India-bound Honda Urban SUV to unveil at 2013 Tokyo Motor Show

Honda, the Japanese automaker has confirmed its new small Urban SUV to be showcased at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. The company had unveiled the concept of this model at the Detroit Motor Show earlier this year. We reported earlier that the Urban SUV is under production, and has been spied during its test rounds in Germany.

Like new Honda City, this compact SUV will be based on the next-generation Jazz platform, and will compete against the likes of Ford EcoSport, Renault Capture and Peugeot 2008. However, in India it will come in 2015, and will have different rival including EcoSport, Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano, and the upcoming Maruti's XA Alpha and Hyundai Mini SUV. The India bound model will share its most of the components with the hatchback and City sedan.

The compact SUV is expected to source most of its styling cues from the concept showcased earlier this year. It will have an appealing body design with curves, low roofline and a broad stance. Honda described it as “Dynamic and sporty, but spacious and functional”. Internationally, the Urban SUV will be more than 4 meter (4300mm long) in length, but will be much smaller (about 228mm) shorter than the CR-V. We expect that India-bound model could be a sub-4 metre, however it is early to comment on the same.

For global markets, the Urban SUV is expected to use the same engine that powers the Jazz, and will also get the Civic's 1.6-litre diesel engine. In India, it is expected to share its engine and transmission options with the next generation Honda Jazz/City, which will hit the Indian shores by the next year. So, the compact SUV will get a 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol and a 1.5-litre i-DTEC turbo diesel engine.

The Honda Urban SUV will be locally manufactured, and will feature high level of local car components. With the compact SUV, Honda will again present the best usage of the company's design philosophy of "Man-Maximum Machine-Minimum". Inside the cabin, it is likely to be available with the same Magic seats as found in the Jazz, which offers variety of seating positions to passengers. The production version of the Mini SUV will be launched in Japan first in 2013, followed by North America, Europe and India.