-roll bar fitted that helps the SUV’s lateral stability and while some body roll is felt, the SUV never feels on its edge and complies under all driving conditions.
ADAS in both automatic and manual:
The top-end Elevate gets advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) functions, such as lane keep assist, collision mitigation braking system, adaptive cruise control and road departure mitigation system. However, the experience of the ADAS functions is a mixed bag. This is majorly because the ADAS functions inside the Elevate are based on the wide-view front camera and three other camera units placed around the car, the system is not supported by radar. This makes the accuracy of functions like the lane keep assist, not as immediate and spot-on as we have seen in other radar-based systems that come with the recently launched 2023 Kia Seltos.
While the absence of radar, electronic parking brake and 360-degree camera were not making sense earlier, they do make sense when you realise that it also allows Honda to offer its ADAS functions in both the automatic and manual versions of the Elevate. This way, the Elevate is able to bring advanced safety features to its customers in a much more cost-efficient manner. However, the six airbags in the Elevate are only available for the top trim with the ADAS.
Honda Connect:
What the Elevate may lose in its ADAS arsenal, it makes up for in the connectivity area with the Honda Connect suite. It gets close to 40 connected features including, stolen vehicle tracking, vehicle geo-fencing, time-fence alert, live car location, remote start/stop and more. It also supports smartwatch connectivity to further add convenience.
Conclusion:
While the Honda Elevate is entering the highly glamorised mid-sized SUV segment, it is not pretending to be a showstopper by any means. In today’s digital era, the Elevate does everything but nothing over-the-top (OTT), which in hindsight symbolises the SUV as a product, which Honda is confident in offering to its customer base in India. During our brief, Honda management told us that they are targeting people in their early 30s or young families looking for a safe and dependable vehicle for their household. Overall, the Elevate checks all these boxes. It gets a modern and rugged design, it comes with Honda’s proven 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol engine, it offers the convenience of a CVT automatic (16.92 kmpl) or a 6-speed manual (15.31 kmpl), it is comfortable and luxurious and it gets a good balance of convenience and safety features. The Honda Elevate will surely prove to be a sound investment for those who want peace of mind over an extended ownership period and should be on the shortlist of people looking for practicality in a mid-sized package.
As for the nay-sayers, they may continue to criticise it for not having great acceleration or a diesel engine option. They will surely pick on it for not having the all-hailed panoramic sunroof or ventilated seats, however, the Elevate was never meant for them anyways.
Pricing and deliveries:
Honda has confirmed to TOI Auto that it will dispatch the first batch of Elevate SUVs to its dealerships by the end of August 2023 before announcing the prices for the four variants that will be on offer between the two transmission options. The management also disclosed that based on the pre-bookings it has received, the Elevate currently has a waiting period of three to four months but Honda plans to increase the production once the cars start to leave the showroom floors.
