A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO WEbroke the news about Honda developing a new sedan, which will be based on the Brio platform.
Now there is news trickling in that the Japanese automobile major is working on launching itsfi rst compact MPV. The recent success of the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga in India has furtherfuelled the development of the Honda MPV.The new model will sport seven seats in three rows and will share the platform with the next-generation premium hatchback, the Jazz, tokeep the production cost low. The new MPVwill be targeted at the fast developing countries like India.
At present Honda offer a compact MPV, called the Freed, based on the present Jazz, in other Asian countries like Malaysia. However, we expect the new MPV to carry the company’s futuristic design and will probably discard the sliding mechanism for a conventionally hinged door. The interior will offer smart design, fl exible seats and great space utilisation as seen in the Jazz.
Since Honda are busy burning the midnight oil to develop a new diesel motor, we may expect the new MPV in both petrol and diesel engine options. The 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol motor will be borrowed from the City, but will be tweaked to suit the needs of the MPV.
The new Honda MPV is expected to be launched soon and is to be priced between Rs 7 lakh and Rs 8 lakh, which is likely to give serious competition not only to the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, but bigger MPVs like the Mahindra Xylo and Toyota Innova.
