tech2 News StaffMay 03, 2021 14:43:40 IST
At an online event Monday afternoon, the wraps were taken off the Honda N7X Concept, a prototype of a brand-new, seven-seat SUV that Honda has designed keeping the Indonesian market in mind. Honda says the N in the name stands for ‘New’, 7 for its seven seats and X for excitement. The N7X is designed and developed by Honda’s Asia Pacific R&D division and is slated to replace the Honda BR-V MPV – which was also on sale in India up until a few years ago – in Indonesia.
It’s clear from the few images of the Honda N7X that have been released that it is clearly shaped to resemble a proper SUV. Honda says the N7X “combines the premium comfort and spaciousness” of an MPV with the “toughness and style” of an SUV. On the outside, there is nothing MPV about the N7X – it has a bold, upright front-end dominated by a large grille (sporting a prominent Honda badge), which stretches to merge into the slim LED headlights.
The Honda N7X Concept has been designed and developed by Honda’s Asia Pacific R&D division. Image: Honda
Other design highlights include LED lights integrated into the front bumper, pronounced belt line that stretches from the headlight all the way back to the tail-light, large multi-spoke alloy wheels, faux skid plates front and back and Z-shaped wraparound LED tail-lights, which are quite reminiscent of the ones seen on the new Honda City sold in India.
Honda only provided a fleeting glimpse of the N7X Concept’s interior during the unveil, confirming it will have a black interior with silver accents and a large touchscreen infotainment system taking centre stage. And, of course, it will have three rows of seats. It will be interesting to see if Honda also rolls out a six-seat version, with captain seats for the middle row passengers.
The production version of the Honda N7X is likely to arrive late in 2021. Image: Honda
No technical details have been provided, but it is understood that the Honda N7X will borrow its powertrains from existing Honda models. A 1.5-litre petrol engine is likely to be on offer with manual and CVT automatic transmissions, and a hybrid powertrain may be offered at a later date. This, of course, will be a strictly front-wheel-drive SUV.
Honda will display the N7X Concept in Jakarta starting 4 May till 6 June, and the production version of the SUV is expected to debut in the second half of 2021. At present, Honda has no SUVs in its India line-up, after it discontinued the CR-V late in 2020, and while there is no news on whether the production N7X will come to India, it will certainly be a model of interest to buyers in the country, and it remains to be seen if India turns out to be one of the markets Honda has devised the N7X for.
