What is better than a Honda Elevate? If you were going to say a blacked-out Honda Elevate, you and I are on the same page. There’s something unexplainable about a blacked-out SUV. A certain gravity it imparts on buyers like you and me. To cater to this demographic, Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) launched Elevate Black Edition with an all-black exterior and interior.
Honda is offering Elevate Black Edition in two variants – Black Edition and Signature Black Edition. Prices lie between Rs 15.51 lakh (Ex-sh) and Rs 16.93 lakh (Ex-sh). We recently had the Elevate Signature Black Edition Petrol CVT variant for a quick review and to express our opinions on this vehicle.
Honda Elevate Black Edition
The main highlights of Honda Elevate Black Edition is the blacked-out exteriors and interiors. On top of it, other notable elements on Black Edition include premium black chrome accents on upper grill, black alloy wheels and nuts, Black Edition emblem on tailgate, all-black interior with black door pads, black armrest, black instrument panel and black leatherette seats with black stitching.
Only the Signature Black Edition comes with an exclusive Signature Edition badge on front fender along with a 7-colour rhythmic ambient lighting on the inside. Also, there are contrasting silver roof rails, silver door garnish and silver front and rear skid plates offered with both Black Edition and Signature Black Edition variants.
The main differentiating factor about Signature Black Edition is the 7-colour rhythmic ambient lighting and it is priced around Rs 20,000 more than regular Black Edition. Personally, I think Honda Elevate has the most butch appeal in India’s C-Segment SUV space owing to its boxy silhouette, flat high-set bonnet and flat fascia. With Black Edition, the butchness factor of Elevate has increased considerably.
The Black Appeal!
It surely lends stealth vibes and the Crystal Black Pearl shade offered with Black Edition stands out against remaining 10 colours in its palette.?? These include Lunar Silver Metallic, Phoenix Orange Pearl, Obsidian Blue Pearl, Radiant Red Metallic, Platinum White Pearl, Golden Brown Metallic and Meteoroid Grey Metallic monotone shades. Orange, White and Red get dual-tone Black roof options as well.
To add a dash of contrast, Honda is offering front grill chrome garnish, silver door garnish, silver roof rails and silver front and rear skid plates. These blend in well with Elevate’s overall design. The already handsome sleek LED projector headlight with integrated LED DRLs and turn indicators, large grill, stylish LED tail lights further accentuate Honda Elevate Black Edition’s stealthy sophistication.
All-Black Interiors Look Sporty!
Not only does Honda Elevate look stealthy and sophisticated on the outside, the same qualities are carried over to its interiors as well. Honda Elevate Black Edition and Signature Black Edition pack the same all-black interior theme. All the door trims along with dashboard trims are finished in black and Honda has even used black stitching.
Seat upholstery is black too giving it an upmarket look and feel. The soft touch paddings found on dashboard and door trims are also black along with armrests. Red or White stitching would look sportier on this vehicle, but this black on black execution looks stealthy. To keep some heat at bay, Honda has not blackened the roof liner.
Icing on the cake is rhythmic ambient lighting seen on all-four doors and dashboard that can cycle through static and patterns across 7 colours. Only the Signature Black Edition of Honda Elevate gets this feature that can be controlled from the system provided right side of the steering wheel.
Features & Equipment
Other than these elements, Signature Black Edition is a Honda Elevate under its new Black suit. Which means that there is ample room for all occupants with a decent dose of features and creature comforts. Honda is offering a new 10.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system that supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay wirelessly.
Instrument cluster now gets a much larger MID with a plethora of cyclable information operated through steering-mounted controls. For a seamless experience, Honda is also offering a wireless charging pad in Elevate. Climate control is automatic and rather effective in bringing down the cabin temperature efficiently.
There’s a single-pane sunroof to let more light inside whenever you feel like it. The car offers a complete keyless experience with both front doors packing a request sensor. Passenger door request sensors are getting rare these days. Lane Watch camera and Honda’s Sensing ADAS suite provided a safety net across my 400 km journey by assisting with lane keeping and even braked at multiple occasions when it sensed an obstacle ahead.
Ergonomics & Dynamics
Where ergonomics are concerned, driver’s seat offers a commanding view of outside world. Even at the lowest seat height, I could still see bonnet edges clearly, helping me to position this vehicle on the road and through tight spaces. Seats are accommodating at the front and rear and there armrests at front and rear to add for comfort factor.
The powertrain is the tried and tested 1.5L 4-cylinder naturally aspirated V-TEC unit that is capable of kicking out 120 bhp of peak power and 145 Nm of peak torque. The unit we were driving was a CVT, which offered smooth driveability. The engine is almost vibe-free and can’t be heard all that much on the inside.
I wish I had the Manual variant as this CVT gearbox feels sluggish and it is not immune to CVT’s infamous ‘rubberband effect’, which steals the fun out of driving. However, target demographic of Honda Elevate automatic variant is not likely to find it offensive if their intended purpose is to own a big and spacious SUV with smoothest possible drive experience.
Dynamically, Elevate feels less of a Honda as this vehicle is set up to provide a comfortable and plush riding experience. It does not feel as sharp like a Honda should, but that has unlocked a certain level of plushness which is expected in this segment. With the high 220 mm ground clearance, centre of gravity has been moved higher up which introduces some body roll while cornering.
Conclusion
With the Elevate Black Edition, Honda has created something which is in-keeping with current trends and has sales potential. It rivals Hyundai Creta Knight Edition, MG Astor Blackstorm, upcoming Tata Curvv Dark Edition, among others. Black Edition is by far the coolest and stealthiest version of Elevate yet and added ambient lighting with Signature Black Edition does increase the overall appeal. Elevate could benefit from features like 360-degree camera, ventilated seats, electronic parking brake among others.
Black Editions are not particularly popular in sunny conditions like we have in India. Like the time when I had to park it under the sun for a couple of hours and I couldn’t bring car’s temperature down for a considerable time. If you have covered parking at home and at office, I don’t think the sun should bother you all that much. If you’re in the market to buy a cool and sophisticated C-Segment SUV, Honda Elevate Black Edition, should be higher up in your list.
