The Honda Elevate facelift is now on sale in India. Prices start at Rs 11.80 lakh, ex-showroom. This is the first big update for the midsize SUV since it arrived in 2023. Honda has changed the design inside and out and added some major features. The SUV is available in five core trims: SV, V, VX, ZX and ZX+. The ZX+ is new, and you can also get it as a Black Edition. While the starting price stays the same as before, the top end now costs Rs 1.94 lakh more.
Exterior design
A new segmented LED DRL strip sits above the grille and links the LED headlights, which Honda has not changed. The grille gets a new mesh pattern with a gloss-black finish. The fog lamp housings now match the body colour. Honda has also moved its logo from the grille to the front edge of the bonnet.
At the back, a new LED light bar connects the taillamps. Otherwise, the rear looks very familiar. The alloy wheels carry over unchanged too. There is one new colour, called Nordic Forest Pearl. You can pick it in monotone or dual-tone. The body cladding also switches from matte to gloss black.
Interior and features
The cabin sees bigger changes, mostly in the equipment list. The headline addition is ventilated rear seats. Both front seats are now powered and ventilated. You also get a new 360-degree camera and touch-sensitive rear LED reading lamps. The CVT variants get an electronic parking brake with auto-hold.
The dashboard has small tweaks. More white leatherette padding and stitching replace the faux wood trim. Ambient lighting used to be a dealer-fitted extra. Now it comes from the factory on the higher trims.
Safety gets a boost too. Honda added front parking sensors, rear disc brakes and adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow for the Honda Sensing ADAS suite. The adaptive cruise control only comes with the CVT. Other features carry over. These include the 10.25-inch infotainment screen, the semi-digital instrument cluster, the single-pane sunroof, the lane-watch camera, 6 airbags, the wireless charger and wireless phone connectivity.
Better sound insulation
People often criticised the old Elevate for noise inside the cabin. Honda says it has fixed this by adding more sound-deadening material. That should make the ride quieter.
Powertrain and specs
The engine stays the same. It is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol that makes 121hp and 145Nm. You can still pick a 6-speed manual or a CVT. Honda claims 15.31kpl for the manual and 16.61kpl for the CVT. The Elevate still does not get the strong-hybrid setup from the City.
The Elevate will keep fighting the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Skoda Kushaq, Maruti Grand Vitara and the rest of the midsize SUV crowd.
