The all new Honda Urban SUV Concept made its world debut last week at the 2013 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) held in Detroit. This new SUV concept is a preview of the future small model that the Japanese auto giant is planning to launch at the end of this year in Japan and in US by 2014. According to John Mendel, executive vice president for sales in Honda America “No one has had greater success with small cars than Honda and this Urban SUV Concept will create new value in the growing small-SUV segment”.
Exterior
The Honda Urban SUV Concept is basically targeted for active lifestyle customers providing them with a fun to drive and fuel efficient small SUV equipped with an aspirational design, flexible packaging and next generation connectivity. From the front the car looks very much similar to the current Honda models especially the Honda CRV, but differs with the center grille that tapers towards the bottom and the angular LED headlamps which makes the car look gorgeous. The side profile is characterized by a crease line that starts from the front side door and extends upto the C-pillar and finally intersects the curved, descending upper edge of the side windows at the rear, giving the vehicle a strong and distinctive graphic signature look.
The rear of this concept SUV is marked with a series of three U shaped lines that creates a blend of convex-concave shapes, giving space for the license plate in between. Also the distinctive tail lamps which incorporate the twin horizontal LED elements are visually connected to the U shaped lines thus overall giving the car an overall dynamic look and stance.
The new Urban SUV is believed to have a center-tank layout which will help the car benefit from Honda’s Magic Seats technology. This technology will enable various seat configurations to fit any needs as and when required by the occupants. Also the configurable Magic Seat setup can give a wide range of passenger and cargo options that includes a fold-flat mode for maximum cargo capacity. Apart from all these this concept SUV will feature next-generation telematics & modern interior.
The Honda Urban SUV Concept will have three powertrain options; being the petrol, diesel and a hybrid. It is expected that the car will utilize the company’s Earth Dreams engine and the next generation transmission technology which is focused on both high driving performance and better fuel efficiency with reduced CO2 emissions. We’ll have more details on this SUV once Honda makes them available.
Though the concept cars displayed in the Auto Shows looks fancy, these kinds of futuristic designs may probably take couple of years to come. The pricing of the Honda Urban SUV Concept is reportedly positioned below the CR-V and the company plans to sell more than 1.5 million units annually of its three global “Compact Series models” which includes the Honda Fit, the Honda City and the all new compact SUV, by the end of year 2016.
