Reference Auto

Honda may be producing one of the best cars in the market but is taking its own time to understand India’s customers, and in the latest (and a very late) development, it has made its sports utility vehicle (SUV), the CR-V, cheaper by a whopping Rs 2.7 lakh amid a slowdown in the country’s auto market but one wonders whether the CR-V will go the Jazz way.

The auto maker has already stopped production of the Jazz, which was one of the most expensive hatchbacks in the Indian market, and despite its sluggish sales, Honda did not budge and kept on going with its faulty (read steep) pricing.



The new CR-V will come in two variants and be propelled by 2 litre and 2.4 litre petrol engines.

The CR-V will carry a price tag of between Rs 19.95 lakh and Rs 23.85 lakh (showroom price).

The 2013 model has only two engines. More fuel efficient of the two is the 2.0 litre SOHC i-VTEC engine that offers 156 PS @ 6,500 rpm, while the more powerful one is the 2.4 litre DOHC i-VTEC, which has 190 PS at 7,000 rpm.

According to ARAI standards, the 2.0 litre car belts out about 13.7 km per litre, while the 2.4 litre one offers 12 km per litre.

The 2.0 litre car comes either with a five-speed automatic transmission or a six-speed manual gear. But the 2.4 litre offers the auto box as a standard feature.

Honda has introduced an ECON mode in the new CR-V, which both electronically and through visual methods helps the driver in achieving the ‘best mileage’ from the vehicle.

“We are entering a new phase in the country with the new CR-V. In the past several years, Honda has been striving to develop new products for the highly competitive auto industry,” Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) CEO and president Hironori Kanayama said while unveiling the new CR-V.

The CR-V was first launched in the country in 2003 and sold only 13,700 units till date. With the slashing of price, the CR-V is on the expensive side again but only a concerted ad blitz could save the CR-V from being phased out like the Jazz.

Earlier, the 2 litre manual transmission variant of the CR-V was priced at Rs 22.65 lakh but now it will come for Rs 19.95 lakh. Also, the older 2.4 litre automatic version came for Rs 24.9 lakh and now the new variant is Rs 22.4 lakh.

Honda has also rolled out an automatic transmission variant with the 2 litre engine, which comes for Rs 20.85 lakh.

Yes, the Honda CR-V offers the power of an SUV but the comfort of a sedan and will vie with Toyota Fortuner along with Mahindra SUV (which is also powerful and several lakhs cheaper) and of course the BMW X1 (this will also give a strong competition to the CR-V as many may want to be the owner of a BMW rather than a Honda by paying just a few lakhs more).

So, with the price hike, will potential buyers lap up the new CR-V or will it go the Jazz way and be phased out?