Honda Brio Amaze

The strategy of showing “teasers” few days before a car release is proving itself very successful for the automakers, when it comes to increase the media and public’s interest. The simple posting of a picture or a video on the Internet showing only a part of the about-to-arrive vehicle is enough to attract the world’s curiosity, no matter if it’s a super sports car or a low-cost hatchback. That’s what Honda used to attract the spotlights to their compact sedan, which will try to prosper in a very competitive market, at many countries.

In the past few years, the multi-category brands have understood that although the emergent markets’ car demands are very particular, these countries return their fulfillment with surprising sales, frequently comparable to what they get on their homelands with more expensive vehicles. Mazda already sells Mazda2, Mitsubishi created Mirage with big focus at the efficiency, Toyota released Etios, and now Honda follows this track with Brio. Their idea is to repeat their brands’ quality at construction, durability and technology, but with some concessions in order to offer the cheapest final price it’s possible. Competitive pricing really is a strong sales argument, but the average customer became each time more demanding, in all categories. In nowadays, the cheap cars have to keep low prices but without “seeming” it: they can’t have black bumpers and small wheels anymore, for example. Besides that, the interior needs to offer the biggest space it’s possible, and with big trim levels at the most expensive versions – those are the very particular demands that countries like Brazil, China and India present for their low-budget categories. But there’s one more aspect that these customers appreciate very much, and therefore makes a huge part of these cars’ success: the design.

If the buyers want their car to resemble more sophisticated ones, they expect it to start this by the exterior. Some take advantage of their brands’ visual identity, such as the latest Fiat Palio and Chevrolet Onix (both created in Brazil), with good proportions and no external parts shared with other cars, avoiding drawing freedom losses. These came precisely from two of the best-selling brands in one of the most experienced country when it comes to small cars, which denotes all the expertise they have. And here lies the Japanese problem, which was those other brands’ issue decades ago: as these cars are their very first incursions among the low-cost category, they still don’t have experience with them. So their first idea is to adapt what’s already done with the more expensive ones, but the problem is that it doesn’t work as the first impression may think. The size differences make some elements look good in some cars but not in others, not to mention the customer kind each car will have – try to imagine Hyundai Equus with Mini Cooper’s round headlights or Peugeot 107 with the first Land Rover Discovery’s roof windows, for example. When it comes to Brio, the original hatchback wasn’t already the best design example to remember, but what makes the sedan worse is the wrong choice of the elements.

The front needs to be short but keeping good space for the engine, so it’s a little tall. But using a very small central air intake with big headlights and big lower intake with large blank spaces between than gives the overall impression that these parts are “lost”, visually disconnected. The very strong creases at the side give a dynamism sensation at bigger cars, but in this sedan seem only too heavy. And the back would really deserve credit for the sophistication idea of the chrome details, if it wasn’t for the very, very small size seen at the pictures. The intention of projecting a small-scaled Civic or Accord is good, but this result seems like a squeezed version of those – at the side photo, have you seen how the roof falls to the trunk? Entering the car, its central console’s can’t be described without using “weird”, but the big internal space is a pleasant fact, along with the sophistication given by the three-colored coating and items such as the multimedia sound system. This car’s sales will begin with Thailand, going later to India, Indonesia and Malaysia. When it comes to the performance, it’ll maintain Brio’s 1.2 16v, with i-VTEC valve command and 90 hp with manual or CVT transmission options, but a very nice feature is the Econ mode: as in many other Honda vehicles, activating it changes several driving parameters to reduce fuel consumption.