Honda Cars India has entered the sub-4 metre SUV/Crossover space this month with the launch of the all-new - Honda WR-V. The new WR-V is built on the current generation Honda Jazz's platform. The Honda WR-V features the bold and aggressive styling of an SUV coupled with the silhouette and features of a crossover. This allows the WR-V to not only compete with sub-4 metre SUVs like the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Ford EcoSport but also crossovers like the Hyundai i20 Active, Fiat Avventura and the Toyota Etios Cross. Now we have already driven the car and know what the WR-V is all about, but is it equipped enough to compete with the aforementioned rivals? Let's find out.
Even though based on the Jazz, the Honda WR-V is bigger than its hatchback counterpart and also one of the longest sub-4 meters at a total length of 3999 mm. It shares its length with the Ford EcoSport. The Maruti Vitara Brezza and Hyundai i20 Active both measure 3995 mm in length followed by the Fiat Avventura and Toyota Etios Cross at 3989 mm and 3895 mm respectively. On the other hand, the WR-V is not the widest among the lot at 1734 mm as that title goes to the Vitara Brezza that measures 1790 mm in width followed by the EcoSport at 1765 mm, i20 Active at 1760 mm, Etios Cross at 1735 mm and the slimmest of them all - Fiat Avventura at 1706 mm.
Honda WR-V
That being said that WR-V still comes with an impressive wheelbase of 2555 mm, second to only the i20 Active that comes with a wheelbase of 2570 mm. Still, the WR-V offers one of the roomiest cabins among its competitors. The Ford EcoSport comes with a 2520 mm wheelbase, the Fiat Avventura with a 2510 mm one, while the Vitara Brezza and Etios Cross feature a 2500 mm and a 2460 mm wheelbase respectively.
The tallest of the lot is the Ford EcoSport at 1708 mm, which also has the highest ground clearance of 200 mm. The Honda WR-V in comparison is 1601 mm in height with a decent ground clearance of 188 mm. The Vitara Brezza, on the other hand, is not only taller than the WR-V at 1640 mm but also has better ground clearance of 198 mm. At the same time, the Hyundai i20 Active and Toyota Etios Cross share their height at 1555 mm, while the ground clearance is 190 mm and 174 mm respectively. The Fiat Avventura is the shortest at 1542 mm and gets the lowest ground clearance of 156 mm.
| Dimensions | Honda WR-V | Maruti Vitara Brezza | Ford EcoSport | Fiat Avventura | Toyota Etios Cross | Hyundai i20 Active |
| Length | 3999 mm | 3995 mm | 3999 mm | 3989 mm | 3895 mm | 3995 mm |
| Width | 1734 mm | 1790 mm | 1765 mm | 1706 mm | 1735 mm | 1760 mm |
| Height | 1601 mm | 1640 mm | 1708 mm | 1542 mm | 1555 mm | 1555 mm |
| Wheelbase | 2555 mm | 2500 mm | 2520 mm | 2510 mm | 2460 mm | 2570 mm |
| Ground Clearance | 188 mm | 198 mm | 200 mm | 156 mm | 174 mm | 190 mm |
Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza
The Honda WR-V is a very important car for the company, which is why the carmaker has equipped it's with some swanky features like a sunroof ( a segment first), a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system or as Honda calls it Digipad with navigation and optional Wi-Fi for internet support and 1.5 GB internal memory. Other features include a reverse camera, with a multi-view layout - for wide, normal and top views. Features exclusive to the diesel model includes - start/stop button, smartkey entry and cruise control. On the safety front, ABS with EBD and Dual airbags will come as part of standard equipment.
The Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza comes with the much appreciated floating roof style and a host of features that include a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, keyless entry, engine start/stop button, dual airbags (driver side airbag is standard) and ABS with EBD among others. The Ford EcoSport, on the other hand, offers similar features including a multimedia system coupled with a screen, Bluetooth connectivity, automatic climate control, keyless entry, steering mounted controls, new fog lamps, tilt and telescopic adjustable steering wheel and vehicle start-stop button. On the safety front, the vehicle gets 6 airbags on top-spec variants, Anti-lock braking system (ABS) and rear parking sensors.
Ford EcoSport
As for the Fiat Aventura, it comes with features like climate control, electric windows, a rear AC vent and an audio system that supports CD, MP3 and Aux-in. Bluetooth only supports telephony and not for audio streaming. The dash gets a part-soft touch, two-tone treatment and the soft portion here is finished in light grey whereas the seats are a shade of brown. It also gets rear AC vents that are not offered in the WR-V. Safety features include ABS, airbags, and even a Fire Prevention System.
