New budget-priced Honda SUV on the cards for Australia

Honda is preparing to launch a new ‘global’ budget-priced SUV next month, and there’s a chance it could come to Australia as an entry point to the line-up.

The 2024 Honda Elevate will soon be announced for the Japanese market, according to overseas media, opening up the possibility of the small SUV eventually being offered in Australia.

Japanese website Creative311 reports Honda will add the Elevate to its domestic line-up in the second half of 2024, with spy images of the vehicle on final on-road tests published on Twitter.

The model was thought to be exclusive to the Indian market, with its global debut scheduled for 6 June 2023 – however this could mark the first time an Indian-made Honda is sold in Japan.

“Developed as a global model, the all-new Elevate is Honda’s brand new [small] SUV which will have its world premiere in India next month,” Honda India said in a written statement.

“Honda Elevate has been developed as a new global model in Honda’s line-up to cater to the robust demand for SUVs world-wide,” confirming India would be the first market to launch the new model.

But despite the camouflage on the test vehicle in Japan (below), the Elevate appears to echo the design of the Honda WR-V (bottom) – a model launched in November 2022 for the Indonesian, Thai, and Malaysian markets.

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While details of the Elevate have yet to be released, it’s expected the model will use the same 89kW/145Nm 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine found in the WR-V, though unconfirmed reports suggest a hybrid engine is also possible.

Despite possibly sharing design cues and engines, India’s Rushlane reports the Elevate will be around 4200-4300mm in length – or roughly 140-240mm longer than the Indonesian-made WR-V.

It’s expected the Elevate will also launch with Honda’s ‘Sensing’ suite of safety technology, which includes radar cruise control, lane-keep assist, lane departure warning, autonomous emergency braking, and automatic high-beam assist – all of which are available on the range-topping WR-V variant.

Honda’s Australian arm has downplayed the possibility of adding a small SUV to its local line-up, though didn’t rule it out.

At an event in March 2023, Honda Australia Director Carolyn McMahon confirmed the Honda Jazz small hatchback would not be making a return to showrooms, but told media Honda is focusing on SUVs and hybrid models in Australia over the next five years.

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When asked whether the Indonesian-market WR-V was under consideration for Australia, a spokesperson for Honda told Drive: “Honda Australia is broadening our range in 2023, with addition of the Honda ZR-V as part of our SUV portfolio. SUV continues to be an important focus for our business … based on customer and market demands.

“We have no immediate plans for (the) inclusion of a small vehicle in Australia, despite availability in other markets,” the spokesperson said in March this year.

However, given it has been developed as a “global” model, Honda could make the vehicle available to Australia as a substitute to the recently-axed Jazz – sitting below the HR-V, ZR-V, and CR-V – while also providing the company with a competitor to the likes of the Mazda CX-3 and Toyota Yaris Cross.

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