The compact crossover segment is awash with solid, mostly well-specced contenders and any manufacturer entering the segment will find it lucrative and great for the bottom line and market share.
But the downside is that buyers are spoilt for choice and value-for-money prospects.
Honda is fashionably late to the party in this space but late is better than never.
Launched in Cape Town this week, right off the bat, the Elevate is a good-looking thing.
Loosely based on the Ballade and BR-V platform, the Indian-built contender boasts a square, jaw-like front end, a boxy passenger cell — which lends the cabin a very roomy atmosphere — and a clean, if slightly generic, rear end reminiscent of the Hyundai Venue, one of its main rivals.
All in all, it’s a handsome looker, which should gain it favour with throngs of compact crossover punters.
The Elevate comes in two flavours — Comfort and Elegance — both powered by the company’s proven 1.5-litre i-VTEC, making 89kW and 145Nm.
The transmission is a five-speed manual for the Comfort model and a CVT for the Elegance specification. It is the latter derivative that we sampled at the launch and it managed to cover the basics well.
The engine is unpretentious and felt fair driving in the oxygen-rich, sea-level Cape but the CVT is not Honda’s finest moment.
It whines incessantly when you need immediate power delivery to negotiate inclines or clear slower-moving traffic and I have a distinct feeling that the engine and transmission combination might not be the best marriage in the rarified air of Gauteng, if our experience of the marque’s HR-V model, which shares a similar engine layout, is anything to go by.
That aside, the Elevate rides well on smooth surfaces but the quality does deteriorate somewhat on undulating roads, sending unwelcome jolts into the cabin.
An appealing point of the model is its spaciousness, with ample leg and headroom, while the boot measures a cavernous 458 litres, thanks to the vehicle’s generous overall dimensions.
These count a length of 4.3m, a height of 1.79m and a width of 1.65m, which makes this one of the roomiest models in the segment.
The cabin’s user interface is functional at worst, and everything is logically placed, with a good build-quality rating, and little in the way of squeaks and rattles.
Sure, some of the materials and plastics feel cheap but the overall impression is solid tactility and hard-wearing features.
The lack of cruise control is a bit of a let-down on the otherwise good specification level, such as the six airbags and the ESP in its safety arsenal.
A good product for the most part, the Honda Elevate is a worthy addition to this fiercely competitive, popular segment.
Arriving this late to a market already packed with rivals — such as the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro, Kia Sonet, Hyundai Venue, Haval Jolion, Toyota Urban Cruiser, Suzuki Grand Vitara and VW T-Cross — it has its work cut out for it.
Should you buy one, then? I would say it’s worth putting the Elevate on your shopping list. It would also be valuable to try out the above-mentioned competitors before voting with your wallet.
Pricing:
• Elevate 1.5 Comfort Manual R369 900
• Elevate 1.5 Elegance CVT R429 900
Honda has at last entered the B-segment crossover market – but has it done enough to make sure this model can take on the stiff competition?
