2016 Honda BR-V review, road test

This will likely be the most contentious and polarising part of the BR-V road test, and it’s easy to see why. For a start, there are the underpinnings – it’s based on the same GSP platform as the Mobilio, Amaze and Brio, not the Jazz or City, let alone the CR-V. And though it’s been significantly modified for its role as an SUV – raised ride height, wider tracks and a wheelbase longer than even the Mobilio’s – this is still inherently a compact car platform. Being built on this platform, the suspension setup is as conventional as you’d expect – MacPherson struts up front and a torsion beam at the rear, and before you ask, no, Honda has no plans for an all-wheel-drive version, the BR-V will be front-drive only.

Then there’s the look. Honda has done an excellent job with the nose, simultaneously bringing it up to speed with the more modern design template of the City and Jazz, and also making it suitably tough and rugged looking. Beneath the flat, clamshell bonnet, the thick chrome grille leads into purposeful-looking projector headlamps, the grey plastic-clad bumper is sharp and rugged, and the whole thing is capped by the roof rails that give it that final SUV touch. Viewed head on, then, it’s got all the right stuff, but the moment you look at the profile, it starts to fall apart. Yes, the new 16-inch wheels and 60-profile tyres, added ground clearance and wheel-arch cladding try to impart that off-roader feel, but the car is simply too long in relation to its height and width. It looks too much like the Mobilio, and what really gives it away is the very recognisable kink in the second window that debuted on the Honda MPV, as well as an abnormally long rear overhang that extends far beyond the back axle. 

The rear is suitably new, with smart tail-lamps that meet each other in a band across the tailgate and a nice chrome strip, but it too doesn’t do enough to erase that MPV image from your mind.