Honda Elevate SUV bookings open, will launch on this date

Honda has officially opened the bookings for its upcoming flagship SUV Elevate in India. The carmaker has announced that the Elevate SUV can be booked through all its authorised dealerships across the country starting from today. The bookings for Elevate can also be done through the Japanese auto giant's online sales platform called ‘Honda from Home’. Honda has confirmed that the Elevate SUV will hit the Indian roads by September this year when the deliveries start.

Honda Elevate SUV made its global debut in India last month. The SUV, made in India for the global markets, will first be launched in this country. The Elevate SUV comes as a key part of the brand's strategy to launch five SUVs in India by 2030. Honda pins hope on the Elevate SUV's success in India where its SUV luck has been less than cheerful. After CR-V, WR-V and BR-V's untimely exits, the Japanese auto giant is left with no SUVs in its lineup, a rarity among all carmakers in India.

Honda Elevate compact SUV will have a lot of expectation riding on it. The challenge will be to take on segment leaders like Hyundai Creta, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara and Kia Seltos besides others. Some of the other rivals include Volkswagen Taigun, Skoda Kushaq and MG Astor.

Watch: Honda Elevate SUV unveiled in India: First Look

Honda will offer the Elevate in four variants called SV, V, VX and ZX. The carmaker will initially offer the SUV with seven single colour options which include Platinum White Pearl, Lunar Silver Metallic, Obsidian Blue Pearl, Radiant Red Metallic, Golden Brown Metallic, Meteoroid Gray Metallic and Phoenix Orange Pearl. There will be three dual-tone options available on the CVT variants which include Phoenix Orange Pearl with Crystal Black Pearl Roof, Platinum White Pearl with Crystal Black Pearl Roof and Radiant Red Metallic with Crystal Black Pearl Roof.

The Elevate SUV does not carry a radical design. It comes with a boxy front profile with a large black radiator grille, LED headlights, integrated LED DRLs, LED taillights, black fog lamp housing and large wheel arches housing sporty 17-inch alloy wheels. The character lines at the side profile, along with the black cladding, increase its visual appeal. Honda says the Elevate SUV has been specially designed as a global urban SUV, keeping the Indian market in mind.

In terms of size, the Honda Elevate SUV is bigger than Hyundai Creta. It stands 4,312 mm in length, 1,790 mm in width and 1,650 mm in height along with 220 mm of ground clearance, which is around 30 mm more than the Korean rival. The Elevate also offers 458 litres of boot space.

The interior of the Elevate is also spacious and has adequate features to impress one. It will come with a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless smartphone connectivity, seven-inch HD colour TFT instrument cluster, automatic climate control among others.

Under the hood, the Elevate SUV will be offered with a 1.5-litre DOHC i-VTEC petrol engine, which is also used for the Honda City sedan. This engine churns out 121 PS of power and 145.1 Nm torque. The engine is available with a six-speed manual gearbox and there is an advanced CVT on offer.