New SUV ready to Elevate Honda in SA market

Aggressive pricing could turn Honda Elevate into a winner.

Honda has introduced a fresh new face in their local SUV range: the all-new Elevate, with eye-catching styling, extensive features and driving capabilities that are bound to make it a success in the highly competitive SUV segment of the South African Passenger Car market.

Having made its Global Debut in June 2023, the Elevate is Honda’s new global mid-size SUV, designed and developed by Honda R&D Asia Pacific, and manufactured by Honda Cars India Limited.

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The Honda Elevate, developed under the grand concept of ‘Urban Freestyler’, has been designed to integrate into various lifestyles and fulfil individual customer requirements by offering consumers a product that appeals through desirability, functionality, and usability.

The Honda Elevate will be available in two derivatives – Comfort and Elegance – and is equipped with Honda’s 1.5-litre petrol engine generating a power output of 89kW @6 600rpm and torque of 145Nm @ 4 300rpm.

This powertrain boasts with a fuel consumption figure of just 6.1-litres/100Km; used in combination with a six-speed manual transmission for the Comfort grade, and a Continuously-Variable Transmission (CVT) for the Elegance grade.

Design features

Both derivatives are equipped with LED lighting all-round (headlights & taillights), with distinctive daytime running lights above the headlight cluster. The Elegance grade additionally gains LED front Fog lights as well as automatic headlights.

Viewed from the side, the new Elevate sports bold, square wheel arches that are accentuated by the design lines on the body panels above them. The Elegance grade further stands out thanks to colour-coded lower door garnish and 17-inch dual-tone alloy wheels, while the Comfort grade is equipped with 16-inch steel wheels.

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The All-New Elevate range is also available in six exterior colours, three Metallic and three Pearlescent: Lunar Silver (M), Meteoroid Grey (M), Radiant Red (M), Phoenix Orange (P), Obsidian Blue (P) and Platinum White (P).

The spacious interior has a solid, premium SUV feel, with contemporary fabrics and soft-touch materials. The modern, minimalist aesthetic is created by the horizontal sweep of the instrument panel and clean lines and surfaces throughout.

The interior environment is further elevated by the electrically controlled sunroof* that allows natural light to fill the cabin and adds to the open-air atmosphere.

The cabin of the Elevate is also generously spacious for both front and rear passengers, while also offering the largest luggage capacity in its class at 458L.

*Features dependent on grade/specification

Comfort and convenience

Another exciting addition to the newcomer is the high-resolution 8-inch touch-screen display audio which has been neatly integrated into the instrument panel. The brand-new infotainment system also comes standard across the Elevate model range and gives users full functionality of a smartphone via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Bluetooth is included and can be controlled via remote controls on the steering wheel. Passengers can also enjoy their favourite playlists through Honda’s new high-quality audio system, with 4 speakers available on the Comfort model and a total of 6 speakers on the top-of-the-range Elegance.

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The Elegance model further benefits from an exclusive 7-inch TFT multi-information display that provides essential driving information, as well as an integrated wireless smartphone charger located in the centre console.

Pricing and warranty