Tag Archives: Honda

Third Generation Freed is Here

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Launching in Japan in June, the third generation Freed retain the same flexible platform that seats 6/7 with its spacious interior.

Honda Freed will always be the one that got away for Indonesian fans as it was launched locally around 2008 for one generation only, to be replaced by the Mobilio as a 7 seater replacement. Even today the Freed still has its ardent fans in Indonesia, not wanting to trade higher/lower because the car is simply amazing for its time and even today. Where else can you get a 1.5L engine MPV with captain seat arrangement that allows access from first to third row? None, nowhere, gak ada, nanimonai, es gibt keine. Today’s 1.5L engine MPV that offers captain seat is an impersonator that poorly emulate Honda Freed experience like Wuling Conferro and Hyundai Stargazer with a hump in the middle of the second row seat for a worse access to third row from the second row. Heck, on Stargazer, it is obvious to get in to third row it’s designed that you get back with the second row seat folded first.

As a previous owner of the Freed who I reluctantly sold because of an accident, it’s sad to see that Honda Indonesia focuses more on production efficiency.

The one that got away…

Freed Advance Information|Honda Official Website

The greatest safety invention from Honda

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The Ropot. That is all.

????????????

WAIT WAIT DON’T LEAVE

So what is the Ropot… Well, it’s part of Honda Safety For All campaign that targeted small children to notify them to be careful about crossing roads. Daisuke Kiryu, Japan Honda engineer came out with the idea for a safety device for Japanese children that walks to school. The device came with GPS, and milimeter wave radar that is equipped on Honda SENSING level 2 autonomous driving aid system.

The concept couldn’t be simpler. In Japan, many elementary children walks to school. However, children at elementary grade age have two problems, their small stature makes them hard to be noticed on the road and children limited vision does not allow full range of view compared to adults. As such road accidents involving children as young as 7 years old is prevalent in Japan. Daisuke Kiryu, having a child about the same age thinking out of the box on how he can apply his engineering skill with the full force of Honda engineering on his back to provide safety for children.

Daisuke Kiryu himself is engineer for exhaust system, and as such does not have the required knowledge of systems to create the safety device. Helping him was Satoshi Fujii, involved in the development of Honda SENSING that literally change the simple concept from a device that only alerts children about crossing the road safely using location service, into one that have the ability to detect incoming traffic.

Honda have no information whether to mass produce the Ropot and sell it to the public globally, but this is the kind of engineering exercise that allows engineers to flex their creativity and come up with fresh ideas.

Ropot in action

Source:

For the energetic “Now!” of Children – Traffic Safety Advice Robot “Ropot” | Honda Stories | Honda Official Website

What Honda (technically) got the WR-V so right out of the door

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Hello there gorgeous

It’s so refreshing that Honda product line as of late is exciting once again. The BR-V comes with Honda Sensing tech and now we have the WR-V, Honda first ever entry level SUV also with Sensing tech.

My infatuation with Honda Sensing might be weird for some but considering that Honda pushes a lot of safety feature only to be overshadowed by performance and efficiency is unwarranted. Honda at its core also care for safety for all and Honda is even running a global “Safety for Everyone” campaign. Honda pursuit in safety is another topic altogether, but including Honda Sensing option on the WR-V is not just a right decision, but also a part of proper decisions that built the WR-V.

Let’s see what other thing Honda (technically) got WR-V right the first time around.

  • The name
  • The proven engine
  • The design

The Name

Obviously, heritage brings about credibility. Lots of establishments proudly stated their year of founding in bold letters because including the year it was established shows success, and has been around for awhile. Yes, first generation product does not necessarily means it will always fail, but there is some degree of uncertainty. The WR-V name, now a second generation product means that Honda is aware of the first generation shortcomings, and most likely address any issues with the second generation. Sure there are people who complaint about the name… Yes, there are…. Because W is the annoying only three syllable letter in alphabet. From A to Z, every letter is one syllable word, only W that required its speakers to pronounce DOUBLE-U. For Indonesian, some people have difficulty saying the WR-V name. Some people who have good English say it with English phonetic, WR-V or double-u-are-vee. However, a lot of people say the name using Indonesian phonetic which omits the double-u and replaces it with W in Indonesian phonetic which is only just 1 syllable. Is it a deal breaker? Luckily no, the car is just that good.

