Honda Small SUV RS at GIIAS 2022 – a more sober evolution of last year’s concept, coming to production

Honda is displaying the RS small SUV at the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) 2022, which opened today in BSD City, on the outskirts of Jakarta. The prototype was wrapped in camouflage and parked inside a glass case.

Last month, images of a mysterious Honda SUV have been leaked in Indonesia and it looks a lot like a manufactured car. Many expected the SUV to make its debut at GIIAS, but it doesn’t look like Honda is ready for a full launch just yet. However, the automaker said that this model “will be a new model of Honda” and will be “Honda’s first model in the small SUV segment” and “will be officially launched in the near future”.

How close? Hopefully by the end of the year, Honda Prospect Motor sales and marketing manager, Yusak Billy tells Kompas At the exhibition.

The Japanese automaker has also confirmed that this car is an evolution of Original SUV RS Concept from GIIAS 2021. Compared to the first draft, this RS small SUV has a much reduced design.

Based leaked photosThe “fading” grille of the 2021 RS SUV has been replaced with a more conventional material, with the chrome-embroidered RS treatment seen on New HR-V RS. There’s a chrome bar on top of the grille, but the headlights are much larger than the 2021 concept’s slim/sharp eyes. That’s just to be expected – the lights and show wheels are often exaggerated.

Fog lights are necessary for the actual car, so the details below are not too minimalistic. There is a slim slip-on trim but it has three notches instead of two. The nose of the car also seems more upright. Overall, the face doesn’t feel tense, if at all casual.

The rear is a big difference from the first idea, both in shape and details. The 2021 RS SUV show car features a steep, sloping rear display (perhaps impractical for such a small car) and full-width LED signatures, like the one above. New HR-V. The so-called production car at the time was clearly not a baby HR-V, with more regular corners and taillights.

Details that can be seen here are the moderately sized spoiler, non-flat 3D taillights and silver trim on the diffuser area to match the front end. In addition, the reverse L-shaped LED signatures as above Civic FE.

With the new HR-V growing in size and price, there’s room for a small Honda SUV that can take on the competition. Daihatsu Rocky and Toyota Raize in Indonesia.

Will this come to Malaysia against the Perodua Ativa? Nothing is impossible, but in general, it is difficult for foreign brands to introduce imported models in our market and compete with domestic competitors in terms of specifications/price . It’s not easy to top the list of Ativa AV accessories (even Base HR-V at RM114,800 failed to do so) without incurring a large premium, which would then bring the price of the small SUV close to that of the HR-V. It is the intricacies of our market that, unlike our ASEAN neighbors, have national brands.