Unveiled as Honda’s entrant into the booming small crossover segment, the Fit-based Vezel will compete with products like the Ford EcoSport, Nissan Juke and Dacia Duster in both Europe and North America, but not in emerging markets. According to a report by Autocar India, Honda will develop an all-new small crossover based on the Brio, a low-cost, locally built A-segment car, for India and other makets.
According to Honda executives, economics have made the Vezel a no-go for India, thanks to a freefall in the value of the Rupee. The Vezel, which would retail for the equivalent of $25,000, would require significant localization to be built and sold in India, and the costs and complexity would be too great. Items like the high-quality interior and the electronic parking brake would be difficult to re-engineer for local manufacturing, and re-engineering wouldn’t provide any appreciable cost savings either.
The Brio platform, which has already been altered to produce a sedan and an MPV, is a lower-cost alternative that could help a future small crossover meet its price point in emerging markets, but it would still require sufficient re-engineering to become an SUV.
Naw. though I’m sure they’ll price it much more aggressively than EcoSport or Duster, the Vezel will be produced here in Brazil. They’re building a new plant for it. Guess it’s cheaper to do that than sell the Brio here as they already make the Fit, plus the Fit sedan, the City here.
i dont know about Brazil but we get the Renault Captur and the Peugeot 2008 and the Fiat Panda soon…
this a HOT segment here… i was wrong…there IS a market for $20k CUVs with the Peugeot starting at $22k
problem for the Ecosport and that “made in India” vibe is that Peugeot is made in france and is clearly a western market car, not a BRIC type competitor so it has class leading finishing
i have never liked french cars but the 2008 looks like the class leader in this lot
in our market they compete with the Juke and the Trax
the Juke is ok but a bit slow in 1.6 guise and the Trax is a poor joke
we also have the Chery CUV which is $17k but its chinese rubbish so no one cares
If it had the same space economics as the Fit, it would be great. But judging by how the trunk (or lack thereof) looks like, I fear function will follow form.
It looks cool, though.
Honda should bring a car like this to the USA, as the Outlander Sport is the only one in the subcompact crossover class that’s inexpensive (which rules out the Encore and X1).
Juke and XV crosstrek are not expensive as well
The Juke is, well, pointless, even as a “subcompact crossover”, and the XV Crosstrek is an Impreza hatchback three more inches or so off the ground. I mean, with the Juke, why would Nissan make a vehicle that many find physically hideous, has no interior room or head room, and premium fuel?
And yet it’s done quite well for Nissan and practically invented the small crossover segment.
I personally think Encore is hideous, has no power and no room as well, but it sells well, so there must be some merits there and it meets requirements of certain buyers, regardless if it’s beyond my understanding.
So is Juke, otherwise it can’t sell 3k/mon in US. It’s not pointless if the market accepts it.
A fool and his money are soon parted. Just ask this fool (points to myself).
I think such vehicle would fit great in Honda´s line-up. Small crossover cars are booming on both side of atlantic. But i don´t understand why Honda has no LCV´s or pickups – simply commercial vehicles for EU/NA markets.
She is prettier than CRV.
There is a ton of Hyundai DNA in the front of that thing.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/2012_Hyundai_Veloster_–_01-20-2012_2.jpg/800px-2012_Hyundai_Veloster_–_01-20-2012_2.jpg
y’know, it didn’t occur to me at first but you’re right. Almost looks like an Elantra/Veloster mash-up.
Wow. Not that you’ve been right before, but that is a stretch. I don’t like the rear door handles of this CUV enough to steer clear of it, but it hardly looks like a Hyundai; unlike the front of a Tesla Model S, for example.
Aw why u no like giant plastic triangle?
ya but everything does ..right. Well thanks for Chrysler/Dodge or whoever they are now.
As a man 6’5″, I read this headline and think “wait, isn’t the Honda CR-V small enough?”
The answer is apparently no.
You echo my thoughts.
Carmakers will use any excuse they can to build new CUV models.
The Mugen version of this comes with the beak grill.
It has the face of a Hyundai and it steals Nissans hidden rear door handles all the while having a low swoopy back end, why not just make it a coupe? At least then there’d be a reason for it to exist with most CUVs being 4-doors.
“compete with products like the Ford EcoSport, Nissan Juke and Dacia Duster in both Europe and North America, but not in emerging markets.”
We don’t even get two of those three things, but ok.
And I made a list of all the reasons this is called a CUV as opposed to a hatchback:
-Plastic cladding