The Proven Engine

When Toyota/Daihatsu small SUV twins came out with a 1.0L turbo engine, everybody and their grandmother deduce that the Honda small SUV (then SUV RS concept) will carry the same engine. After all, Honda own 1.0L turbo (P10A) have been used on the Civic FK and City GN. Honda and Toyota/Daihatsu engine even share the same characteristic, being a three cylinder single scroll turbo. To everyone and their grandmother (and some of their neighbor’s) surprise, Honda WR-V actually came with the L15Z, the same engine installed on the HR-V, BR-V, and City/City Hatchback. This is quite a surprise because everybody (okay, proper term, the media and users) are expecting the same engine combo as Toyota/Daihatsu. Sure, the engine gives the WR-V a class leading figure, but it’s not just about power, buying a WR-V guarantees that any engine issues can be addressed immediately as it is the same engine shared by 4 other cars in the country. On another but still related point, Honda Indonesia mechanics only needs to maintain currently 4+1 engines, the L15B, the L15Z, the L12B, the R20A, and the K20C. The +1 obviously is the K20C, but since it’s only used on the Civic Type R, a boutique specialty car, we can actually omit that, so Honda mechanics mainly only need to maintain 4 types of engine currently. Compared to let’s say Toyota that have more than 10 engines to maintain, suffice to say that buying a WR-V also comes with a peace of mind about engine maintenance.

The Design

Design is always subjective, as beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. Don’t believe me? Please, ask your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/mother if you’re not the most beautiful/handsome person in the world… Well for those people whose partner says “I choose you because you’re rich”, I truly pity you. Well, looks will always be subjective but to me, damn, the WR-V is truly stunning. The WR-V is technically a shortened BR-V, and it is (that’s why it can fit the L15Z), but design wise, the BR-V is simple and plain while the WR-V is oozing charm and class. The BR-V front fascia with its huge DRL looks proper but lacking character while WR-V RS split DRL looks stunning. I could drone on and on with the WR-V design but the best part of the WR-V for me is the rear. The hidden rear door handle, the aggressive C pillar kink, the windshield wiper that’s integrated with the rear glass, and the thicker rear combination light design simply combine into a more aggressive looking design.

Again, I’m stressing that I’m not dissing the BR-V. The BR-V is designed to meet all sort of buyer demographics, it needs to look “safe” as such most likely the design was intended to cater to everybody as much as it doesn’t offend anybody either. The WR-V as it is intended for the young and the young at heart simply have more daring design.

As a big fan of Honda, it really is surprising and refreshing that the Honda I like now is something reasonably priced.

Source:

Safety | Sustainability | Honda Global

All New Honda BR-V :: Honda Indonesia (honda-indonesia.com)

Honda WR-V :: Honda Indonesia (honda-indonesia.com)

Honda WR-V vs Toyota Raize: To turbo or not?

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I prefer WR-V cleaner design, but the Raize does look more daring

Ah turbo engine, I still remember in the 90s, where everybody and their grandmother in the car modding scene wants to turbocharge their cars. It was truly a wild time with many Japanese sports cars of the era are using turbochargers such as Lancer Evo, WRX, RX-7, Supra, GT-R and many others. Seems like if you don’t have turbocharger, then you’re not a sports car (well, the NSX begs to differ, but NSX is an exotic car rather than a pure sports car). Fast forward 3 decades today, turbocharged engines are everywhere in cars. Many European brand cars are turbocharged, and mostly they are small cars too, so what happened? Are all of those small cars are sports cars? Well no.

Turbochargers today is no longer in the domain of performance cars and more into the domain of efficiency booster. As government all around the world tries to curb green house emission, they introduce more and more stringent emission law that require engineers to utilize turbochargers on 4 wheel automotive products. Turbocharged engine works by forcing air into the engine to produce more power. As most cars operates at low engine speed, in reality cars do not need big engine. However, speed is not just the domain of making shorter time to a destination, but also a safety feature for example to pass a slower car. As speed necessitate the use of power, thus bigger engine, automotive engineers uses turbocharger to increase power. As traditional internal combustion engine relies on burning air and fuel mixture, forcing more air in is the easiest way to produce more power. As performance booster, turbocharged engine can extract more power from a smaller displacement engine that rivals or even exceed bigger displacement engine. The forcing of air however is not without risk, as the keyword here is forcing.

