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HomeFeatured ArticlesRemembering the Honda Brio and How we wish Honda Brought it back

Remembering the Honda Brio and How we wish Honda Brought it back

The car that “loves you back” as the Honda Brio’s tagline from its TV commercial said, the quirky yet adorable hatchback sure did reciprocate love for its owners in many ways. The Honda Brio during its run in India spread this love to 97,000 customers before its effect began to fade away. This led Honda to ultimately pull the plug on it in 2019.

Also Read: Did the Honda Mobilio killed the 7-Seater Honda BR-V?

Honda Brio
Honda Brio

Still, the Brio was a popular quintessential hatchback in its heyday. Today, we take a look at the Honda Brio’s journey in India. The Honda Badge never got more affordable than this in India.

Honda Brio | A Brief History

Honda never set foot in the ‘entry-level’ segment in India before the Brio. The first time they decided to bring a hatchback into India, that too was a “premium” hatchback, the Honda Jazz. When the Brio was launched in 2011, it was the first sub-five lakh rupee car by the company in India. Honda is known for its high-quality products ever since they came with the City in 1998.

The Brio brought the ‘upmarket’ appeal of the Honda brand to the compact hatchback segment for the first time. Honda Brio’s launch in 2011 spiced up the niche within the hatchback segment, known as the ‘Premium Compact Hatchback’. These were uncharted lands for Honda back then and this made it very interesting to see how the Brio will turn out.

Honda Brio | Design

Honda Brio In Silver
Honda Brio In Silver

Undoubtedly, the thing which the Brio is still reckoned for is its rather peculiar design. Almost everyone recalls the Brio as the car with the big glass truck gate. That one particular styling cue was a big hit or miss. Other than that, the overall design of the Brio is unmistakably Honda. That too in the most “Japanese” way possible, with the angular headlamps and taillamps, compact proportions, sharp character lines. All these quirks brought out the peppiness in the Brio’s design.

The “Honda Quotient” continues on the inside as well, the Brio has a dual-tone interior enhancing the upmarket appeal of the cabin. The Facelift variants of the brio got a major revamp and had an all-black theme. Unlike the disproportional dash layout in the pre-facelift version, the facelift variant got a much more laid-out dashboard. The facelift Brio’s dashboard felt like it was derived from a sedan since it was. The facelift Brio and Honda Compact sedan Amaze shared the same dashboard layout.

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Also, let us remind you that the Brio gave Honda the platform for its most successful car in India after the City, the Amaze. The car that still holds the fort as the entry-level car for Honda in India.

Honda Brio | Dimensions

Honda Brio In Blue
Honda Brio In Blue

Let’s compare Honda Brio’s dimension with its direct rivals back in the day.

Cars Honda Brio Chevrolet Beat  Hyundai i10
Length 3610mm 3640mm 3585mm
Width 1680mm 1595mm 1595mm
Height 1500mm  1520mm 1550mm
Wheelbase  2345mm 2375mm 2380mm
Ground clearance 165mm 165 mm 165 mm

Going by the figures, Honda Brio is so closely matched to its rivals, making it a perfect fit for the segment. The Brio was criticised a lot for its petite proportions, but it was no less than its competition. Chevrolet Beat and the Hyundai i10 were cars that were celebrated in the country immensely while they had similar proportions as the Brio.

Honda Brio Rear Profile
Honda Brio Rear Profile

Honda Brio | Features

The first iteration of the Brio in India had features like the Integrated music system (with the great sound quality just like the City), Steering mounted controls, alloy wheels, somethings which were still new to the segment and made the Brio stand toe-to-toe with its competitors.

Must Read: Honda Amaze Crosses 4 Lakh Sales Milestone In India

Honda Brio Interior
Honda Brio Interior

The Facelifted Brio helps the car keep up with the times with features like 2-DIN music system with Bluetooth and Handsfree Telephone feature, Sleeker AC control unit, a more modern-looking instrument cluster.

