Complete Guide to Buying a Honda Elevate

The SUV segment is currently dominating the market with 40% of sales being cornered by SUVs of all shapes and sizes. This is the reason why new SUVs keep joining the league in a bid to become the undisputed leader of the segment. The latest to join the race, is the Honda Elevate, the Japanese carmaker’s promising contender for the midsize SUV segment.

The Honda Elevate aims to take on giants like the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos etc., with its imposing stance, balanced looks, elegant interiors and a single but effective engine. With booking being accepted since July 2023, the Elevate now commands a waiting period of over 6 months; a hint towards the SUV’s rising popularity. Based on the same platform as the iconic Honda City sedan, the Elevate, despite being a late entrant to an overcrowded SUV party, still manages to make its presence felt. If you too are impressed with the Elevate’s package, then here’s a complete buying guide for the Honda Elevate to help you analyse every little thing about the SUV, including specifications, variant lineup, and after-sales experience.

Honda Elevate Specification

Making a mark in an ocean of competitors is no easy task. But despite all the challenges, the Honda Elevate manages to stand out, especially with its assertive and elevated looks. Veterans like the Hyundai Creta and the Kia Seltos alongside new-age entrants like the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, and the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, are all threats to the Elevate’s position in the market, which the SUV is gradually tackling with its decent yet impressive package. Here’s what the Elevate packs in:

Why you should consider the Honda Elevate

While there might be a lot of options in the SUV segment, the Honda Elevate still manages to shine with several advantages that are focused towards delivering an unmatched user experience. If you are curious to know what makes the Elevate unique, here are a few reasons why you should consider the Honda Elevate over other competitors in the same price bracket.

Assertive Looks and Great Road Presence

One thing that makes Honda an unparalleled name in the market is the brand’s attention to detail. Considering that the segment is filled to the brim with all kinds of competitors, it seems as if Honda’s design team has done a commendable job. Great road presence and imposing looks are the strengths of the Elevate that bring in a package that is bold, high-riding and upright, a laudable shift from Honda’s low-riding design language. The Elevate’s generous dimensions, massive grille, and upright front profile render an authentic SUV look that is accentuated with elements like LED projector headlamps, dual-trail LED tail lamps, LED projector headlamps and a beefy silhouette. When pitched against rivals, the Elevate’s jacked-up body surely turns heads. With an assertive road presence, the Elevate seems to enjoy all the attention every time it is taken out for a spin. All that comes with a class-leading wheelbase as well as ground clearance, making the Elevate a nifty option amongst its competitors.

Great Comfort

The Elevate’s grandeur is carried over to the inside as well, with a cabin that boasts best-in-class comfort. Packaging too, is Honda’s forte and is well implemented on the Elevate as well with intelligently placed storage spaces and seats that set a benchmark for comfort. With generous under-thigh support and ample back support, the Elevate offers nothing but sheer comfort that goes beyond the first row, with ample head and leg room for all passengers. All this coupled with Honda’s driver-centric layout, great visibility and roomy interiors makes up for an extraordinary in-cabin experience. Not to forget that the Elevate also offers the best-in-segment boot space of 458-litres which is more than enough for your luggage needs.

Reliable Performance and Impressive Safety

Even though the Honda Elevate offers a sole 1.5-litre Petrol Engine, the unit itself is one of Honda’s most tried and tested engines. Scoring top marks in reliability, refinement and performance, there is nothing about that engine that fails to impress. With Honda’s magic pouring in from all directions, the steering, clutch, transmission and gearshift, are all light as a cloud, putting the driver at ease. While the Manual is hassle-free, it is the CVT automatic gearbox that truly “Elevates” the SUV’s potential, and is the best choice, especially for city runs. Safety onboard has also been taken care of by Honda with several top-notch inclusions such as Level-1 ADAS which though limited to the top-spec truly accentuates the Elevate’s appeal. For base and mid variants, the safety onboard is sufficient enough to offer complete peace of mind.

Why you should not consider the Honda Elevate

Despite its advantages, the Honda Elevate has its own set of shortcomings which is quite natural. While the Honda Elevate surely offers some advantages over its competitors, there still are a few compromises that must be considered before you make a decision, especially when the competition is diverse and the market is filled with options. Here’s where the Elevate lacks

Lack of Engine Choices

While there is no denying the fact that the Honda Elevate offers great performance and balanced driving dynamics, considering the competition, the SUV’s lack of engine choices is a big cause of concern. Neither a turbocharged petrol engine nor a diesel powertrain. The Honda Elevate simply misses out on options. When compared to rivals, the Elevate’s sole petrol engine seems a bit underpowered and dated. Moreover, considering that the Elevate underpins the Honda City, a strong hybrid setup would have been the perfect inclusion on the Elevate, which again is a sad miss.

Misses out on Features

While the Honda Elevate offers a decent list of features onboard its elegant and functional cabin, the SUV still misses out on some crucial features which are common offerings in the segment. These include features such as automatic wipers, heads-up display, 360-degree camera, powered driver’s seat etc. Even the ADAS onboard is limited only to the top-spec trims, leaving the mid-spec trims hanging. All this takes away the Elevate’s contemporary approach, distancing the SUV from the competition.

Honda Elevate Variants

The Honda Elevate is offered in four broad trims: SV, V, VX and ZX which are spread across seven variants. The cheapest Honda Elevate variant is the Honda Elevate SV which has a price tag of Rs. 11.00 Lakh, while the most expensive variant of the Elevate is the Elevate ZX CVT which comes with a price tag of Rs. 16.00 Lakh. Here’s the complete variant lineup of the SUV:

Best Honda Elevate Variant to Buy

While the Honda Elevate is loaded in terms of features and safety, straight from the base model, there still is a long list of variants to choose from, with each offering a little more than the other. However, when pitched against each other, the Elevate VX and ZX seem to be the best pick for both petrol manual and automatic lovers. While the VX trim offers most of the SUV’s key features including the highly desirable ones such as the lane watch camera, 8-inch touch infotainment display with wireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto, and digital MID, the ZX trim on the other hand offers everything the SUV has up its sleeve including ADAS onboard.

Honda Elevate Warranty and Service Costs

Entering India’s passenger vehicle space in 1995, Honda has since been an integral part of India’s automotive evolution, giving the nation some of its most iconic cars such as the Honda City. Being a Honda product, the Honda Elevate comes with a 3-year/unlimited kilometres warranty with 24/7 roadside assistance. In terms of maintenance, the Honda Elevate with its sole petrol engine, will demand an annual service cost of about Rs. 6 to 8 thousand. This makes the Honda Elevate’s 5-year maintenance cost fall anywhere between Rs. 40 to 50 thousand.

Summary

Slowly carving a place for itself, the Honda Elevate is on a great run with pre-bookings pushing the SUV’s waiting period to over six months now. Despite intense competition, the Elevate with its assertive looks, comfortable interiors and balanced performance has left quite a mark on the market. Offering a lot in its package, the Elevate is surely an impressive SUV, but with still a few aspects that call for improvements. Nonetheless, the Elevate is on a great run ahead and carries with it the carmaker’s aspirations of ruling the SUV segment.

FAQs about the Honda Elevate