To produce more power than the same engine of the same displacement, turbocharged engine produces more temperature and pressure inside the engine, and one typical result from this is knocking. Knocking happens when pressure inside the cylinder is so great, it combust the air fuel mixture before the spark plug (for gasoline powered engine) can fire. This is why turbocharge engine mandate the use of higher octane fuel to minimize or even eliminate knocking from pressure. In modern engine, onboard computers have the ability to detect and prevent knocking by decreasing efficiency by retarding the ignition timing which also makes the engine produces less power. The one thing about engine knocking, especially on turbocharged engine is that with increased engine rotation, as power is demanded by the user, the temperature and pressure inside the engine increases. One way to alleviate this issue is to enriching air fuel mixture, by simply adding more fuel into the cylinder that acts partly as coolant to reduce temperature. For naturally aspirated engine, simply by having lower pressure and temperature inside the cylinder, they can rev higher, produce more power at the higher rotation engine speed and with using less fuel than turbocharged engine.

The use of turbocharged engine in modern cars for efficiency involves the dual nature of the engine equipped with turbochargers. In the simplest term, turbocharged engine feels like two engine in one, a small displacement engine, and a bigger one. Turbocharged engine does not force air all the time, instead it operates in two scenario just like traditional combustion engine, low load and high load. At low load scenario, for example driving at cruising legal speed on highway, the engine literally operates close to naturally aspirated engine with the turbocharger working in an off boost fashion . For example in our topic is Toyota Raize engine, at low load scenario it operates like any three cylinder 1.0L engine. Compared to Honda WR-V engine at low load scenario as it is a four cylinder 1.5L engine, the Toyota engine offers technical efficiency based on physics alone.

However, one does not simply drive a car only on low load scenario, which is cruising speed unobstructed on highway alone. The combination of low and high load scenario like stop and go driving in city, complete with traffic jam and having to speed up to pass another driver means that turbocharged engine is always on boost at any typical driving condition. The ideal way to drive small displacement turbo engine cars like Raize is to drive slow, with the occasional half open throttle to pass a car only. This is how small turbocharged engine is intended to be used, as the engineers wants the user to revert to off boost and low load scenario immediately to reap the benefit of efficiency from a small displacement turbo.

I can already imagine if I post this content on youtube, every Raize owner probably already typing angry about how their car makes more power early and everything well… Thing is…

Toyota puts their torque rating at Kg-F, I convert it to Nm.

Yes, Toyota Raize makes torque early but that’s during on boost condition at high load scenario. At off boost low load scenario, Raize engine still needs to spin up and makes torque similar to Honda’s larger engine. Also, at the end of the day, Honda WR-V engine simply makes higher power. The debate for horsepower vs torque is tale as old of time. Yes horsepower figure is calculated from torque x RPM divided by a constant, or simply power is the function of applying torque. So both is important, one cannot do without the other. The only thing that matters is application of torque and horsepower. You want to move things a lot? Then look for high torque figure, you want to go fast? Look for power figure.

At the end of the day, Honda WR-V and Toyota Raize are both good cars on their own right. A compact SUV that delivers results in a different way. Honda going traditional with naturally aspirated “large” internal combustion engine and Toyota going with turbocharged small block internal combustion engine. The use of turbocharge engine allows for Toyota Raize to offer slightly gusty performance on slow to medium speed, and when somebody can utilize hypermiling technique, potentially delivers a more efficient fuel consumption. Honda WR-V simply decimates Toyota Raize at all driving condition but at higher fuel consumption as it makes more power. Can I get good fuel consumption from WR-V, possibly, but it will be easier to do so on Raize. Just pick what you like, nobody dictates your life.

Status update and Honda news recap since I last posted last year

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Well, long time no see folks. Well, status update time I guess. Life’s been okay, busy somewhere else, this blog after all is just a place for me to practice English and to talk (incoherently) about Honda. So here’s a recap of news about 4 wheels Honda especially in Indonesia since 2021.

2021 and 2022 saw Verstappen won F1 with Honda powered unit. To certain extent you can say that Honda made engine is built to last and has been proven and other Honda made engine can be considered as such, so it’s kind of something.

On performance side, Civic Type R gen XI launch is okay, they will retake the front wheel drive global track record again, but it is as expected from the king of front wheel drive car. The NSX gen II is dead, so that’s sad, so does the S660. So, no more dream car.

Honda BR-V gen II is launched, a compact SUV which is powered by traditional internal combustion engine, no hybrid option as of this writing. Honda advance driving aid system, SENSING now starting to be made as an option on entry level car for Honda so that’s good too, but it’s the common norm now.

