The ‘Goldilocks standard’ of small 7-seaters
One of the world’s most beloved fairy tales involves talking animals, trespassing and a serious case of being finicky.
But the original version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears did not even feature the girl with hair as fair as fields of wheat – in the 19th century, it was about an impudent old woman who goes into the forest home of three anthropomorphic bears, all bachelors, and proceeds to partake herself of their porridge, chairs and beds.
The story went to print in 1837 when English poet Robert Southey, in his book The Doctor, talked about three male bears of different sizes in The Story of Three Bears. And the old woman was replaced by a little girl in the 1850 retelling of Victorian English writer Joseph Cundall.
But the most popular version, featuring an overly curious girl now named Goldilocks and a family of three bears, emerged in the early 1900s. Indeed, the connotations from the story’s interplay of familial roles, size and sex are now severely antiquated.
Big Daddy Bear had the hottest porridge, the largest bowl and the hardest chair and bed, while Midsize Mommy Bear had the coldest porridge, a mid-sized bowl and the softest chair and bed. Arguably, Goldilocks found the Little Baby Bear’s porridge, chair and bed “just right” because they were the closest in age and needs.
And it is this sweet spot that all businesses have relentlessly pursued for centuries. For the car industry, the concept of “just right” is a moving target as tastes, needs, wants and technology change over time.
So, just how did the 2024 Honda BR-V V nail it down so well?
Handsome looks
For one, Honda’s seven-seater isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel in the styling department.
Large LED headlights flank a prominent front grill that features a chrome strip that contains the famous Honda Cars badge. This is balanced out by the parallelogram-shaped lower grill and the foglight clusters that form strong braces.
Kudos, as well, to Honda Cars for not overdoing the matte-black trim – tasteful application balances protection and aesthetics. This is most apparent down the side, working with the two-tone, 17-inch alloy wheels and the long beltline crease prevent the BR-V from looking like a van.
Out back, the kinked quarter window leads the eye to the large LED taillights, tailgate spoiler and pert rear bumper. Some may prefer something more eye-catching like the Hyundai Stargazer, but the BR-V is for those who don’t want their cars to look like spaceships.
Leather-lined room for 7
Where the BR-V V is really worth the step up from the base BR-V S variant is the interior.
The coarse cloth upholstery has been replaced with pleasantly soft leather on the seats, armrest, steering wheel and gear selector. I just wish that the hard plastics on the dashboard and door cards were made softer, too.
Other worthwhile upgrades in the V model include a 6-speaker sound system, a powerful climate-control system, electrically folding side mirrors and rear parking sensors. Meanwhile, the 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is dead-easy to use, although a slightly larger, clearer screen would be greatly appreciated.
Oddly enough, the driver’s seat doesn’t offer enough thigh support, even for short people like me. And the lack of a telescoping steering wheel could make finding the right driving position tricky for some.
However, there’s a clear abundance of space in the BR-V – even though I find the sliding second-row seats rather narrow, you can fit seven people with ease. And with 244 liters of cargo space with all seats up, 530 liters with the third-row seats folded and a cavernous 1,032 liters with all rear seats down, there’s plenty of room for things, too.
Perky and fuel-efficient
Where the BR-V really stands out from rivals like the more expensive Mitsubishi Xpander Cross is how it drives.
The 1.5-liter, twin-cam, 16-valve inline-4 gasoline engine that this seven-seater shares with the Honda City subcompact sedan and the Honda HR-V subcompact crossover offers good acceleration, thanks to 119 horsepower and 145 Newton-meters of torque. And the tuning of the continuously variable transmission means quick progress as early as 2,000 rpm.
In addition, the firm suspension offers confident handling and reasonable comfort over bumps, while the strong brakes are controlled by a slightly spongy pedal. The steering is pleasantly light, but lacks feel and seems to be geared quite high, resulting in more turns to maneuver the BR-V.
But where the Mitsubishi trumps the Honda is noise, vibration and harshness – inadequate soundproofing means raucous engine noise at full throttle. And even though 100 km/h is at a fine 2,000 rpm, tire noise is noticeable throughout the cabin.
Despite all this, the Honda dominates in the all-important fuel-economy stakes – 8 to 11 kilometers per liter in the city and an astonishing 20 to 23 kilometers per liter on the expressway. The only way these figures could be better is to put in a hybrid engine from, say, the City e:HEV sold abroad (ahem ahem).
Something I would really like, though, is for the excellent Honda SENSING active-safety suite to be standard across all BR-V variants. As of press time, you have to pay an additional P100,000 to get it in the top-spec VX model.
Just right
On the whole, the BR-V V sits in a nice spot in the small seven-seater segment.
At P1,295,000, it offers better value than the similarly equipped yet rather antiquated Xpander Cross worth P1,346,000. It’s also a truly worthwhile step up from the cheaper but less well-equipped variants of the Xpander, Stargazer and Toyota Avanza.
Indeed, the BR-V V’s closest rival is the P1,256,000 Toyota Veloz V that adds a partial active-safety suite (no adaptive cruise control), but at the expense of 17 millimeters of ground clearance.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears has taught us – apart from the obvious perils of ransacking other people’s homes – that there are things in this world that are just right for us. And despite the lack of Honda SENSING, the BR-V V fits the bill for many Filipino families who need comfortable and economical transportation.
No need to break into bear houses to learn that lesson.
