The demand for Honda’s new cross-hatch, the WR-V, is on a steady rise, with dealers stating that the lower variant has a waiting period of close to one month while the top-spec trims take about 45 days for delivery. The WR-V was launched in March and as per Honda's latest press release, it has clocked 12,000 bookings in less than two months.
Interestingly, there is a skew in the demand based on colour as well. Carnelian Red seems to be the most popular shade and it has a waiting period of one month, while white WR-Vs are available immediately.
The WR-V comes with a 1.5-litre diesel and a 1.2-litre petrol motor and is priced starting at Rs 7.75 lakh for the base petrol, going up to Rs 9.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the top-spec diesel. Between petrol and diesel, it’s the latter that’s more popular as it is fitted with goodies like cruise control and a push-start button. The WR-V gets a five-speed manual gearbox only.
There have been many enquiries for an automatic variant too, but there is no news of Honda bringing an auto gearbox to the market anytime soon. There seems to be a good demand for customisation as well and some dealers are offering a contrast roof option for around Rs 25,000.
The WR-V’s direct rival is the Hyundai i20 Active which commands a waiting period of two weeks for the petrol and around one month for the diesel, at most locations.
Dipan Sur
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Suraj Viswanathan
Hormazd Sorabjee