Honda HR-V gen II is launched, basically a lengthened gen I with quality-of-life improvement in noise vibration and harshness, new 1.5L naturally aspirated engine with a bump on power and optional 1.5L turbo engine. Still a good entry level SUV and kind of posh too. I like the car.

Honda WR-V gen I finally unveiled, basically a two row BR-V with the same 1.5L naturally aspirated engine. Good on Honda for launching the car with a potent and proven engine. In the same class, Toyota/Daihatsu launched their Raize/Rocky with first generation turbo engine which is ground breaking, but turbo engine has issue with lower grade fuel which is still a thing in the country. Also, the 1.0L turbo engine is rated to perform at 1.5L naturally aspirated engine power, but technically, the power and torque figure of the Toyota/Daihatsu is still lower than Honda WR-V. Despite turbo advantages delivering torque at lower engine RPM, theoretically improving fuel efficiency, the complexity and extra care for turbo engine for me is unwarranted.

Going forward everybody seems going to offer hybrid options, which Honda still have yet to announce for any of their models in Indonesia. The Civic and City hybrid has been made available in Southeast Asia, but still no word for Indonesia. Toyota already announced that hybridization will come to the Avanza line in Indonesia, and I hope Honda delivers option for hybridization on BR-V or WR-V down the line.

And that’s it for 2022 recap. Have a great holiday and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it.

Honda e:N previews the future of Honda electric cars

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In a strike out of nowhere (or maybe I’ve been out of the loop), Honda just released Honda e:N electric cars video showcase on youtube, headlined by e:N P1 and e:n S1.

e:N SUV, GT, Coupe concepts

Honda showcases the principle and story behind the new brand. e:N stands for electric/energize and next/new, headlining Honda future cars. The name is simple as is, well, it’s just two words, e and n, it likens to VW ID or Mercedes EQ electric car lineup, so Honda e:N doesn’t fall far from the weirdness of the future.

Honda e:N P1

Honda China headlined the e:N series with the e:N P1 and e:N S1, obviously taking second generation Honda HR-V platform, replacing the whole fuel tank with battery pack and replacing the engine with electric motor. It is still under prototype form running testing, there’s no immediate release date, but safe to say it will be available in China around 2022.

The showcase of all is the announcement of three e:N concepts, the SUV, the GT and and the coupe concept all in glorious animation. All three will have a mix of e:N platform showing the scalability of the system. Honda called it the e:N architecture, with three variations, the e:N architecture F and e:N architecture W. The architecture F will be a front wheel drive system while the architecture W will have two variation, the two motors all wheel drive and the one motor rear wheel drive. The architecture F is probably the most common solution for Honda e:N products, while the architecture W AWD version for huge sedans and SUV. The architecture W RWD on the other hand is interesting. Honda could make a sports car with the architecture W RWD akin to Porsche as basically the system is a facsimile of a rear engine rear wheel drive car. Perhaps architecture W RWD will be powering the e:N coupe concept.

the e:N concepts all features angular lines that is very retro futuristic looking. It might have some design cues from Tesla truck, but it is distinctively unique. Honda China claims the design comes from the Chinese team, and I have to take my hats off to them, it is a simple, and guaranteed future classics. The clean lines differs from the organic lines from competing electric car brands such as Mercedes, Tesla, Lucid and VW. If the e:N concepts translates all the lines to production, it will be a stand out among its peers. To further emphasize the distinctness of the design, the headlights resembles a stylized H on all of the concepts.

Honda didn’t divulge further info as of this writing (it’s only 2 hours after the e:N Honda youtube video went live when I write this), but I’m very liking what I see so far. Honda is quite late to the electric car game, here’s hoping Honda will bring another option in the electric car market.

For more videos and details in Chinese, go to the link below.

Honda China Honda EN landing page

Honda EN Youtube video showcase

Why It’s Called N7X and not Honda BR-V?

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For a car that’s going to be launched in just 4 months in Indonesia, the N7X is quite an oddity. First, it carries the concept nomenclature, which according to Honda own history means something that is under design study, however the N7X looks production ready. Also, the name most likely a codename for something, as it breaks Honda own naming scheme in the region.

Obviously the media is pointing that this is the second generation BR-V, yet why not just call the N7X a preview for the second generation BR-V?

