Honda Cars India Ltd on Monday launched its long-awaited SUV Elevate at an introductory starting price of ₹10.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The top variant ZX will cost ₹15.99 lakh.

The Japanese carmaker will begin deliveries of the Honda Elevate from today across dealerships in the country. The Honda Elevate, which made its global debut earlier in June this year, will take on Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos and Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara among others.

The Honda Elevate, like its name, has an elevated bonnet and a class-leading ground clearance of 220 mm. The mid-size SUV comes with 458-litre boot space, bigger than its rivals.

The car comes equipped with Honda Sensing ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) features including collision mitigation braking system, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, road departure mitigation system, and lead car departure notification and auto high beam.

The Elevate is the first SUV among five new premium SUVs planned to be launched by Honda in India by 2030. And the carmaker is betting big on its latest offering.

"With the Honda Elevate, we make a foray into one of the most exciting auto segments in India. The tremendous anticipation surrounding this product underscores the trust our customers have in our offerings. Honda Elevate holds the potential to become key pillar of Honda's business in India, offering remarkable value to our evolving customers," says Takuya Tsumura, president and CEO of Honda Cars India.

There was no SUV in the Japanese carmaker's portfolio after it discontinued its CRV and WR-V models.

The Elevate is powered by 1.5 litre i-VTEC petrol engine generating 89 kilowatt (121 PS) power and 145 Nm torque, paired with a six-speed manual transmission and a seven-speed continuously variable transmission (CVT) offering fuel efficiency of 15.31 kmpl and 16.92 kmpl, respectively. The Honda Elevate is compatible with up to 20% ethanol blended petrol, the carmaker says.

In CVT transmission, the base variant V is priced at ₹13.20 lakh.

The SUV comes with features like a wireless smartphone charger, a 10.25-inch touchscreen, a 7-inch high-definition full-colour TFT meter cluster and Honda Connect, a connected car experience that allows the users to control the car remotely.

The Honda Elevate doesn't come with a panoramic sunroof. It only gets a single-pane sunroof.

The Elevate also comes equipped with six airbags, lane watch camera, vehicle stability assist with electronic stability and traction control, hill start assist, emergency stop signal, and multi-angle rear-view camera among others. However, there's no 360-degree camera.

The company is offering three years of unlimited kilometres warranty to the customers.

Honda Cars India registered monthly domestic sales of 7,880 units in August 2023. The export numbers stood at 2,189 units. The company had registered 7,769 in domestic sales and exported 2,356 units in August 2022.

Honda Elevate specs

Honda launches Elevate SUV at ₹10.99 lakh