Spied - Honda Brio caught near Noida

Car and Bike show fan Rohit Anand recently caught the Honda Brio testing on the Greater Noida Expressway. According to Rohit, the car is similar in size to the Chevrolet Beat.

The Brio is equipped with the Jazz' 1.2-liter petrol engine, detuned to match the car's dimensions. Rohit chased down the Brio using his Alto and even when driven aggressively, he could easily close the gap to the mule. Will the Brio trade acceleration for that extra bit of fuel efficiency?

It's not fair to judge without actually driving the car but thanks to ballooning fuel prices, manufacturers are forced extract as much as possible from their engines giving them a sluggish nature. We won't be surprised to verify Rohit's claim upon the Brio's launch.

The Brio is on sale in Thailand, we've discussed the brand ambassadors and their Indian counterparts (if Honda goes the celebrity way) in an earlier post.

What we can tell from seeing images of the car is that Honda appears to have taken a few pages out of the 2010 Auto Expo concept' design book. If the glass hatch is an India first, a Honda for 5 lakh rupees is another.

What can a car maker provide for 5 lakh rupees?

For 5 lakh rupees, car makers can't produce an exceptionally well built, well refined, spacious and fuel efficient car. They have very little to work with. Restricting the overall length to under 4 meters puts a cap on cabin space and the displacement rule of under 1.2-liters (as Honda has no diesel engine) means you can't expect any punch or kick when you pin the accelerator.

To provide a highly fuel economical car, seats, tires and upholstery are thin. Sound deadening material is scanty, suspension is designed to not eat into storage space. Sheet metal, plastics, rubber and other components that go into making the product have to weigh as little and cost as less as possible. That's why the Brio has an all glass hatch reduces the car's weight, costs less and shaves production time at the factory.

At the end what you get is a car engineered on the frame work of high fuel economy, trying to offer as much cabin space, comfort and driving pleasure as possible. The latter is usually reduced to miniscule levels in the process. Many 5 lakh rupee cars are like a table fan - costs less, consumes less electricity, tries hard be stylish, but at the end of the day can't offer buyers with more than the utility. The car manufacturer cannot be blamed for this.

If you think we're straying off topic learn more about the Brio look right below for a list of related posts.

[Source - Facebook.com]