Well ladies and gents, because the BR-V, is a major and utter comercial failure…

Even without the SUV boom, the market in Indonesia is already into SUV. Like India, we share similar seasonal wet and dry season, and similar infrastructure shenanigans (bad roads, potholes, the many dirt path). So tall cars are always in demand, the Toyota/Daihatsu offerings always cater to these facts. The Avanza/Xenia and Rush/Terios is built to venture all types of road conditions, flood no flood.

The BR-V was Honda answer to the Toyota/Daihatsu Rush/Terios, offering superior efficiency, comfort and driveability. Yet, BR-V best selling year was when it was introduced in 2016, at 38.000+ units, and in 2019, Honda only sells 4.000+ units compared to Toyota/Daihatsu Rush/Terios combined at 80.000+ units.

So why, in a market that demands 7 seater tall SUV, that the BR-V spectacularly fails? The CR-V and HR-V fares much better, and becomes the segment leaders, trading blows with Toyota’s best effort.

Well, the BR-V simply fell victim to the rule of association, being associated with the cheaper barebone Brio.

The thing is, the Brio project put too much effort in cost saving and economy of scale, Honda forgot that the market considers car purchase as an emotional act rather than logical. First gen and “2nd gen” Brio, Mobilio, and BR-V shares the exact same dashboard, door trim, and some seats making the association that all three cars are based on the original model, the entry level family car, the Brio.

First impression matters, in marketing term, it’s what defines the expectation of the brand/product going forward. The original Brio is not a car to be based on if you want to create a good impression. The original Brio lacks everything to be called a decent car. Lack of sound proofing, lack of boot space, lack of second row seating space, you name it… How do I know this, I drive one daily.

So when people was asked about Mobilio and the BR-V, by proxy what they recall is not the individual car, but the whole family because even the exterior (hood, headlights, front doors, the A pillar, window kink) is similar. When I asked my friends about the Mobilio, the definitive answer is that they will say it’s a longer Brio. When I asked about the BR-V, the consensus will say it’s a longer taller Brio. One even commented, it’s in the name, BRio-V.

So when people looked at the BR-V, what they see is not a premium 7 seater SUV, but rather an elongated and jacked up cheap car… And they are correct. The BR-V isn’t just a colossal sales failure in Indonesia, it’s everywhere where it’s sold. The initial sellout drops like a rock in the next year.

The Brio platform is now in its second generation, which underpins the second generation Honda Amaze back in 2018. Not to be confused with the revised Honda Brio hatch that got majorly revised adding rear hatch door but still retains the old chassis code, DD1/2, while the Amaze had it’s chassis code updated to DF5/6 from DF1/2.

Launching the N7X first in the ASEAN region is a smart move, and expectedly, Honda will put premium on the car. Why, because the rule of association. With Honda putting the N7X on the market first, the subsequent cars based on the platform will now be referenced as the variant of N7X, a premium car, not a variant of a cheap entry level car.

Still though what name the N7X will carry, will it still be BR-V? And risking the tarnished image of the car’s legacy, or will it be something new but still in the xR-V family? Well what’s in a name… A lot apparently.

Still though, good job Honda, you have won your first battle with launching a new car that people talks about and look up to. Now onto the war.

Which one to kill – Mobilio or BR-V?

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To say that Honda is savage is an understatement. We are talking about an automotive company who will gladly discontinue automotive icons like Integra, Prelude, and S2000 in a heartbeat if it doesn’t perform financially. This fact is not new, way back when Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa was still kicking and laying the foundation of the company it is now, they both spar a lot. In one story of Honda biography, when developing the Honda 1300 in the 1960s, Soichiro Honda had quarrels with his engineers. Takeo Fujisawa then intervene. There’s some conflicting story from various sources, but suffice to say, business decision talk happened and although the 1300 with air cooling is out for a sale, it’s short lived, making way for the Accord. So guys, if you’re a true hardcore Honda fan, look for the Honda 1300 as to my knowledge, it’s the last Honda car that Soichiro Honda technically involved in.

Anyway… Back to which one to kill, Mobilio or BR-V…

The problem with Mobilio and BR-V is that they kind of overlap with each other. Similar interior and utility makes it hard to justify buying one from each except for the price, which the Mobilio has advantage over the BR-V. Yes the BR-V have better NVH (noise, vibration, harshness), but it’s marginal and the only thing it has to the general populace is its SUV look. However I couldn’t dismiss the engineering merit BR-V carries such as the actively cooled CVT, that uptick in power and more head room on the third row.

