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NEW DELHI: Honda Cars India on Wednesday launched its new Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV), the Mobilio at a starting price of Rs 6.49 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The petrol car will cost Rs 6.49 lakh for the E variant; Rs 7.50 lakh for S variant and Rs 8.76 lakh for the V variant.
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The diesel variants have been priced between Rs 7.89 lakh to Rs 10.86 lakh. The seven-seater MVP will take on the likes of Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, Mahindra Xylo, Nissan Evalia and even the Toyota Innova. Its closest competitor, the Ertiga petrol starts at Rs. 5.8 lakh and goes up to to Rs. 7.3 lakh while Diesel starts at Rs. 7.22 lakh and goes up to Rs. 8.49 lakh.
Honda said that the name Mobilio has been coined from English words mobility and mobile. Honda Mobilio's deliveries will begin from today.
The Honda Mobilio MPV is 4.4-metre long with a wheelbase of 2.6-metre and has a ground clearance of 185mm. While it looks similar to the Amaze sedan and Brio hatchback, it manages to be distinct with its stretched out proportions and non-boxy looks. The Mobilio looks the most distinct from the rear as all resemblance to the hatch and a sedan ends with a new set of tail lamps and plenty of curves.
Moving to the interior - the Mobilio gets a two-tone colour scheme, which makes the cabin feel roomy. The seats are flexible with plenty of storage space, with a generous amount of cabin space and good amount of headroom. What is impressive is that even the third row seat gets adequate knee room and can be used for long drives. The interior of the Mobilio is similar to what we have on the Brio and Amaze.
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The entertainment system has been lifted from the new City, which also serves as a screen for the reversing camera on the top end variant of the car. The top end variant also gets faux wood fittings on the dash and the door, and faux leather seats. Base cargo are is at 223 L which can be enhanced to 512L in the third row fold configuration.
The Mobilio will be powered by the new 1.5-litre turbocharged Earth Dreams diesel engine that does duty on the Amaze and City churning out power of 100ps@3600 rpm and torque of 200 Nm@ 1750 rpm. The diesel engine continues to be noisy but Honda has done a better job in insulating the noise out in the Mobilio.
The petrol variant gets the 1.5-litre i-VTEC unit producing a power of 119ps@6600 rpm and 145Nm of torque and is peppy and is the same that powers the City. Both engines are mated to a 5-speed manual transmission.
Mobilio also gets a bolder and sportier looking sport version in the form of RS, which comes with dynamic front and rear bumpers, projector headlamps with LED position lamps. Alloy wheels, chrome grille, tailgate spoiler and chrome exterior door handles. The RS will be available for deliveries by September 2014.
The Mobilio has been developed at Honda R&D Asia Pacific Co. Ltd in Bangkok, Thailand. "Honda has vast experience in offering a variety of premium MPVs to customers globally. Drawing from this varied experience, Honda engineers have used the same technological know-how and design philosophy to develop the Mobilio," said Yoshiyuki Matsumoto, Managing Officer, Honda Motor Company.
"The launch of Honda Mobilio follows the success of Honda Amaze and all-new City which has led to our growth of 83 percent in the previous financial year," said Hironori Kanayama, President and CEO, Honda Cars India Ltd.
The Mobilio has been launched in Indonesia in January this year and has clocked 46,000 units in sales. Honda expects sales of Asia Pacific to be at 1.2 million by 2017 and HCIL is expected to contribute 25 percent or 300,000 units in sales by then. The Mobilio is being manufactured at the company's Greater Noida plant and has 90 percent localization. HCIL is also expanding its dealer network to 230 facilities in 150 cities by end of 2014-14, with 75 percent coming up in smaller towns and cities.
