The Honda Elevate facelift gets several important additions, including ventilated front and rear seats, powered front seats, a 360-degree camera and ambient lighting. However, the SUV continues to miss some features available on rivals such as the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Skoda Kushaq, Maruti Suzuki Victoris and Tata Sierra. Here are the main omissions.
Panoramic sunroof
The Elevate facelift gets a single-pane sunroof, not a panoramic unit. This is one area where several rivals offer more on their higher variants. The Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Skoda Kushaq and Maruti Suzuki Victoris are all available with panoramic sunroofs. For buyers looking for a larger glass roof rather than a single-pane unit, the Elevate falls behind some of its rivals.
Fully digital instrument cluster
The Elevate is offered with a digital-analogue instrument cluster with a 7-inch TFT display. It provides the usual driving information, along with details such as fuel consumption, trip data, outside temperature and ADAS settings, but the instrument panel itself is not fully digital.
Several rivals offer larger, fully digital displays that are also customisable and configurable, allowing drivers to choose how information is presented. The Hyundai Creta gets a 10.25-inch digital cluster on higher variants, while the Kia Seltos gets a 12.3-inch cluster. The Skoda Kushaq gets a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display, and the Maruti Suzuki Victoris also offers a 10.25-inch digital cluster.
Dual-zone climate control
The Elevate does not get dual-zone automatic climate control. Its facelift does bring other cabin upgrades, including front and rear seat ventilation, ambient lighting and an air-quality display, but the climate control system does not allow separate temperature settings for the driver and front passenger.
That feature is available on rivals such as the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos. Both allow the driver and front passenger to set their preferred temperatures independently, making dual-zone climate control another feature missing from the Elevate.
Powered tailgate
The Elevate does not offer a powered tailgate, despite the facelift adding several convenience features. The Maruti Suzuki Victoris and Tata Sierra, meanwhile, offer powered tailgates. The Victoris goes a step further with gesture control, allowing the tailgate to be opened or closed without using the key or manually operating the boot lid.
Boss mode
The Elevate also misses a ‘Boss’ mode for the front passenger seat. This function allows a rear passenger to adjust the front passenger seat to create more legroom in the second row.
The Tata Sierra and Hyundai Creta offer a Boss mode, along with a powered tailgate and several other rear-seat convenience features. This is not a segment-wide feature, but it is one of the areas where the newer Sierra offers more flexibility for rear passengers.
Limited powertrain options
The Elevate continues with a single 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine producing 121hp and 145Nm. It is available with a 6-speed manual or a CVT with 7-speed paddleshifters.
The issue is less about the engine itself and more about the lack of choice. The Elevate does not offer a turbo-petrol, diesel, CNG or hybrid powertrain. By comparison, the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos offer turbo-petrol and diesel engines, while the Maruti Suzuki Victoris adds CNG and strong-hybrid options to its petrol line-up. The Tata Sierra also offers a 1.5-litre turbo-diesel, along with naturally aspirated and turbo-petrol engines.
For buyers looking for a particular type of powertrain, the Elevate therefore offers fewer choices than several of its rivals.
Other features worth mentioning
There are also a few features that are worth mentioning, although they are less common across the segment. The Skoda Kushaq gets a rear-seat massage function, which Skoda describes as a segment-first feature. The Tata Sierra, meanwhile, gets a dedicated front-passenger display as part of its three-screen setup. Some rivals also offer rear sunblinds, which are not available on the Elevate.