A report emerged on the interweb indicated that Honda could be in the running to enter the compact SUV segment in the coming years. The Japanese manufacturer has the Amaze, City and Civic sedans as its popular models in the domestic market and the scenario could changes with a brand new SUV that might act as a replacement for the WR-V.
The WR-V, based on Jazz, debuted back in March 2017 and it has been decently received among Indian customers. Just a few weeks ago, the mildly updated BSVI version of the crossover was launched in India. Since the demand for compact SUVs/crossovers has been steadily increasing in overseas markets, Honda might fancy developing a model.
Likely dubbed the Honda ZR-V, it could cater to higher volumes in markets like India and Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Philippines. The compact SUV could be positioned below the HR-V in the lineup and is widely reported to be based on the new generation City. The C-segment sedan’s reach has been expanded over the last several months and it recently arrived in India.
It has also been said that the City based SUV/crossover could be launched first in Japan before debuting in other markets. On the other hand, judging by the test mules, the City derived hatchback is expected to be unveiled in the later stages of this year, powered by a 1.0-litre turbo VTEC petrol engine.
The compact SUV could have its overall length below four metres and if turns out to be the case, it will likely rival Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Hyundai Venue, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300 and Ford EcoSport. The launch timeline of the five-seater could be sometime in 2021 while Honda is also working on next-gen HR-V and a new mid-size SUV.
Presumably, the compact SUV will share its mechanicals with the City sedan alongside the features list. If it arrives in India, it could be heavily localised unlike the HR-V, which was pulled out of the launch plans due to reported high costs involved in localisation. The 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines with manual and CVT auto with paddle shifting function could be used as well.
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