Petite maturity

With its Rallye Red paintjob, the 2026 Honda Brio V still has a playful air about it. | Photos by VJ Bacungan

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “mature” as something that has “completed natural growth and development.”

As we all know, maturity is not necessarily a product of age, educational attainment or financial standing (a certain middle-aged senator with a fondness for grandstanding and ad hominem attacks on social media is clear proof of this). We even have a word for children who exhibit the soundness of mind expected from intelligent adults – precociousness.

Given our fondness for assigning human attributes to inanimate objects, we likewise treat cars a lot like people. For most, a small car should be child-like and adorable, while a large car should denote a more imposing and adult-like quality.

And yet, how does the 2026 Honda Brio V comport itself better than cars twice its size and price?

Cute appearance

For starters, Honda’s little hatchback doesn’t try to present itself as a road-legal Little Tykes Coupe.

Despite the eye-catching Rallye Red paint on our test unit, the Brio V looks like a shrunken BR-V, especially with the chrome front grill and large halogen headlights (LED headlights would have been nicer, though). Down the side, a strong character line runs just above door handles, while the two-tone, 14-inch alloy wheels look a touch too small for the body.

At the rear, jewel-like halogen taillights (again, LEDs would have been better) flank the simple tailgate. The pert lower bumper and the subtle tailgate spoiler give it a somewhat-sporty vibe.

Rear passengers get individual headrests for maximum comfort and safety.

Comfy cabin

Inside is where the Brio V starts to extend its lead from diminutive rivals like the Toyota Wigo G and the ancient Mitsubishi Mirage GLX.

Although the extensive use of hard, black cabin plastics wasn’t particularly impressive, the smooth fabric upholstery and highly supportive front seats were. Kudos, as well, to Honda Cars for including adjustable headrests for all five occupants, although a three-point seatbelt for middle-rear passenger would have been better.

Feature-wise, you get power locks, power windows, a strong air-conditioning system and an off-the-shelf touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – that last item may be easy to use, but it’s rather laggy and has a blurry screen resolution that looks outdated compared to the system in the BYD Seagull.

Cargo space is an average 258 liters with the rear seats up and 851 liters with the seats down. However, I would have liked Honda Cars’ excellent Utility-Long-Tall rear seats (seen in the City Hatchback) for maximum practicality – the Brio V’s rear bench neither splits nor folds flat, meaning you can’t have rear passengers when hauling large cargo.

In addition, some people may have trouble getting a good driving position because the driver’s seat has no height adjustment, while the steering wheel has no reach adjustment. Nonetheless, this little Honda does have a full-size spare wheel (unlike the hateful tire-repair kit in many electrified vehicles nowadays).

The dashboard features refreshingly simple controls and a decent touchscreen infotainment system.

Exemplary drive

It’s on the move where the Brio V truly distinguishes itself not only from other subcompact hatchbacks, but also some sedans and crossovers.

Its 1.2-liter, single-cam, 16-valve inline-4 gasoline engine is significantly smoother than the 3-cylinder engines in the Wigo or Mirage – combine this with the reasonably supple ride and you have a little car that can do practically any journey without making you and your passengers feel like you’ve just survived a washing machine’s spin cycle.

And although 89 horsepower and 110 Newton-meters of torque don’t sound like much, the Brio V is still more powerful than the Toyota or Mitsubishi equivalent. With its 995-kilogram kerb weight and well-tuned continuously variable transmission, acceleration is quite good throughout the RPM range.

All these return dividends at the pumps – we got 11 to 14 kilometers per liter in the city and 22 to 25 kilometers per liter on the expressway. In addition, the light (but numb) steering allows for easy maneuvering in the tightest streets, while the brakes offer reassuring stopping power despite the spongy pedal.

Among my few gripes include the noticeable tire roar at speed, as well as the lack of side and curtain airbags (critical given how small the Brio is). In fact, Honda Cars could have gone a step further by offering the exemplary Honda SENSING active-safety suite to truly give it safety credentials that are a cut above the competition.

The Brio has 258 liters of cargo space with the rear bench up.

Only Honda

At P827,000, the 2026 Honda Brio V is priced considerably more than the P735,000 Toyota Wigo G and the P781,000 Mitsubishi Mirage GLX.

However, it’s a premium that I would gladly pay because Honda Cars’ rendition of a little car is just so much better. Put another way, the Brio V possesses performance, economy and driving dynamics that rival the likes of more substantial vehicles like the P908,000 Toyota Vios XLE CVT and the P968,000 BYD Seagull.

Then again, Honda Cars has always distinguished itself by offering some of the best-driving vehicles in their respective segments. Such a product could only come from an automaker of immense maturity.

******

Get real-time news updates: inqnews.net/inqviber