The Brio, all throughout its life in India has never been short on features and have always run close to its competitors.

Honda Brio | Powertrain

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Honda Brio is a fun-to-drive car. It’s nimble, peppy and slick for the car of its designation. The Brio came with a downsized version of the gem of engine technology, i-VTEC. The Brio came with a 1.2-Litre, 4-cylinder, i-VTEC engine making 87HP and 109Nm of torque mated to a 5-speed manual and 5-speed automatic transmission. Like the Chevrolet Beat, the Brio never came with a diesel engine, which really affected sales for the Honda hatchback. Comparing the power figures of the petrol engine with the competitors, the Brio packed more punch.

Honda Brio Chevrolet Beat Hyundai i10
Power 87HP 76HP 68HP 
Torque 109Nm 106Nm  99Nm 

Honda Brio | Price

Except for all the other aspects, is the first Honda below the sub-5 lakh rupee mark was the Brio’s strongest point. Prices for the Honda Brio before it got discontinued begin with Rs.4.73 Lakh and went all the way up to Rs.6.81 lakh. This price range helped Honda place the Brio conveniently below the Jazz while at the same time having competitive pricing to take the fight to its rivals.

Honda Brio | Rivals

Honda Brio sure had a committed rivalry with the likes of Chevrolet Beat, Hyundai i10, and Maruti A-star as well. All of these cars started showing weak sales and phased out around the same time as the Brio.

The Brio was never able to dominate the segment it belonged to with sales figures. Despite that, it was the most capable contender its rivals could’ve asked for and when it comes to performance, the Brio was a tough hand to beat in the segment.

Suggested: 10 Most Common Honda City Problems Reported by Owners

The Future of the Honda Brio

Honda Brio RS
Honda Brio RS In The International Market

The Brio witnessed a major slump in its sales especially post the facelift era. On the other hand, its sub-4 meter sibling, the Amaze was going phenomenal numbers. Hence, considering the poor sales figures, Honda pulled the plug on the Brio in 2019. This move also allowed for more breathing space for the Amaze in Honda’s lineup in India.

In the Indonesian markets, the second generation of the Honda Brio is on sale. However, allegedly, HCIL’s Senior VP and Director, Marketing and Sales stated that they currently have no plan in bringing the second generation Honda Brio to India. Instead, their focus is directed towards bringing Honda’s electric mobility technology to India.

Honda Brio Front Profile
Honda Brio Front Profile

How do you like the Honda Brio? Should Honda bring the next-gen Brio to India? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Vaibhav Arora
Vaibhav Arorahttps://gomechanic.in/blog
Content Developer at GoMechanic | Auto Journalist | Been a car guy ever since i remember opening my eyes | Golden Age for cars is long gone | Guilty of hooning out on the streets |

16 COMMENTS

  1. A beautiful and comfortable car. Reasonable maintenance cost. I would like to go for a new Brio if HCIL brings it back. I wish it should!

  2. It surprises me how Brio could not deliver more numbers, I have always felt that Brio was much better than its competitors and Honda Ivtec engine was unmatched in this segment. The niche base that the car has however is very adored. The owners love this car and it truly loves you back. I wish the car wasn’t discontinued.

  3. Tq for Honda brio it’s really today’s hero of the car comparatively to all hatchback cars…. On safety… Engine, cost protection, and zero maintainence… Anything what else need for upcoming customer’s so we rightly choose Honda Bio… It loves you back…..

  4. If any one would like to sell Honda Brio model 2017 onwards I shall happily buy the car. Please let me know. Thank you

  5. A very good car with beautiful performance should come with a facelift one , we are anxiously waiting for the same

  6. It not delivered more in Number’s because of its tail gate , Honda should launch its facelift version as soon as possible in 2021

  7. I own 2012 brio ..sad to know its … discontinue from the market …it’s most powerful hatch back in d market …only it’s drawback is small boot n glass boot cover..add Blutooth also ..just change that n bring back again it will sale like hot cake .

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