By Otsile Kadiege

The B-segment crossover SUV is quite lucrative and in a bid to profit from this while remaining relevant and competitive, many automakers have hopped onto the crossover bandwagon. Late to the party is Honda with the new Elevate which was launched in India back in June 2023. The newcomer is based on Honda’s Ballade and makes use of the said model’s powerplant. It also sports an unmistakable Honda exterior design, a minimalist and straight-forward interior and boasts Honda’s suite of advanced driver assistance systems to name a few.

Unmistakably Honda

As mentioned above, the new Elevate’s design is unmistakably Honda. In fact, much of the design and styling cues are similar to the BR-V. That said, highlights include an upright front-end with a prominent plastic grille flanked by slim LED headlights with a chunky chrome piece on top of the headlights, spanning the width of the front.

It’s shod with 17-inch alloy wheels (215/55R17) and fitted with contrasting mirror caps, door handles and roof rails. The rear sports L-shaped LED taillights and a faux rear skid plate. The Elevate measures 4 312mm in length, has a width of 1 790mm and a height of 1 650mm. It also sits quite high up thanks to a ground clearance of 220mm.

Minimalist interior

Inside, the new Elevate has a minimalist and seemingly upmarket thanks to a dual-tone colour scheme, stitching on the all-round and soft touch materials. It also has an uncluttered dashboard that houses a 10.25-inch touch display with integrated shortcut buttons, an infotainment system with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, a multifunctional steering wheel with pedal shifters for the CVT gearbox, an 8-speaker sound system, a sunroof (most likely optional), two USB Type-A ports, a 12V socket, a wireless charging pad and a traditional handbrake. The Elevate also has an impressive 458 litres luggage capacity.

Safety and advanced driver assistance systems

The new Elevate has a handful of safety and advanced driver assistance systems. These include six airbags, ABS with EBD, ISOFIX child seat mounts, rear parking sensors, rear view and lane-watch cameras, hill start assist, agile handling assist, vehicle stability assist, adaptive cruise control, auto high beam, forward collision warning, lane-keep assist, lane departure warning, lead car departure warning and auto emergency braking. That said, the Elevate is yet to undergo crash testing for a G-NCAP rating.

Powertrain

Powering the Elevate is Honda’s tried and tested 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine sourced form stablemates like the Ballade and BR-V. The engine develops 89 kW and 145 Nm. There will be two gearbox options, namely a 7-step CVT gearbox and a 6-speed manual transmission.

Pricing and warranty

Elevate 1.5 Elegance CVT – R429,900

Elevate 1.5 Comfort 6MT – R369,900

Service intervals: 15 000 km or 12 months

Service plan: 4 years or 60 000 km

Warranty: 5 years or 200 000 km

Roadside assistance: 3 years

Honda South Africa will be launching the new Elevate in February and we’ll soon get the opportunity to drive the automaker’s latest addition in Western Cape. Stay glued to our website for more details on pricing, specs and first drive impressions.