Honda Brio facelift spotted at dealership; launch expected soon

The updated Honda Brio has been in the international news for a long time now but not in India.

The Honda Brio is back in the news after a long time after its facelifted version was spotted at a dealership. Honda exhibited the Brio facelift at the 2016 Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show, and paved way for rumours regarding the car's India launch. With the spy shots of the facelifted model surfacing online, the launch claims have gained strength.

As expected, the upcoming Brio looks identical to its sedan sibling, the Amaze. That said, it gets a redesigned bumper with separate housing for fog lamps, unlike the current one, which has a single black slab having fog lamp housing and air dam inlets. The new front grille has grown on either side and meets the headlamps. It swaps the thick chrome slat holding Honda’s insignia in the centre with black ones. There’s a slight chrome lining at the bottom of the grille. The rear remains unchanged.

The interiors of the Brio have been spruced up with a new dashboard layout, steering-mounted controls, 2-DIN infotainment system, and the company’s new Honda Connect mobile services. It boasts of an all-black cabin theme and bigger instrument cluster dials, which makes the information easy to read. What the car misses out on is the push start/stop option which, we feel, the Japanese automaker should have introduced in the facelift.

As far as the mechanicals are concerned, the new Brio is likely to carry forward the same engine as seen in the outgoing model. However, Honda might tweak it to get better power figures. Presently, a 1.2-litre petrol mill – which pumps out top power of 88PS and 109Nm of max torque – linked to a five-speed manual/automatic option is doing the duty.

Honda’s most cost-effective offering in the Indian market hasn’t been doing too well for some months now, and it badly needed an update. Let’s see whether the Brio facelift turns the tables for the Japanese automaker.

Source: CarDekho.com