During the 2018 Auto Expo, Honda had confirmed that it plans to launch the next-generation Honda CRV in India. The car was even showcased to enthusiasts at the show. Now, the time has come for the SUV to be officially launched in India. Honda Car India will launch the CRV in October. National media drives are scheduled for the second week of September.
Big changes in the SUV include a 7 seat configuration option and an inclusion of a diesel engine in the line-up, which will happen for the first-time in India for CRV. The facelift also brings along an extended wheelbase, an aggressive exterior, a dual-zone climate control system and a 7 inch infotainment which will support Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
In India, CR-V has traditionally been offered with 2 petrol engine options, a 2.0 litre motor and a 2.4 litre engine. However, going ahead, Honda is expected to just offer the 2.0 litre motor which produces 154hp and 189 Nm and mate it to a 6 speed automatic gearbox, configured to power just the front wheels.
The newer engine on offer will be the 1.6 litre iDTEC diesel motor. However, to ensure cost competitiveness, Honda will be bringing in a single-turbo variant and not a twin-turbo setup, supposedly lowering down the costs by around Rs 1.5 lakhs. The engine on offer in India will produce 120hp and 300Nm which isn’t considerably high for a SUV of this class. The diesel motor will be mapped to a 9-speed automatic transmission and will have paddleshifters as standard. An all-wheel drive option will also be provided with this engine option.
Honda will be assembling the car in India and the expected prices will start around Rs 30 lakhs. The launch of the 2018 CR-V will be followed by the launch of the Civic which shall most likely be featuring the same engine and gearbox combination.
Once launched, the premium SUV from Honda will be competing with the likes of Toyota Fortuner and VW Tiguan, Hyundai Tuscon and the upcoming XUV700 from Mahindra which too will be launched around the same time.