The Hyundai i20 Active also comes with some smart features like - guiding headlamps, rear AC vents, a touchscreen infotainment system with navigation and video playback. Safety features include 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, reverse parking camera and sensors, keyless entry and more. As for the Toyota Etios Cross, the car comes with a piano black theme for the dashboard with a 2-din audio system with USB, AUX-IN and Bluetooth. The steering is wrapped in leather and the top end Cross gets steering mounted audio controls. It also comes with dual front airbags as standard along with ABS and EBD, ISOFIX child seat mounts and 3-point seatbelts for all seats.
Toyota Etios Cross
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 Ford EcoSport features a larger 1.5 litre petrol engine and a similar 1.5 litre diesel motor that make 110 bhp /140 Nm of torque and 99bhp and 205 Nm of torque respectively. This makes it the most powerful among the six models. In fact, the EcoSport also offers a 123 bhp 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine.
Currently, the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza only comes with a 1.3 litre DDIS diesel engine that makes 89 bhp and 190 Nm of torque. Similarly, the Fiat Avventura gets a 1.4 litre diesel engine that churns out 92 bhp and 209 Nm of peak torque. As for the Toyota Etios Cross, it comes with two petrol engines - a 79 bhp 1.2 litre motor and an 89 bhp 1.5 litre engine that develop 104 Nm and 132 Nm of peak torque respectively. The Hyundai i20 Active, on the other hand, gets a 1.2 litre Kappa petrol engine that makes 82 bhp and 115 Nm of peak torque along with a 1.4 litre diesel engine that develops 89 bhp and the best-in-class 220 Nm of peak torque.
Transmission options are pretty standard across all these vehicles. The petrol version of all these models gets a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard, except for the EcoSport that also has an automatic unit as an option. As for the diesel versions, except for the Honda WR-V diesel and the Hyundai i20 Active diesel, which get a 6-speed manual transmission, rest all vehicles get a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard.
| Engine | Honda WR-V | Maruti Vitara Brezza | Ford EcoSport | Fiat Avventura | Toyota Etios Cross | Hyundai i20 Active | |
| Petrol | |||||||
| Displacement | 1199cc | NA | 1499cc | NA | 1197cc | 1496cc | 1197cc |
| Max Power | 89 bhp | 110 bhp | 79bhp | 89 bhp | 82bhp | ||
| Max Torque | 110 Nm | 140 Nm | 104 Nm | 132 Nm | 115Nm | ||
| Transmission | 5 MT | 5MT & AT | 5MT | 5 MT | 5MT | ||
| Fuel Efficiency | 17.5 kmpl | 18.88 kmpl | 18.16 kmpl | 16.78 kmpl | 17.19kmpl | ||
| Diesel | |||||||
| Displacement | 1498cc | 1248cc | 1498cc | 1248cc | 1364cc | 1,396 | |
| Max Power | 99 bhp | 89bhp | 99bhp | 92bhp | 67bhp | 89bhp | |
| Max Torque | 200 Nm | 190Nm | 205Nm | 209Nm | 170Nm | 220Nm | |
| Transmission | 6 MT | 5 MT | 5 MT | 5MT | 5MT | 6MT | |
| Fuel Efficiency | 25.5 kmpl | 24.3 kmpl | 22.27 kmpl | 20.0 kmpl | 23.59 kmpl | 21.19 kmpl | |
Fiat Avventura
| Model | Price (ex-showroom, Delhi) |
| Honda WR-V | Rs. 7.75 lakh - Rs. 9.99 lakh |
| Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza | Rs. 7.26 lakh - Rs. 9.92 lakh |
| Ford EcoSport | Rs. 7.11 lakh - Rs. 10.39 lakh |
| Fiat Avventura | Rs. 7.25 lakh - Rs. 9.99 lakh |
| Toyota Etios Cross | Rs. 6.59 lakh - Rs. 8.06 lakh |
| Hyundai i20 Active | Rs. 6.76 lakh - Rs. 9.76 lakh |
Judging by all that the Honda WR-V has to offer, it is clear that the carmaker wants its latest sub-4 metre SUV to be a car for the masses. It offers superior mileage (highest among the diesel models), comes equipped with some of the best-in-class features, of course, one of the roomiest cabins out there. So, on paper, the Honda WR-V does look like a worthy competitor for the sub-4 metre SUV/crossover space but we can only be sure when we pit the cars against its rivals in real-world conditions, which will happen soon, so watch the space for that.
