Honda launches the Mobilio MPV in India

Honda is on a roll, of late. With the all-new City decimating the competition and the Amaze hot on the heels of Maruti-Suzuki and Hyundai, Honda has seen its sales and market share grow tremendously over the past year. Keen to maintain the momentum and continue its growth trajectory, Honda launched the Mobilio in India earlier this week. Built on the same platform as the Brio and Amaze, Mobilio marks Honda’s entry into the MPV segment in India that’s currently dominated by Toyota Innova and Maruti-Suzuki Ertiga.

As these pictures reveal, the Mobilio shares its frontal design with the Brio and Amaze. The almond-shaped headlights seem to be carried over with little to no changes while the grille, bumper and air dam get noticeable changes. A unique front that’s not common with its siblings, like what Maruti-Suzuki did with the Ertiga, would have been nice. Moving on to the profile, a host of cuts and creases dominate the proceedings but the ones that really stand out are the kink in the window line and the treatment of D-Pillar. The sharp taillights that extend into the tailgate and the black inserts intended to break the mass of the bumper are the design highlights at the rear.

While the Brio and City makes do without one yet, the Mobilio, surprisingly, gets a sporty ‘RS’ variant. With projector headlamps, a more aggressive grille, sharper bumpers, side skirts, rear spoiler and flashy alloy wheels, the Mobilio RS does indeed look sporty. Unfortunately, powertrain and mechanicals remain unchanged from the other variants.

The Mobilio is powered by the same 1.5-liter i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines that powers the City. While the petrol engine produces a maximum power of 119 ps at 6600 rpm and a peak torque of 145 Nm at 4600 rpm, the “Earth Dreams” diesel engine delivers 100 ps at 3600 rpm and 200 Nm at 1750 rpm. Four variants are on offer – E, S, V and the sporty RS.

Following the famous ‘Man Maximum, Machine Minimum’ philosophy, Honda seems to have extracted every possible inch of space that this platform can eke out with the Mobilio offering three rows of seating that can accommodate seven passengers. The third row can be accessed by folding the second row forward. To aid practicality, both the second and third rows offer split function. The dual-tone interiors make the cabin feel bright and airy. Most of the interior appointments including the dashboard and switches are from the Brio and Amaze. Air-conditioning, front and rear power windows, central locking and tilt steering are standard across the range while Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) with Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) are standard on all diesel variants. Features exclusive to V and RS variants include fog lamps, rear wiper with washer, armrest in the second row and dual airbags.

With the Mobilio, Honda’s recent run of success is all set to continue, the strong brand image and the positive vibes of the City and Amaze notwithstanding. That’s not all, the all-new Jazz is heading towards our shores too. Bring it on, Honda!