Honda Compact SUV Revealed 1st Time! Can It Challenge Kia Seltos, Hyundai Creta, Tata Nexon In India?

The new RS Concept has been unveiled by Honda at the GIIAS 2021 in Indonesia last year. After HR-V and BR-V, this series is speculated to be the next big thing in Honda’s SUV lineup.

The All New SUV RS

Though the segment to which it will cater is not known but it is expected that the new SUV RS is expected to be positioned below HR-V. 

People believe that the offering by the Japanese carmaker, especially when it comes to the compact dimensions make it a more worthy rival to Hyundai Venue and Kia Sonet. 

However, others believe that it shall lock horns with Creta and Seltos respectively.

Though there is ambiguity about the same but it seems as if it would take on the later two. 

The new SUV RS is expected to be positioned below HR-V in the Japanese carmaker’s portfolio, however, it isn’t clear to which segment it will cater.

New Honda Compact SUV Details

The new compact SUV will be officially revealed in the coming days and the car from the spyshots seem to have a more contemporary design language with a crossover-ish silhouette that looks quite sporty.

Thanks to a tapering roofline and an angular tailgate design, it gets a hint of Coupe SUV appeal. 

The sloping roofline is complemented by a prominent shoulder line with utilitarian roof rails, chunky body claddings on flared wheel arches and lower parts of the doors giving it a rugged appeal. 

While the production version is likely to get 17 inch alloys, the concept seems to have 18-inch alloy wheels finished in matte black.

Giving it a premium look, the front end of the new Honda Compact SUV gets LED wraparound headlamps. 

Front end of the new Honda Compact SUV gets LED wraparound headlamps which look very sleek and premium. The front grille gets neatly merged with the bumper which houses a wide air dam, a faux skid plate, and the vertical fog lamp enclosures. C-pillar of the concept complements its raked rear tailgate design. 

Horizontally oriented slim LED tail lights are decorated on the rear end. Connected to each other by a faux light bar, the concept has taillights that are connected to each other.

It oozes masculinity with its muscular rear bumper and large bash plate. 

Though the interior layout cabin is not revealed yet but it seems to be a modern affair and boast a whole bunch of bells and whistles. There has been no confirmation on the powertrain options on this model, but it may be plonked with a 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol engine and a 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine for the top-spec RS moniker, like City. 

The former could also be available with Honda’s e:HEV mild hybrid technology.

There could be a five-speed manual or a CVT automatic gearbox in the transmission options. While Honda has confirmed on working towards an India-specific SUV, it is likely that the one that will be launched in India is based on this new Honda SUV.

Image Source