We’re reporting live from the 2011 Bangkok Motor Show, which for the first time is held at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani, the biggest exhibition centre in the Thai capital. Ford attracted plenty of attention thanks to the all-new Ranger pick-up truck, which we showed you yesterday, but there were other noteworthy showcars as well. One of them is the Honda Brio, which made its debut as a production car in Thailand last week.
Powered by an an i-VTEC four-cylinder 1.2-litre SOHC engine with 90 and 110 Nm, this Thai eco car is the entry level Honda fighting tasked with fighting the brisk selling Nissan March. With two transmission options – 5-speed manual and CVT – the Brio comes in two trim levels, S and V.
As usual, official photos show the top spec car in the most flattering way, so our live gallery focuses on the threadbare S spec, which is priced at 399,900 baht in Thailand. We also have images of the highest V spec CVT model for comparison. Note that airbags, ABS and EBD are standard across the range, even on the kosong S spec.
There were many lining up to touch and feel the Brio, and I was part of the queue too. Space wise, it obviously felt smaller inside compared with the Jazz and Myvi from the segment above, but it’s far from cramped. The light colours did its part here, and the front seats are more supportive than those in the Hyundai i10.
Plastics are of course hard at this price point, but the panel surrounding the instruments and radio has a different texture and is of a different colour – it works well. At the back, yours truly and a fellow media member of a similar 175 cm height had no problems fitting in. Headroom and legroom is adequate with the front seat set to my position. With rear seats in place, the boot is a deep but slim hole, and the load lip is relatively high.
View the full live gallery after the jump.
Honda Brio S spec
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Honda Brio V spec
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Honda Brio official images
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