Made-in-India Honda Elevate unveiled in Japan as the new-generation WR-V
Honda has unveiled the new-generation WR-V SUV for the Japanese market and the all-new offering is none other than the Elevate sold in India. The Honda Elevate made its global debut in India earlier this year and the compact SUV is being manufactured and exported from the automaker’s Tapukara plant in Rajasthan to its home market. Interestingly, the WR-V was also a nameplate used by Honda Car India for its Jazz-based crossover, which was discontinued earlier this year.
Honda says the WR-V name stands for “Winsome Runabout Vehicle" and winsome stands for “fun" and “cheerfulness." The company says the new SUV has been developed keeping the versatile lifestyles of customers. While both versions look visually identical, there are plenty of changes on the Japanese model to take note of on the Japanese model.
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The new Honda WR-V for Japan comes with an all-black cabin and different upholstery. In contrast, the Indian version gets brown and tan colours across the interior. The leather accents on the dashboard have been skipped as well. Honda Japan is also offering five monotone shades as against seven monotone and three dual-tone shades on the Indian version.
On the feature front, the JDM-spec model gets a different touchscreen infotainment system with buttons on the right, instead of the 10-inch infotainment unit seen here. The unit does come Honda remote control that allows you to remotely access certain functions on the car. It also gets Honda ALSOK rush service for theft and mischief, navigation, and in-car Wi-Fi. However, it misses out on features like an electric sunroof and wireless charging, which are otherwise available in the Indian model.
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The Japanese-spec Elevate also gets Honda Sensing bringing a suite of ADAS features like a LaneWatch camera, reverse camera, Collision mitigation brake, Adaptive cruise control, Lane keeping support System, Auto high beam, parking sensors and a whole lot more. Power on the JDM-spec model will come from the 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated i-VTEC engine that’s also available in India. The petrol motor develops 119 bhp and 145 Nm of peak torque and will be available with only the CVT automatic option. India gets the 6-speed manual transmission as well. Much like India, Japan also does not get a hybrid version of the Elevate.
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Honda will release more information about the new WR-V in December with sales to begin around April 2024. The company says the new WR-V will be priced from a low 2 million Yen range (approx. ₹10.99 lakh), which is identical to the Indian version. The Honda Elevate in India is priced from ₹11 lakh, going up to ₹16 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The SUV takes on the Volkswagen Taigun, Skoda Kushaq, Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, MG Astor and the like in the segment.
