All Honda cars have always been very driver friendly making them a pleasure to drive. After ages of only offering their sedans like the City and Civics they suddenly presented in quick succession a number of variants from the small Brio to the Jazz hatchbacks, the Amaze small sedan and the stretched seven-seater Mobilio. They also had their elegant SUV the CR-V but have now introduced the BR-V that is more or less a fusion between the CR-V and the Mobilio.

Urban oriented crossovers like the Ford Ecosport, Hyundai Creta, Renault Duster and Maruti Breza offering the comforts of a sedan with big wheels and the ‘Maccho’ looks of a SUV have been very successful but they were all five-seaters. The BR-V brings the crossover philosophy to a MPV that is a longer vehicle with seven seats. It is not however an absolutely perfect fit because though its wide chrome rich front grille is aggressive its side profile betrays a slightly disproportionate length. Looks aside, it is a very comfortable vehicle with powerful and economical engines, big 16-inch wheels and a high 210 mm ground clearance to handle potholed monsoon roads. Though the letters BR-V mean Bold Runabout Vehicle it is really a stretched crossover car.

As always the power trains are impressive. There is a 1497 cc petrol engine belting out 119 HP and a 1498 cc diesel engine that offers 100 HP but with a huge torque of 200 Nm to easily propel a large fully laden vehicle. The dieselengine is mated to a six speed manual gearbox while the petrol variant has a six-speed manual plus an automatic CVT or Continuously Variable Transmission. The six-speed transmissions, even in the manual transmissions, make the `handover’ from one gear to the next very smooth and jerk free. The engines alsoenjoy the Honda reputation for reliability and fuel efficiency. According to test figures (under ideal driving conditions) the diesel model will give 22 KMPL while the petrol variant will deliver 15.4 KMPL. However, in real time these figures should be lowered by about 20 per cent. Those worried about automatics getting higher fuel consumption with an automatic will be cheered to learn that the fuel efficiency of the automatic BR-V is better than the manual model at 16 KMPL.

The BR-V not only has ample room to seat seven people in comfort but also quite an adequate boot space when the third row is being used. The seating is very flexible with a ‘one touch’ system to fold the second row seats. Much attention has been given to the interiors with smart entry, push start ignition, tilt steering, multi- information display, steering mounted controls for a fancy audio system, automatic air-conditioning with a roof mounted 2nd row AC vent, et cetera. For those who fancy sporty driving there is also finger tip paddle shifting of the gears. For safety there are all the goodies of air bags, Anti skid ABS with EDB, et cetera.

The BR-V looks best from the front, good from the rear and the side profile has been helped with light running board below stylish side armor to make the profile sleeker. Buyers can also splurge on a wide assortment of extras like a parking sensor in the rear view mirror, chrome exhaust pipe finisher, door edge garnish, strip illumination at entry, etc. But looks apart, the BR-V is good to drive and a great vehicle for large families. It will also be good for tourist taxis who want to pamper their customers.

The author is the region’s most celebrated automobile columnist