This is it – Honda’s big gamble in Southeast Asia has been revealed in the shape of the SUV RS Concept, a thinly-veiled preview of the car that will take on the Daihatsu Rocky and Toyota Raize (and our Perodua Ativa, of course). Designed in Thailand, the small five-seater crossover has just been shown at the 2021 Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) and will likely be offered throughout the region.
Details remain as scarce as the images (some of which were lifted from the reveal livestream), but we do know that the production version – tipped to be called the WR-V – will be based on the seven-seater BR-V, itself built on the bones of India’s Amaze sedan. Despite this, the SUV RS has a much more youthful design that should sit well with its target demographic.
Up front, you have slim and sharp LED headlights that flow into a broad grille that features a chequered pattern that goes over the border – much like the facelifted Peugeot 3008. The aggressive look is helped along by the downturned centre air intake and triangular vertical inlets.
Along the side, there’s a simple shoulder line, a rising character line down the flanks and a sharp beltline kink. Despite previous teasers, the C-pillars are not blacked out – instead, they’re painted in body colour and rise up to meet the black roof, resulting in the in-vogue “floating roof” aesthetic. Full-width “dotted” taillights, a deeply-contoured rear bumper and front and rear skid plates complete the look.
Honda has not released any specifications but we can assume that the WR-V will share the BR-V’s 121 PS/145 Nm 1.5 litre DOHC i-VTEC engine and CVT (the Thai City‘s 122 PS/173 Nm 1.0 litre turbocharged three-cylinder is also possible given the forced-induction competition, as is the e:HEV hybrid powertrain).
Also expect the car to come with the Honda Sensing suite of active safety features, including autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. What do you think – are you digging the SUV RS Concept, and should Honda Malaysia bring it in to compete with the Ativa? Sound off in the comments after the jump.
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bayang BR-V, cheaper better value.
https://paultan.org/2021/09/21/2022-honda-br-v-revealed-now-with-6-airbags-honda-sensing-121-ps-1-5l-dohc-i-vtec-from-rm76k/
I hope Honda Malaysia can sell this Game-Changing car soon. I would rather buy a Honda than a chinese Proton X50
Airbeg sudah ganti ke belum? Bahaya tau
Maybe a shorter version of N7X
Nope. X50 still a way better option than this.
Habeslah Ativa nanti! Oh wait… Ativa sales is dismal anyways. This will finish it off. LOL!
Toyota Aygo X way better. this honda is so-so…
Oh u can bet HM will bring this in. SUV = money
Honda turbo SUV, value money compared to siti sivic
Affordable
So does this replace the BR-V?
5 seater and 7 seater lah
no la, this one gonna be ativa rival.
finally a very good design from H.
Hopefully it will not be as ‘milo tin’ as the HRV. H pls, do something right and you will get my support again.
front like audi, rear like harrier, side like chinese car. looks better than ativa.
Ativa looked like it was designed in Indonesia when compared to this baby. Oh wait… it was designed in Indonesia!
Ativa is a JDM rebadge unlike the axia and Aruz
It is not rebadge. Joint-developed between Perodua, Daihatsu & Toyota. Read more.
Make it tad longer and replace the ugly JDM HRV. The design language from JDM HRV is way too different from the current lineup.
Looks better than the 2022 HRV.
Bila baca this portal…. Please take note, all the important launches are in Thailand and Indonesia first….. Yes, we are no longer an important market…. More macam the tikus of Asia….
Other Asian mkts fare better as policies for car cos and consumers are more accommodative.
Taxes should be reduced to encourage more purchases. Reduced taxes per car can be recovered through more taxes collected as more people are able to buy cars then. In fact, the economy expands with more sales of new cars, parts, services and fuel resulting in even more jobs created.