Next-Gen Brio ‘Under Works’; May Get Diesel Engine

Honda’s Brio is one of our favorite petrol cars in the segment. Its sales have not been as per expectations but that, we believe, also has a lot to do with Honda keeping the production of the cute hatch limited allotting it to other better-doing cars in the lineup.

Now, as per Autocar India, Honda has started work on its ‘Next Generation’ model which is expected to be launch-ready by 2017. Surprisingly, the report claims that Honda may not use the name ‘Brio’, which we feel is a little difficult to understand.

The new Brio is expected to be based on the current car but will get a new body-shell and a design which would work on the rear primarily. This means the not-to-everybody’s liking rear glass-hatch may make way for a more pleasant conventional design.

Honda-Brio

Apart from the new design, the new Brio will, in all probability, get a diesel engine. Now, the 1.5 liter i-DTEC from the current range may be too big for the small hatch and in place, Autocar says, it may get its 3-cylinder 1.1 liter version. This takes us to the the 2012-13 period when Honda was testing Brio diesel for our market. However, soon after, it was understood that Honda postponed the idea of Brio diesel because of unacceptable NVH from the 3 cylinder mill.

The other engine for the Next-Gen Brio is expected to be the same 1.2 liter i-VTEC petrol with certain tweaks for pollution norms, fuel efficiency and drivability. With the new Brio, Honda would target Grand i10 and others more aggressively.

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