If I’m in the position of the bean counters looking at the big picture, I will kill the Mobilio and keep the BR-V for its second generation. The Mobilio only sells well in Indonesia, and for a regional project that’s bad. The BR-V sales in the region is on the rise, because globally, people leans towards everything SUV or strong stance looking MPV. This is why cars like Mitsubishi Expander succeeds, because it crosses the boundaries between your mommy and daddy car. Unofficially, they call these cars MUV, a portmanteau from MPV and SUV, although the original meaning is very far from a simple combination of words. In United States and Europe, they just call these kind of cars, crossovers.

Off course strong brand is a strong brand, and the Mobilio has established itself in Indonesia very well with 200 thousand units running around in the country to date. My take killing the mobilio is killing the car, but not the name. So the next generation Mobilio physically is dead, replaced by a second generation BR-V, but call it the Mobilio in Indonesia while the same car is called BR-V anywhere else.

My idea for the next generation 7 seater is pretty standard, make the car wider and with fold flat 50:50 third row seat. The 1.5L i-VTEC and CVT combo is potent as is, perhaps a 1.0L i-VTEC turbo is warranted to put Honda in the forefront of automotive technology, but I’m worried about the lack of maintenance culture and Honda engine tolerance for low grade fuel.

Honda main competitor is obviously the Mitsubishi Expander, and because it’s physically a larger car, the current gen Mobilio/BR-V is simply a smaller alternative. Sure, large isn’t always good, bigger car, heavier weight, more frontal area and thus less fuel efficient but it’s what the market demanded, so Honda needs to follow suit. I don’t like tall cars, the Expander almost grazed that line, so I’m still okay. What I wanted from a second generation Mobilio/BR-V is a wider car, the current gen headroom is already good but the shoulder room needs a lot of improvement. In either current gen Mobilio or BR-V, I always scrap elbows with the driver when I sit in the front passenger seat. Especially when the driver is pulling the e-brake.

There’s also another issue with Mobilio and BR-V life cycle. The Mobilio is due for a major change in most likely a year’s time, since it’s already in the market for 6 years now, while the BR-V only entered its 4th year now. So will Honda pull similar move like the Amaze in India? Changing the model in just 4 years? I really hate to be Honda product planner now.

I love Honda and its fighting spirit, they always fight hard with fresh and exciting product portfolio. However I just don’t like the Mobilio from the start. It’s too generic, and not Honda special. Honda should never go with the principle “what they need” anymore. Yes, the Mobilio is what the market needs, but not what they want anymore.

The Brio Family, 7 years later

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The Brio, Mobilio, BR-V, and Amaze was the start of Honda new platform sharing project in ASEAN and India. It’s a weird start at first with flooding on the Thailand factory that delays the first car in the project, the Brio.

But then it seemingly starts so well, Honda sales in Indonesia shoots through the roof with the Mobilio, netting almost 80 thousand units in when it was first release in the country alone. The car even gets a very hot welcome with 22 thousand units when it was launched in India. The Brio sells steadily well in Indonesia, reaching top sales for micro cars in Indonesia every year until today (2019). The BR-V and Amaze sells pretty well on its sophomore years as well.

Yet here we are 7 years later after the Brio and subsequently the Mobilio, BR-V, Amaze strong starts has become weird plenty fast. Honda wanted to sell a family of product line, but in reality every region has a specific demand and Honda can’t please every market segment in the region.

Let’s start with the Mobilio first.

I have negative predisposition towards the Mobilio, because outside the engine and transmission, it’s not a Honda to me. There are small details that only Honda engineers can pull yes, but it was clearly designed to maximize profit first and utility later. No second row smart seat like the Fit/Jazz? No problem, but why the third row seats didn’t fold flat? And why the third row seat dangles freely with only a hook to secure it when it’s being fold up? Is it a smart solution? Probably, but it comes out very cheap feeling.

The Mobilio still sells well in Indonesia, but numbers are going down steadily. From near 80 thousand units when launched to just 20 thousand units average for the last three years. The market competition simply heats up exponentially in the last three years. The Wuling Cortez is killing the Mobilio with its amazing value. For the list price of the Mobilio RS, you can get a turbo charged Wuling Cortez that is roomier, and with more amenities. Mitsubishi Expander/Nissan Livina duo offers a roomier car with more daring design for less money than the Mobilio. The Mobilio looks like a bad value product today compared to the competition.

