The newly launched Honda WR-V fights in the highly competitive ground of the Indian subcompact SUV/crossover market. On one hand, the brand new WR-V, which is a crossover, will be fighting against the exciting and capable hatchback-turned crossovers such as the Hyundai i20 Active, Toyota Etios and Fiat Avventura, and on the other hand, it will take on the highly established and popular mini SUVs like the Ford EcoSport and Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. In such a tough market, the Japanese newbie will try to make a real mark for itself and dampen the market for the others. Here we are going to compare the WR-V against one of the oldest and highly successful EcoSport. Look at how the new Japanese crossover is braced up to lock its horns with its American subcompact SUV rival:
Honda WR-V Vs Ford EcoSport
Exterior Design
When it comes to design language both the Japanese and the American rivals flaunt contemporary, sleek and aerodynamic styling. Both are very stylish and are aimed at impressing the style conscious young consumers, especially the young urban lot who need the right vehicle to balance both daily transport within the city limits and some adventurous trips over the weekends. Thus, these cars are aimed at matching the daily and travel transport requirements of urban people with more active lifestyles.
Then again, both the new Honda WR-V and the Ford EcoSport have similar styling in terms of sleek and stylish appeal over conventional SUV-ish boxy design. However, the WR-V does use more aggressive and sporty design elements than the EcoSport. The WR-V is based on the Jazz premium hatch, and the two share a lot. The crossover flaunts black plastic body cladding, 16 inch alloys and roof rails to appear beefier. It also gets a wider grille and sharp slashes and character lines for a more aggressive stance. The Ford EcoSport on the other hand, as a more SUV-ish appeal and offers higher ground clearance. While the EcoSport has been designed entirely from scratch, the WR-V despite its makeover is reminiscent of the Jazz.
Dimensions
The Honda WR-V is 3,999 mm in length, barely under the 4-meter mark to avail tax benefits in India. The EcoSport has the same length as the WR-V, but is much taller at 1,708 mm, while the WR-V 1,601 mm high. However, the WR-V has a longer wheelbase measuring 2,555 mm while the EcoSport has a wheelbase of 2,520 mm. The EcoSport is also wider at 1,765 mm than the WR-V that is 1,734 mm wide. However, the WR-V offers a class leading boot area of 363 liters, while the EcoSport also offers a healthy boot space of 346 liters.
Interior & features
The WR-V offers a more premium interior. While both the vehicles offer similar roomy cabins, the taller EcoSport offers better headroom. Feature-wise also the much newer WR-V is ahead of its older rival. The WR-V features a new 7 inch Digipad infotainment system with audio/video and navigation along with 1.5 GB of internal storage, Mirror Link support and voice commands, pushbutton start/stop button, automatic climate control, and much more. The EcoSport offers an 8-inch infotainment system with navigation, automatic climate control and more. However, the WR-V’s sunroof is a big attraction.
Safety
In terms of safety, the WR-V offers dual front SRS airbags, ABS with EBD, an impact-mitigating ACE body structure along with pedestrian injury mitigation technology, impact-mitigating headrests, multi-view reverse camera, intelligent pedal and more. The EcoSport offers as many as 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, reversing camera, hill descent control and more, and we think that the EcoSport is braced better in terms of safety.
Powertrain
The WR-V is offered in both petrol and diesel versions and shares the same engines as that of its hatchback sibling Jazz. This means a 1.2 liter i-VTec petrol mill that is good to offer a max power output of 89 Bhp at 6,000 rpm and a top torque of 110 Nm at 4,800 rpm. The diesel WR-V gets powered by the familiar 1.5-liter Earth Dreams i-DTEC motor that offers around 99 Bhp of peak power at 3,600 rpm and 200 Nm of top torque at 1,750 rpm. The petrol engine is paired to a new 5 speed manual transmission gearbox, while the diesel unit is equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission and there is no automatic gearbox option offered.
The EcoSport also comes in both petrol and diesel avatars and offers a choice of three engines. There’s a 1.5 liter Ti-VCT petrol mill that is paired to a 5-speed manual or a 6-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox choice and delivers 110 Bhp of max power at 6,300 rpm and 140 Nm of top torque at 4,400 rpm; the highly praised 1.0 liter EcoBoost turbocharged petrol mill which generates 124 Bhp of top power at 6,000 rpm and 170 Nm of peak torque at 1,400 rpm; and a 1.5-liter turbocharged diesel motor that pumps out 99 Bhp of peak power at 3,750 rpm and 205 Nm of max torque at 1,750 rpm.
Pricing
The Honda WR-V is more expensive starting range than the Ford EcoSport, but offers a cheaper top of the range model. The WR-V has a starting range of Rs. 7.75 lakhs that is around Rs. 65,000 dearer than that the base model of the EcoSport that costs Rs. 7.11 lakhs. However, the top-end fully loaded WR-V VX is priced at Rs. 9.99 lakhs, while the new EcoSport Platinum Edition is tagged at Rs. 10.69 lakhs, which means Rs. 70,000 more expensive than the top-end WR-V. The WR-V is offer in just two trim levels and four models all of which are nicely loaded and thus the more compact price range. The Ford EcoSport has a lineup of 20 models and thus, the stretched-out price range. While the Honda WR-V base model also offers good creature comfort features, the Ford EcoSport’s base model is quite bare basic.
Now, only time will tell, if the Honda WR-V can get as popular as the Ford EcoSport, or even overtake its popularity.
Image Source : Gaadiwadi
By : Yatin Kumar (Guest Author )