September 22, 2021

Next-Gen Mobilio, BR-V RS, ZR-V? What Is This Mystery Honda Vehicle?


Escaping almost unnoticed during the all-new 2022 Honda BR-V’s global reveal is this mystery vehicle seen towards the end of the video.

Other than saying that another “exciting announcement” is coming soon, Honda (and surprisingly) car sites have kept mum about it. So, with no official info, it’s time to speculate.

The safest bet would be a sporty version of the all-new BR-V. Honda fans realized that a Road Sailing or RS version of the 7-seater SUV was missing in its initial four variant line-up (S, E, Prestige, and Prestige Honda SENSING).

If Honda is indeed cooking up a RS variant, it would be the BR-V nameplate’s first. Like the other RS variants, it will probably get cues such as unique bumpers, alloy wheels, and who knows, maybe a two-tone roof as well since it’s all the rage these days.

Based on the solitary shot in the video, the mystery car does fit well with the all-new BR-V’s silhouette like the squared off rear-end and the roof rails. The big question here is the headlights: they don’t match the BR-V’s. Sure, Honda might give the BR-V a unique headlight treatment, but given that the BR-V already has full LEDs it doesn’t make sense.

This leads to the strong possibility of Honda launching a different vehicle altogether, maybe something along the lines of an all-new Mobilio?

If this is true, that means Honda isn’t giving up on its small MPV just yet.

It must be remembered that while the Mobilio started very strong here in ASEAN, sales were quickly cannibalized by its sister car, the BR-V. With similar feature sets, it was obvious that families were willing to pay more for the rugged SUV version. Its sales suffered so poorly that markets such as the Philippines discontinued the nameplate altogether.

However, this has probably given Honda time to think and strategize what they will do with their small MPV. It’s very clear that Honda’s positioned the BR-V as a tech-leading small SUV and though prices haven’t been announced, it’ll likely be a big jump from the current model. If that’s the case, that’ll give them breathing room to introduce the Mobilio yet again but as a simpler, budget-friendly offering.

The third possibility is the introduction of an all-new nameplate for ASEAN. Drawing from the success of the Toyota Raize, Kia Sonet and Nissan Magnite in Indonesia, Honda could very well come up with their own 5-seater sub-compact SUV. In fact, Honda has already patented the “ZR-V” nameplate.

Currently, Honda has the WR-V for the Indian market and the HR-V everywhere else, but given that these two are both based on the Jazz, they could create one based on the Brio platform. True enough, rumors are strong that the carmaker is wanting to create a sub-4-meter-long SUV.

As of now, your guess is good as ours, but whether the tarp hides a BR-V RS, an all-new Mobilio, or an entirely new nameplate like the ZR-V, things are looking great for Honda.

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