SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Practical: 2020 Honda BR-V 1.5 Elegance m/t

Further selling points

Posted: November 17, 2020

Main pics by Quickpic. Back seat pics by author

The numbers
Price: R333 300
Engine: 1497 cc, SOHC 16-valve, four-cylinder
Power: 88 kW at 6600 rpm
Torque: 145 Nm at 4800 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 10.9 seconds
Maximum speed: 160 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 7.3 l/100 km
Tank: 42 litres
Luggage: 223 – 691 – 1164 litres
Turning circle: 10.6 metres
Ground clearance: 210 mm
Standard tyre size: 195/60R16
Spare: Fully sized steel, stored under body
Towing: Not rated
Warranty: 5 years / 200 000 km with 3 years’ roadside assistance
Service plans: 4 years / 60 000 km at 15 000 km intervals on Comfort and Elegance,           2 years / 30 000 km on Trend                                


Note: While details of the car are correct, the narrative is imaginary and used only to illustrate possibilities - GH

Meet the Guptas; not the politically connected ones, although father Babu admits that a little reflected wealth could be useful. These Guptas are humble market gardeners, tilling a couple of hectares a country mile beyond the Village where a handful of workers live with their families.

There’s Babu as we said, mother Kannama (Mummy), first-born Aabharama (Aabi) who assists her dad at the Market, eldest son Aarav (Ravi) who’s away at university in the City, and leggy teenagers Denesh, Kisten and Rubi. They’re still at school but help out during holidays.

Aabi, whose full name means Jewel, is just that when it comes to working at the Market. Her sparkling personality and, when needed, subtle flirtatiousness could charm the silken slippers off Royalty if need be. Babu, on the other hand, is charming, friendly and so eager to assist that even the stubbornest expat ladies willingly part with a few Rupees more than they’d planned on spending.  

Vegetables are, when you get down to it, just commodities so, with similarly priced and equally delectable goods on other stalls close by, competition is fierce. Successful marketers need an edge. The Guptas have theirs.

Ravi, by contrast, is studious and guided by cold, hard facts. On completion of his MSc Mech-Eng. studies, his dream is to work at the Honda factory at Tapukara in Rajasthan. The teenagers, bless them, already know everything and just want to have fun.

Work begins at four a.m., harvesting the day’s market needs while the crop is still dew-fresh and cool. It is then rinsed, sorted, boxed and loaded into the family’s only vehicle, a 2020 Honda BR-V 1.5 Elegance with six-speed manual gearbox. Its third- and second-row seats fold and tumble in pairs, creating two distinct loading areas; one each for hard vegetables, like potatoes and pumpkins, and soft ones like cabbages or lettuces. Seasons and crops vary throughout the year but the principle remains.

Babu ticked the box for an optional cargo tray to safeguard the rearmost section but makes do with an offcut of needle-punch carpeting for the centre part.

By 05:30, six days a week, he and Aabi are ready for the 20-kilometre trek, along dodgy gravel roads, to Town where the market square is situated. He is glad that his Honda offers 210 mm of ground clearance to clear the stones and ruts that litter their journey.

This is their second BR-V, chosen because it’s possibly the roomiest of the small family seven-seaters and certainly the most powerful; big families and heavy cargoes need all the energy one can muster.

Although Babu isn’t fussed about having the latest technology, Aabi cajoled him into buying the Elegance version this time around. It has a cool, new seven-inch Display Audio system with colour touchscreen, Bluetooth connectivity and reversing camera. Their old car didn’t have the phone connection so, although she could answer hers, Dad couldn’t safely join in when needed.  

Other neat new things include LED DRLs, pushbutton starting, added soundproofing for more peaceful driving, automated door locking for safety on crowded roads and rear parking sensors to make manoeuvring less of a hassle. Also new are folding wing mirrors for easing through tight gateways.

They have always liked the Comfort and Elegance models’ automatic air conditioning, with rooftop vents and fan, directing chilled air into the rear compartment. While no real substitute for refrigeration, it does help to keep merchandise cooler in hot weather; a further selling point that they emphasise to early arrivals at the market.

Then, on the Seventh Day, both loading bays are cleaned out thoroughly and seats are put back down so the family can drive in style to Temple for weekly devotions. Luckily, the rearmost loading space is big enough to hold a few bagsful of food offerings for the poor.

The Guptas are content; their BR-V suits all their needs for now although something more luxurious might be nice to have someday. But only Time, Dharma and Fate know what lies ahead.

Test unit from Honda SA press fleet.

Other Honda BR-Vs we have driven:

2019 Elegance automatic

2020 Comfort manual



Both rows folded: Rear section here, and middle section above. No cargo tray with the press car, unfortunately.

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Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

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