Honda Elevate: The world of the compact SUV is changing all the time, as manufacturers juggle to get the mix of pragmatism, dynamic driving and value priced just right.
The Honda Elevate is the Japanese automaker’s response to this highly competitive segment, and it brings Honda engineering prowess and reliability to a segment where consumers take a lot for granted these days.
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Honda Elevate: Strategic Placement and Growth
The Elevate drops into a category led by established rivals, but it’s a clear and confident move for Honda rather than a last minute play of catch-up.
Designed to meet the needs of customers in the growing markets of the world, while upholding the global standard of Honda, the Elevate combines regional natures and Honda’s universal engineering quality.
This strategic placement also reflects the increasing importance of compact SUVs as core family vehicles, not just additional ones, and the correspondingly higher requirement for space efficiency, safety and refinement, over and above the best of the previous-generation offerings.
Philosophy of design: Simple and elegant.
Honda Elevate- The exterior design of the Elevate is a fairly effective application of the styling language you’ll find in various Hondas today, translated to the compact SUV format without the kind of gimmicky flourishes that could detract from the look down the road.
Its dynamic and stylish front showcases a big chrome bar across the front flanked by LED head lamps with expressive LED Day Time Running Light (DRL) signatures to ensure high on-road visibility and an immediate wow!
The profile reveals well balanced lines yet with a long wheel base which helps to increase interior room while also lending more high style impact than is customary for this segment.
Further down the body, character lines along the sides of the vehicle help to break up its visual mass and they provide a more dynamic treatment of surfaces, helping the vehicle to better convey its dynamism.
At the rear, an integrated LED light bar links the horizontally opposed tail lights together, with all three elements connected by a single, strong, pantograph-shaped design line across the trunk.
The restraint of decoration and ornamentation along the outside demonstrates that the British auto giant has matured, resulting in a product that has already aged well and should continue to do so as value-conscious GT buyers hold onto their purchase for years.
Interior Outstanding: Space Optimization
The Elevate’s interior is arguably its most impressive point of difference with perceived quality and space utilization that puts established manufacturers on alert.
Sitting atop the dash is this floating 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment display – and one that works well, at that; it is accompanied by hard buttons to operate keys climate and driving information features, an important acknowledgment that using a touchscreen while hustling through a corner or at speed can provide unwelcome distractions.
Material choices are considered throughout, with soft-touch points in key contact areas and practical storage solutions that make for better everyday living. For premium versions, the leatherette upholstery has a premium feel to it as well as durable for long-term ownership.
Space efficient, it’s every bit a Honda, with lots of rear leg and headroom despite overall compact dimensions outside.
Cargo capacity sits toward the sharp end of the segment at 458 liters, with easy and everyday functionality making it as useful for workaday chores as it would be for regular long-haul trips.
Engineering Bases: Performance Balance
Honda Elevate- The Elevate’s mechanical underpinning is designed to illustrate Honda’s traditional focus on driving engagement, while ensuring the vehicle remains comfortable and efficient.
Emphasizing structural rigidity that ultimately makes for a solid package of both handling precision and crashworthiness, the platform relies on widespread adoption of high-strength steel.
Powertrain offerings differ from one market to another, though most are powered by Honda’s smooth 1.5-liter naturally aspirated mill that churns out around 121 hp and 145 Nm.
Although upon first glance those figures might seem modest next to those offered by turbocharged alternatives, the engine is characterful, immediate and offers decently linear pace, and driving the 124 is more involving than the raw stats might immediately lead you to believe.
Transmission selections are limited to a fine six-speed manual and a CVT with programmed steps here that duplicate traditional shifting under acceleration. This approach offers the economy of a CVT while satisfying customers’ desires for a more linear shift feel.
MacPherson struts feature up front, while a torsion beam arrangement at the rear is also carefully tuned to deliver a balance of comfort and control that’s well-behaved on low quality surfaces and curiously well tied-down when turning into a corner.
Technology Integration: Linked and Holistic.
Honda Elevate- The Elevate benefits from Honda Connect, a new feature that allows remote engine starting, activation of the climate control and tracking of the vehicle’s location and status through a bespoke smartphone application.
It recognizes modern-day expectations for cars and devices to seamlessly blend into one’s digital lifestyle.
Safety features also show Honda’s dedication to keeping its occupants protected, and every model is equipped with Honda Sensing®,
which consists of technologies such as collision mitigation braking system, lane keeping assist, road departure mitigation, and adaptive cruise control, so you have added peace of mind during everything from everyday rides to highway travels.
Honda Elevate:
The Honda Elevate is a highly considered entry into the compact SUV market containing the core value of the brand of engineering, space efficiency and reliability, focused on a category where these features are most relevant.
Instead of just another design fought out on paper or a game of me-too, Honda has provided an answer to how a carmaker can tackle basic requirements through design and still have fun driving when the demands of the ride had not even been asked yet, as they tend to in Hondas.
