Honda Brio S MT - Design Review

Honda has been around in India for quite a while now, but it is only recently that they came out with their first proper small car for India – the Brio. Now before you get back to me, pointing out at the Jazz – let me tell you, it isn’t a small car – it is a mini-MPV! Go and test drive one if you don’t believe me. Coming back to the Brio though – the small car was first shown to the Indian audience in a concept form at the 2010 Auto Expo. Within a year and a half, the Brio was on the road in production form. So how good is Honda’s first small car? Is it a premium product like most other Honda cars on sale in India – or does it feel cheap and low-rent like their compatriot Toyota’s first small car for India, the Etios Liva? With these questions in our minds, we got behind the wheel of the radical looking hatchback. Read on to know what we found out.

The Brio has a face that incorporates the familiar design traits that you find in most Honda cars. The headlights for example are quite similar in design and detail to the headlights that you find on the Jazz. The chrome plated moustache grille looks like it came from the Honda City’s accessory-pack – however, this one is smaller. Since the Honda Brio was designed for the South East Asian countries – the air-dam is wide and broad. This design not only helps in efficient engine cooling in the hot Indian conditions, but also underscores the ‘wide body’ design of the Brio when seen upfront. 

Look at the Brio from its side-profile and you immediately notice the prominent creases on the doors. The upper crease starts from the top of the front air-dam / bumper and flows over the front wheel arches, all the way to the C-pillar to highlight the shoulder line of the Brio. The second crease gives the doors more flair and showcases Honda’s version of flame-surfacing. Since the Brio is a city car aimed at small families, the front doors have been given more real estate as compared to the rear ones. The rear door windows get a plastic appliqué near the C-pillar to add more flair to the form. However, I would have liked it to be functional as well by doubling up as a door handle - like the one on European Civic hatchback or the Indian Chevrolet Beat. Adding more character to the side profile are the pronounced wheel-arches which do not look empty even with the longer suspension travel for India and the puny 14-inch rims.

At the back, the radically designed windshield acts as the boot-lid – and will remind you of the good old days of the original Maruti Suzuki 800 – but this one is larger, way larger. What it also means is that prying eyes have a clear view of everything that is stashed into the Brio’s boot and a possible theft is just a strong-punch away. However, the blokes at Honda are quick to point out that the glass has been pressure tested for rigidity and breaking into it won’t be an easy job. The trapezoidal taillights look good on the tailgate but they don’t gel too well with the rest of the design. So while the Brio looks docile from the front – things start getting aggressive as you progress through the side profile all the way to the back. And while the radical tailgate will polarize the prospective customers of Honda’s small car, I think it looks absolutely stunning.

The overall design of the Honda Brio then is very fresh, innocent and youthful. It also has enough amounts of lines and creases to give Hyundai’s ‘fluidic sculpture’ design a run for its money. While the good paint quality and a choice of sporty colours give the Brio an up-market feel, the radical design – as always – would be something you will either hate or love with no in-betweens. Honda designs though are known to age well and hopefully the Brio will too.

Also Read:

Honda Brio User Experience Review

Honda Brio Performance Review