After having recently tested what feels like the entire Honda South(ern) Africa line-up, this Elevate 1.5 CVT pitched up for a week-or-so of evaluation. And what other choice did I have than to abuse its name?
Will it elevate your driving life?
Like every question or answer after this one, it’s a relative (or subjective) matter because it depends entirely from which point of view you approach it. If you had to down-scale from a Bentley Bentayga, this half-MPV half-SUV front-wheel drive Honda with its 89kW motor may be a slight downer. If, however, you’re coming from a worn and smelly Audi A4, this will feel like automotive heaven.
Our local Honda agents offer two different models: the base-model Elevate 1.5 Comfort with the same 89kW/145Nm four-cylinder petrol engine, but a 6-speed manual gearbox and sensible specifications. These include ABS, EBD, ESP and stability control, two airbags, LED headlights, plus plenty of powered goodies, storage solutions and media connections.
Should you elevate your sights to this Elegance model?
If you dislike automatic transmissions – especially CVT’s – then I would highly recommend a thorough test-drive for two reasons. First of all, Honda has diligently followed recent international trends by teaching this toothless CVT to simulate gear ratios, thereby fooling the unwise or appeasing the haters with programmed steps in acceleration.
Secondly, the Elegance version trumps its Comfort twin with loads of fancy trim items and automated gadgets, two extra speakers, four more airbags, a digital instrument cluster, wireless charging tray, power folding exterior mirrors, front fog lights, large alloy wheels and a sunroof. Prices are currently R371,000 (Comfort) and R430,800 (Elegance).
Will it elevate your fuel bill?
Unless you drove a tiny turbo-diesel before, most certainly not. Honda alleges that this product has an average fuel consumption of just 6.1L/100km (versus the Comfort version’s 6.7) from the rather small 40L tank. In what has become a bit of a Honda trademark, I averaged an amazing 6.5L/100km without even trying!
Does it elevate your heart rate?
Umm, probably not. There’s nothing interesting or racy about this automobile, from its gutsy yet diminutive engine to the sensible but unexciting black interior. I planted my right foot in this 1.5 CVT model and recorded a best 0-100km/h sprint time of 10.85 seconds. A quarter mile time of 17.85 seconds at 80.2mph is just as impressive for a 1,260kg five-seater.
Honda doesn’t publish acceleration or top speed figures for this model so I had no choice but to keep pinning the accelerator to the carpet until this white press vehicle hit an electronic speed limiter: at an indicated 167km/h. Our Racelogic PerformanceBox revealed that the true GPS speed was 161.90km/h.
Can it elevate your family’s safety?
In case you missed it, this more expensive model has six airbags, ABS (anti-lock brakes) with electronic force distribution, traction and stability control. It also provides IsoFix child seat anchors, auto-locking doors, keyless entry, rear camera and parking sensors. It also absolved a single 100km/h brake test in just 2.75 seconds and 39.74 meters.
But will it elevate your stress levels?
Good Heavens, no. It’s an Asian-built Japanese product with a tried-and-tested engine, bulletproof reliability and a mother of a warranty: five years or 200,000km, plus a 4-year / 60,000km service plan with 15,000km intervals. The only stress you should experience is choosing between its six exterior colours: white, grey, silver, blue, red or orange.
Perhaps we’re doing something wrong, but the only real stress we experienced during our few testing days was trying to pair a new phone to the simple but effective infotainment system. It shouldn’t be an issue if you only have one or two users, but this multi-driver press vehicle put up a decent fight before accepting new devices.
Does it elevate Honda’s local product offering?
The cynic in me wants to point out that it’s just another affordable crossover in a sea of SUV’s, but looking at Honda’s local line-up and the car’s value proposition, this boxy number is certainly a good addition to the Japanese brand’s showrooms. It may not be crazy exciting but it’s also not awful to drive or live with.
Just be wary of the fact that it isn’t rated for any towing, can only take 400-or-so kilograms of weight and will struggle against its turbo-charged contemporaries when fully laden and/or exposed to thinner air. On the flipside, it can be a highly economical mile-muncher and extremely versatile family vacation vehicle.
Should you elevate this to the top of your shopping list?
Near the top! With 458L of cargo capacity, those trademark clever folding rear seats, great headlights, simply superb climate control, as well as a whisper under 200mm of ground clearance, any Honda Elevate should fit into the adventurous and semi-off-road lifestyle of a southern African family.