The only thing going on for the Mobilio is the very good fuel mileage and good engine (see my previous comment about everything else about the car is not a Honda except for the engine and transmission). The Indian market is more cruel than the Indonesian market. With more competition from the get go, the Mobilio lackluster sales with only 3 thousand units sold in 2016. Honda India killed the Mobilio.

Now let’s go to the Amaze.

The Amaze, the Brio sedan takes off to a grand start in India, with 65 thousand units sold. The sub 4-meter sedan is a hot segment in India, this is where the Brio Amaze shines bright. The problem is with the design, it just looks weird, period.

The first gen Amaze is the Brio with added trunk. The proportion is simply off. A sloping hood and fenders gives the illusion of a smaller car with a huge rear, the same issue as the Honda City fourth gen (GD8).

Noticing this issue, Honda India in just after 4 years (one of the shortest life cycle of any Honda products), releases the second generation of the Amaze with a proper sedan design. The second gen Amaze looks special, it looks premium. From the Indian reviews I read on forums and youtube reviews, the Amaze is simply… Amazing. It’s not the best in class for everything, but it’s pretty well balanced from driving dynamics, interior space, and subjective design (I prefer the Suzuki Dzire).

The Amaze sales drops to 20 thousand units in 2017, but bounced back hard in 2018 with the release of the new second generation model topping at 65 thousand units sold. Probably massive clearance discount on the last gen helps, but I see massive success of the Amaze in India for many years.

And then we have the BR-V.

The BR-V… Ah… Arguably the most misunderstood model from the family. The penultimate model, the ultimate Mobilio… What… NO! The BR-V IS NOT A DRESS UP MOBILIO!!!! It’s annoying, but this is what the consensus is in the market where the Mobilio and BR-V sold together.

2019 BR-V

The BR-V is always disregarded as the Mobilio+ because aside from the front profile, the rest of the exterior looks like the Mobilio. Nissan did it with the Grand Livina X-Gear, so why Honda should be different? Well, because it is. Even though the BR-V resembles the Mobilio, it is almost a new car unto itself.

The chassis code difference is telling, the Mobilio with DD4 and the BR-V with DG1 shares the same mother but a different father. The BR-V CVTs is equipped with a cooler that connects to the radiator. This means the car has tougher chops to do some offroads and able to withstand taller gears on longer period of time. This also means you don’t have to worry the transmission heating up on steep inclines like in mountain courses/roads. There are more dampeners installed on the front end and revised steering to curbed vibrations. On chassis side, the third row of the BR-V has more headroom than the Mobilio. Simply put, you pay more for BR-V because it is a more capable car than the Mobilio.

The BR-V just entered its fourth year, but it really comes in the worst time. The Mitsubishi Expander/Nissan Livina Duo is taking its market share like a champ. The Wuling Almaz, a CR-V sized car but at the same price of the BR-V offers a MUCH better value for money. The BR-V Sales drops from 38 thousand in its first year in Indonesia to just only 9 thousand two years later in Indonesia. However numbers are steadily growing in Pakistan and India.

Almost forgot the Brio, the one that started all.

Ah the Brio, the magical car that started it all. A way for Honda to utilize Indonesia government special tax ruling for cars built in Indonesia and using engine under 1.2L. Aside from the amazing engine and class leading 5 speed auto, there’s not much to it. Its cramped second row, lack of sound proofing and laughable cargo space makes way for pure driving exhilaration. Its short wheelbase makes the car feels light and agile and nobody will laugh when the car is fully modded.

In India, the Brio sells poorly, and with the Amaze as a roomier alternative and not for a lot more money, our friends there flocks to the latter than the former. Only in Indonesia that the Brio excels with sales growing steadily year by year. With the “second generation” just released in 2018, with bigger second row and a proper trunk, the car is predicted to soar past 60 thousand units sold in 2019 alone.

I put a parenthesis in the second generation comment because funny enough, the chassis is still DD1 according to wikipedia, the same one as the first generation. Structurally, the car has its wheelbase stretched by about 6 Cm, which is a huge increment for a car that size. Interior wise, the car still uses the same interior design from the outgoing model, most likely this is why the car still shares the same chassis code.

Thankfully, the second generation improves aplenty in the NVH department. Since I own the first generation, test driving the second generation felt strange. The feel is the same, it’s like driving my first gen Brio but with a bit more weight from the get go… But it’s noticeably more silent and better road noise at all speed range. Luckily, it’s not available in blue like the outgoing model, phew… Money saved.

