Honda Brio RS, the sporty top-of-the-line derivative of the Brio hatchback was recently revealed in its latest avatar at the 2016 Gaikindo International Indonesia Auto Show (GIIAS) or simply Indonesia Auto Show. The Japanese auto giant showcased the car alongside the new Brio facelift, which is set to be launched in India soon. Both cars now come with a number of cosmetic changes and additional features as well. While the cars have already gone on sale in Indonesia, we are expecting Honda to bring the Brio facelift to India later this year. And you might never know Honda might even surprise us with the Brio RS variant, considering the carmaker already sells the Mobilio RS in the country.In terms of looks, the new Honda Brio RS appears to be more or less the same as the new Brio hatchback, but a closer look will tell you that it is not the case. The Brio RS is a bit more stylish and comes with better features. Instead of the regular headlamps, the Brio RS comes with projector headlights and L-shaped LED daytime running lights. The grille design continues to be the same fat chrome slat with the Honda logo in the centre, but in the RS trim, you also get the ‘RS’ badge on the side. The front bumper looks way too muscular for the car with a wide central air dam and larger air intakes housing the new oval fog lamps. This is applicable to the RS version as well, which gets the same bumper as the regular variant.
The side profile of the Brio RS is largely similar to the regular hatchback variant but the ORVMs come with integrated turn signals in the RS trim and with sportier 15-inch alloys instead of the regular 14-inchers. The rear section of the Brio RS carries that muscular stance of the hatchback which is evident from the brawny spoiler, rear diffuser and a larger chrome tipped exhaust. In comparison, the regular Brio hatchback facelift comes with the standard rear bumper, smaller exhaust pipe and a fat chrome slat at the bottom of the hatch door.
The interior gets spruced up too with a fresh new dashboard and a new horizontal air con panel. It is the same cabin design we saw in the new Amaze sub-compact sedan. The top spec RS trim gets a 6.2-inch touchscreen unit and an all-black cabin with yellow highlights. The regular hatchback variants like E and S trim come with dual tone black-beige cabins – black dashboard and beige seats.
Under the hood, the upgraded Brio gets the same 1.2-litre SOHC petrol engine, which has been tuned to deliver slightly more power and torque – up from 87bhp and 109Nm to about 89bhp and 110Nm. The facelifted Brio is offered with a five-speed manual transmission as well as a CVT in Indonesia. In India too, the new Brio may be offered with a CVT as an option, considering its compact sedan sibling, Amaze, has already received one.
[“source-ndtv”]