The upcoming Honda midsize SUV for India is expected to go on sale in early 2024 and it will have several commonalities with the fifth-gen City
Honda Cars India appears to be working on two SUVs for the domestic market. A compact SUV is expected to go on sale midway through next year while an all-new five-seater midsize SUV is also said to be under development. Internally codenamed 3RA, the SUV will more likely hit showrooms in the early parts of 2024.
The Honda 3RA will compete directly against Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, MG Astor, Volkswagen Taigun, Skoda Kushaq, Nissan Kicks and the likes. It will also lock horns with the upcoming Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder and its derivative, the Maruti Suzuki YFG, which could go by the production name Vitara upon launch next month.
The upcoming Honda midsize SUV could have an overall length of around 4.3 metres and it will likely have several commonalities with the fifth-generation City. The Japanese manufacturer introduced the latest City in July 2020 and it has helped in the segment’s revival by some margin. However, customers are largely preferring midsize SUVs in recent times.
To lure in new buyers and expand its range, Honda launched the City Hybrid back in May 2022 and is another attractive proposition by being the first of its kind. The upcoming 3RA could share its powertrains with the popular City sedan – taking advantage of the reliability and fuel efficiency standards of the i-VTEC and i-DTEC engines.
It will have to be waited and seen whether the City Hybrid’s e:HEV system will be heavily localised or not for use in the midsize SUV as it could give it a pricing advantage. Before its arrival, Toyota Hyryder and Maruti Suzuki Vitara are stepping in with strong hybrid powertrains enabling electric-only mode with high efficiency.
The 3RA will be equipped with Honda’s new electronic platform and the latest touchscreen interface and connectivity options could also be available. In the near future, Honda could introduce the six- and seven-seater iterations of the midsize SUV. It might also gain ADAS tech that debuted in the City Hybrid with functions like AEB and lane departure warning.