Honda is truly stuck in the moment with two of their major line up in the middle class economy market… And you don’t want that as it’s statistically the biggest market today. At this moment, Honda can only put cash on the hood for Mobilio and Mobilio in Indonesia to survive the Mitsubishi/Nissan and Wuling onslaught. There is a loyalty discount for current Honda owners if wanting to buy another Honda, but the amount is still less than the value of the competition. I’d say Honda should give the Mobilio and BR-V about 8-12% price reduction in whatever form. At that price point, the Mobilio is attractive, the BR-V is still a hard sell, but hey, it’s a Honda!

Source:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Mobilio

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Brio

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Amaze

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_BR-V

Rangkuman Pernyataan CEO Honda 2019

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Untuk penggemar setia Honda, kuartal 2 (Mei/Juni) adalah waktu yang selalu ditunggu-tunggu, karena pada saat ini lah CEO Honda mengeluarkan arahan bisnis yang akan datang. Meskipun berbicara seputar bisnis, arahan ini umumnya sedikit mengumbar lini produk dari Honda.

Untuk membaca rangkuman pernyataan CEO Honda Takahiro Hachigo san silahkan klik di sini (bahasa Inggris). Yang mau membaca rangkuman dari rangkuman dalam bahasa Indonesia, silahkan lanjut ke bawah.

Hachigo san menekankan bahwa model Honda global (Accord, Civic, CR-V, Fit/Jazz dan Vezel (HR-V) akan mendapatkan lebih sedikit model dari yang ada sekarang. Hal ini tidak berpengaruh di Indonesia, namun di Amerika Serikat, Accord, Civic, CR-V, Fit dan HR-V memiliki model dan konfigurasi yang sangat banyak. Sebagai contoh, Honda Accord di Amerika Serikat memiliki 6 model, dari LX, EX, EX-L, Hybrid, Sport, dan Touring. Penyederhanaan model ini tidak ada efek langsung kepada pengguna setia Honda karena keputusan ini diambil untuk memangkas ongkos produksi dan ongkos inventory saja.

Arahan bisnis yang paling signifikan untuk pengguna dan pecinta Honda adalah pengenalan arsitektur mobil global baru. Mulai tahun depan, Honda akan mengadopsi arsitektur atau platform mobil dengan pembagian konten lebih tinggi. Untuk ASEAN, kita sudah merasakan platform mobil dengan pembagian konten tinggi ini, yaitu di keluarga Brio/BR-V/Mobilio. Tentu saja untuk trio mobil tersebut ada penekanan tinggi di ongkos produksi sehingga terlalu banyak komponen yang sama. Untuk model global, rasanya pembagian komponen tidak akan terlalu terlihat di eksterior, hanya di bagian rangka saja

Honda juga akan mengurangi jam kerja untuk pengembangan kendaraan massal hingga 30% sampai tahun 2025 dan akan mengarahkan sumber dayanya ke dalam pengembangan teknologi baru.

Yang terakhir adalah fokus elektrifikasi dan kendaraan energi alternatif Honda secara global. Honda akan tetap kukuh mengusung teknologi hybrid i-MMD (Intelligent Multi Mode Drive) yang berfungsi serupa dengan Toyota HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive) dan akan memasarkan solusi ini secara aktif. Di Eropa Honda juga akan meluncurkan mobil listrik murni pertamanya yang diberi nama Honda E.

Apakah arahan 2019 ini dapat terealisasi dengan baik? Pemasaran hybrid Honda secara global sedikit terlambat. Ketika orang berbicara hybrid, semua sudah menengok Toyota. Upaya Honda di era hybrid awal dengan teknologi IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) tidak berjalan sesuai harapan, karena rupanya sedikit yang perduli dengan kenikmatan berkendara dibandingkan dengan orang-orang yang mencari mobil irit. Mobil hybrid di era awal yang diusung oleh Toyota Prius memberikan sensasi berkendara yang aneh. Dengan rem regenerasi yang membuat mobil mengurangi kecepatan ketika pedal gas diangkat membuat menyetir mobil hybrid Toyota terasa aneh. Dengan IMA, mengendarai mobil hybrid Honda serasa menyetir mobil biasa. Sayang hal ini juga membuat mobil hybrid Honda kalah irit dengan mobil hybrid Toyota.

Semoga arahan ini akan menghasilkan kendaraan-kendaraan yang lebih inovatif lagi.

Sumber: Honda news room