2023 Honda Elevate

Had a look at one of these on Saturday. On paper it looked like a fantastic car. Got there, was disappointed.

While its got some niceties like leather, wide tyres, and a more powerful 89kw engine, the build quality...
Cheaper harder plastics than the competition, door panels very thin, from the engine bay you can see inside the front arches because there's no extra steel/plastic to cover that area, the rest of the steel is unrefined.
Rear legroom didn't feel that much either because most of the space has been allocated to the huge boot.

I get that it's made in India, but its R430k for the auto and I've seen way better made cars from India in the Suzuki/Hyundai lineup.
Add to the fact that on a Saturday morning at 10am I was the ONLY person at that Honda dealership that services the entire East Rand region (the next closest Honda dealers are 30km and 42km away respectively) and the dealership has to be shared with Mitsubishi and Renault who occupy 80% of the property which leaves Honda with a tiny showroom.


Would not invest my money in a new Honda, they're going to be one of the next ones out of the country if things don't dramatically turn around.
 
NR7 said:
Had a look at one of these on Saturday. On paper it looked like a fantastic car. Got there, was disappointed.

While its got some niceties like leather, wide tyres, and a more powerful 89kw engine, the build quality...
Cheaper harder plastics than the competition, door panels very thin, from the engine bay you can see inside the front arches because there's no extra steel/plastic to cover that area, the rest of the steel is unrefined.
Rear legroom didn't feel that much either because most of the space has been allocated to the huge boot.

I get that it's made in India, but its R430k for the auto and I've seen way better made cars from India in the Suzuki/Hyundai lineup.
Add to the fact that on a Saturday morning at 10am I was the ONLY person at that Honda dealership that services the entire East Rand region (the next closest Honda dealers are 30km and 42km away respectively) and the dealership has to be shared with Mitsubishi and Renault who occupy 80% of the property which leaves Honda with a tiny showroom.


Would not invest my money in a new Honda, they're going to be one of the next ones out of the country if things don't dramatically turn around.
Click to expand...
Sadly that is how all the Indian made cars feel in real life, The cost cutting on them is very evident. Suzuki swift, Baleno, Nissan magnite, renault kiger are some of the most disgusting cars i have seen when it comes to quality and cost cutting. No thank you.
 
epah said:
Sadly that is how all the Indian made cars feel in real life, The cost cutting on them is very evident. Suzuki swift, Baleno, Nissan magnite, renault kiger are some of the most disgusting cars i have seen when it comes to quality and cost cutting. No thank you.
Click to expand...

My dad had a 2011 i20 (made in India) for 200 000km, I've spent time in the new Baleno, Fronx, they're all pretty close to my Mazda 2 or my mom's old Korean-made Hyundai Accent.
Funnily enough the 2011 Polo was worse build quality than my Dad's 2011 i20, that's why he picked it over the Polo back then.

The Elevate was worse. Magnite/Kiger are another level though as there are tons of issues on HelloPeter including numerous braking system issues.
 
NR7 said:
My dad had a 2011 i20 (made in India) for 200 000km, I've spent time in the new Baleno, Fronx, they're all pretty close to my Mazda 2 or my mom's old Korean-made Hyundai Accent.
Funnily enough the 2011 Polo was worse build quality than my Dad's 2011 i20, that's why he picked it over the Polo back then.

The Elevate was worse. Magnite/Kiger are another level though as there are tons of issues on HelloPeter including numerous braking system issues.
Click to expand...
I am very suspect of i20's too. Every third one i see has paint peeling off. Anything Indian made is a big no no for me.
 
epah said:
I am very suspect of i20's too. Every third one i see has paint peeling off. Anything Indian made is a big no no for me.
Click to expand...

2016 generation had numerous white i20s with paint peeling.

The new ones seem better as long as you avoid white, but I haven't seen many on the roads as it seems they have priced themselves out of the market.
 
NR7 said:
Add to the fact that on a Saturday morning at 10am I was the ONLY person at that Honda dealership that services the entire East Rand region (the next closest Honda dealers are 30km and 42km away respectively) and the dealership has to be shared with Mitsubishi and Renault who occupy 80% of the property which leaves Honda with a tiny showroom.
Click to expand...

Was this at the Boksburg Honda?
 
NR7 said:
Had a look at one of these on Saturday. On paper it looked like a fantastic car. Got there, was disappointed.

While its got some niceties like leather, wide tyres, and a more powerful 89kw engine, the build quality...
Cheaper harder plastics than the competition, door panels very thin, from the engine bay you can see inside the front arches because there's no extra steel/plastic to cover that area, the rest of the steel is unrefined.
Rear legroom didn't feel that much either because most of the space has been allocated to the huge boot.

I get that it's made in India, but its R430k for the auto and I've seen way better made cars from India in the Suzuki/Hyundai lineup.
Add to the fact that on a Saturday morning at 10am I was the ONLY person at that Honda dealership that services the entire East Rand region (the next closest Honda dealers are 30km and 42km away respectively) and the dealership has to be shared with Mitsubishi and Renault who occupy 80% of the property which leaves Honda with a tiny showroom.


Would not invest my money in a new Honda, they're going to be one of the next ones out of the country if things don't dramatically turn around.
Click to expand...
I am waiting for more honest reviews on this car. All Im seeing from journos are positive reviews
 
They sadly sacrificed a lot of things build and quality-wise to bring that price down to R430k.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X