In times when cars receive updates and facelifts as frequently as biennially, Honda’s cute and cheerful hatchback hadn’t seen much change in the five years since its launch. At long last, though, here is the facelifted Brio. And it is a facelift in the truest sense of the word. The exteriors have been freshened up and the cabin has been given a makeover too, but the mechanicals have been left unaltered.
The Brio’s basic shape remains the same, but plenty has been done to enhance the design. Like its recently-updated compact sedan sibling, the Amaze, the Brio too gets a new nose; chief among the changes is a new grille that has a glossy black band that runs across it. Lower down, the restyled front bumper is a lot more defined and features faux air intakes that house the fog lamps.
At the rear though, Honda has retained the all-glass tail-gate. What the Brio does get is reprofiled tail-lights and a new roof-mounted rear spoiler, and they do help the look to some extent. If there was one area where the Brio needed the most attention, it had to be the cabin, and particularly, the dashboard. The original Brio’s plain dash was unappealing and took much away from the surprisingly roomy space. Thankfully, it has been replaced with the dashboard from the Amaze and the BR-V. The design of the new dash is more contemporary, while the silver highlights and faux carbonfibre garnishes add a bit of sportiness too. Optional all-black seats and the redesigned instrument cluster further do their bit to uplift the cabin ambience.
The facelift also brings with it a longer equipment list. New to the Brio are electric controls for the air-con system, electrically-folding exterior mirrors and also a new 2-DIN audio system with Bluetooth connectivity.
Elsewhere, the Brio remains unchanged. The front seats, while skinny, are quite comfortable, with the driver seat being height-adjustable. The rear seat affords passengers decent legroom, but is let down by a short seat cushion and consequent lack of under-thigh support. Still, the rear seat is better and far more usable than what you get in most cars of this size. Unfortunately, a smallish boot limits the Brio’s practicality.
Since Honda hasn’t revised the Brio’s mechanicals, it continues to be powered by the same 88hp 1.2-litre i-VTEC petrol engine from the previous car. The motor can be paired with either a five-speed manual gearbox or a five-speed torque converter automatic.
As before, the 1.2 engine feels peppy at city speeds, and even offers a generous dose of performance when you push it to higher revs. The five-speed manual box, allied to a light clutch, has fairly crisp shifts and sporty short throws. Likewise, the five-speed automatic continues to impress for its smoothness and responsiveness.
You’ll also like how the Brio handles for the small hatch that it is. It feels composed around corners and comes with a steering that is fairly direct too. Where the Brio could be better is in ride comfort. The suspension crashes and thuds fairly often, and allows road imperfections to filter through. It’s not all that absorbent at high speeds either.
Small on the outside, big on the inside and powered by an efficient and peppy engine, the Honda Brio always made for a great city runabout. Thankfully, the revised dashboard has added a good cabin ambience to the Brio’s list of positives, and in all, the facelift has turned out quite well too.
The Brio range starts at Rs 4.69 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) and extends up all the way to Rs 5.95 lakh, while the sole automatic version costs a steep Rs 6.81 lakh.
The thing is, when you see the Brio in light of similar-priced competition from the likes of the Maruti Ritz, the Swift, Ford Figo, Hyundai Grand i10 and even the Mahindra KUV100, the case for the little Honda doesn’t seem quite as compelling. Yes, it is better than before and improves on an already good package. But is it enough to bring the attention back to the Honda? Perhaps not. Sadly, it’s not a case of too little, but more a case of too late.
