Honda launched the WR-V in India in 2016 and it's been quite a successful model for the car maker. India is the first market globally to get Honda's new crossover and the sub-4 metre model comes with a bold SUV-like styling with few segment-first features. It borders on the subcompact SUV and the premium hatchback segment. The company has been selling an average of 4000 units a month ever since the launch the car.
Also Read: Honda WR-V Surpasses Honda City; Become Bestselling Honda Car In July 2017
The Honda WR-V has been built on the same design platform that underpins the current- generation Honda Jazz and receives the same engines too. The Honda WR-V comes in both petrol and diesel guise powered by a 1.2 litre i-VTEC and a 1.5 litre i-DTEC engine. The petrol motor makes 89 bhp and 110 Nm of torque, while the oil burner develops 99 bhp and 200Nm of torque. The petrol trim also returns a decent mileage of 17.5 kmpl.
Transmission duties in the new Honda WR-V are handled by a 5-speed manual gearbox in the petrol variants and a 6-speed manual gearbox in the diesel variants. The WR-V doesn't get Honda's tried and tested CVT gearbox which finds it way in the Jazz. A company source told carandbike that "Honda has no plans to launch the WR-V with an automatic gearbox in the Indian market" In fact on the sidelines of the Auto Expo 2018, Yoichiro Ueno, President, Honda Cars India said that the demand for automatics might have seen a marginal growth in India, but it's not big and that's why the company is staying away from introducing a CVT in the WR-V.
Also Read: Honda Launches Special Editions Of The City, Amaze And WR-V
In fact, in the subcompact SUV segment, the Tata Nexon and even the Maruti Suzuki Brezza do not get an automatic transmission. The Ford EcoSport, however, is the only one to get it and if Honda were to introduce a CVT on the WR-V, well, it would have had a significant advantage.
