The Hindu : Honda the household name

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 07, 2003

Business

Business

Honda the household name

Racing allows Honda engineers to design engines and other components from scratch.

BARELY FIVE decade-plus old Honda is the only automotive producing company that has now become a household name, for us human beings, be it transport, home appliances, sports, pleasure and recreational equipment, aviation or for that matter a robot that could do chores for you. To start with, Honda made its way into India through its most popular two-wheeler, the Hero Honda motorcycle, and promptly joined in by the domestic generators and scooters in the earlier part of the Eighties. Once they made their head, quickly came the automotive division and they have come to stay. Giving wheels to the Indians and that too comfortable ones.

Honda launched its City in the mid-Nineties and within three years promptly upgraded it besides giving it a new look. They also gave the new VTEC engine as well. In mid-2001 it brought in its flagship car, Accord. The Accord has been Honda's most popular car of the Eighties and maximum numbers were sold worldwide. In India, this car was most sought for during the days when State Trading Corporation used to trade in automobiles and Accord was the fastest and the best seller. Even with non-resident Indians coming back to India, this used to be the most favourite four-wheeler to get with them. Honda launched its Accord in mid-2001 with a modest figure of 800 cars to be sold till March 2002. But within the first three months it had already sold more than 600 vehicles and in fact launched another variant of the Accord in that short time.

Barely two years have completed and the seventh generation Honda Accord is also on the Indian roads. The salient features of this car are that besides all the goodies such as the safety and crumple zone for passenger, side impact bars, pre-tensioned belts, air bags and the anti-lock braking system, that its predecessor had, this one has the looks and the intelligent VTEC 2.4 litre engine that churns out 142 bhp at 5500 rpm, under the hood.

Honda is well-known for its bullet proof engine technology. This has been their forte even on the racing circuit. Even if they did not supply the space frame for the racing cars they did contribute the power plant to the race leaders. The outer skin of the new Accord is all new with beautiful sleek lines and a well contoured facia. The interior is totally new with leathers and the like and a new in-dash audio system that has a provision to stack six CDs in it, an access into the boot from the rear seat armrest housing for that quick cool drink from the cool box, this time the leather seats have that leather smell too! The tail end is also attractive with large wrap around lights. It has new footwear with 15 inch alloy rims and with tubeless tyres!

With 34 per cent local content they propose to market their two versions for Rs. 14.7 lakhs and Rs. 15.7 lakhs respectively. The local content aspect will give competition run for their money as all the others are getting their cars as CBUs (complete built-up units) and hence the duties are far higher. A small test run on the new Taj Express a new highway under construction connecting Delhi and Agra, gave me a lot of confidence even when we were touching 200 km/h. The suspension is a shade stiffer giving the passengers and the driver a lot of confidence on high speeds and town driving. Air conditioning is par excellence with a dual temperature zone and the rear legroom is for the lords to sit in. This car is more of an executive automobile and one would love to be driven in.

Close on the heels of the launch of the Suzuki Vitara, Honda decided to launch its sports utility vehicle, the CR-V. There were a lot of connotations being derived at the press meet of the word CRV. However, what appealed most to me was City Recreational Vehicle. Yes, indeed it is a great recreational vehicle with a signature attached. This is a great SUV with features of a city automobile. With today's announcement of your arrival, this vehicle will not only be a comfortable and safe mode of transport but one will not have to think twice to do cross-country driving at the drop of a hat. Although it has a perpetual four wheel drive it lacks the option of a 4x4 low, restricting your high adventurous spirits. It has a relatively low and sleek body frame with tall tail lights almost like the one Indica has. The front is quite pleasant but with a very distinctive Honda look.

The ingress into the car is very comfortable. Unlike older SUV's where one had to climb onto the vehicle, this one you need to slide in. The rear seat is very comfortable and a medium size person can sit cross-legged as well. The dash fascia is pretty bland with basic controls but the hand brake lever is well appointed but can be mistaken as a grab handle as well.

The air-conditioning is pretty good but since it does not have jump seats at the rear obviously nobody will suffer at the back. The two-litre power plant, of course, comes with the latest Honda technology — the Intelligent Variable Timing by Electronic Control (i-VTEC) turning out 142 brake horses with 185 Nm of max torque at 5500 rpm.

Another intelligent feature in the engine control department I found was the safety feature of not being able to go more than 5000 rpm while the vehicle is static (to ensure that a heavy right footed driver will not burn out the engine while standing at a crossing). However one could redline the engine at 7000 rpm while changing gears.

Coming to the list of goodies available in the CRV, well, it meets all the requirements. Alloy wheels, electronic climate control, a CD player, power windows, power steering, central locking system, even power folding door mirrors and a left side mounted under view mirror. The front seats are comfortable and the driver's seat has a height control besides the normal front-back movement plus the adjustable back.

For the safety of the passengers and driver some of the pre-conditions that have now become almost a standard equipment are antilock braking system (ABS), electronic brake distribution (EDB), dual air bags for driver and passenger and of course the side intrusion bars plus a theft control device, an engine immobiliser comes as standard equipment.

For the near future, readers should keep their eyes and ears open for the new Honda City and to welcome you to a Honda party a Robot to welcome the guests.

Tutu Dhawan

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