The new Honda Elevate has been revealed in India, based on the Ballade platform and billed as a fresh “global” mid-size SUV contender…

The covers have come off the new Honda Elevate, a fresh-faced mid-size SUV developed for global markets and set to be built in India (though interestingly developed byHonda’s R&D department in Thailand). At the moment, official images are extremely hard to come by, but we’ll add more photographs as soon as they are available.

Based on the City (or what we know here in South Africa as the Ballade) platform, the new Elevate is poised to do battle with fellow Indian-built models such as the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Toyota Urban Cruiser and Suzuki Grand Vitara.

So, where will it be positioned within Honda’s broader crossover line-up? Well, the new Elevate measures 4312 mm from nose to tail and has a wheelbase of 2650 mm. That makes it 313 mm longer than the WR-V but 178 mm shorter than the BR-V. The luggage compartment can swallow a claimed 458 litres, while ground clearance comes in at a fairly generous 220 mm and the turning circle at 5.2 metres.

The new Honda Elevate was revealed in India, where it will be built.

Interestingly, the new Honda Elevate is similar in size to the HR-V, which measures a mere 33 mm longer. So, will we see the newcomer on local roads? Well, Honda Southern Africa told Cars.co.za the Elevate “has not been confirmed for South Africa”, though we suspect it is indeed in the planning. However, there’s certainly the question of whether there would be space in the local range for both the Elevate and the HR-V…

As you might have guessed, the Elevate employs the same DOHC i-VTEC engine as the Ballade on which it’s based. That means power comes from the Japanese firm’s familiar naturally aspirated 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol motor, which delivers 89 kW and 145 Nm to the front axle via a 6-speed manual gearbox or a continuously variable transmission (CVT). A fully electric version is reportedly in the works, too.

In India, the Elevate will feature items such as a 7-inch digital instrument cluster, a centrally sited 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen (with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay) and a rear parking camera. A sunroof will furthermore be available in that market, along with a raft of driver-assistance features like adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning and automatic high-beam assist. Other standard safety features on the Indian-spec model will include 6 airbags, ABS with EBD (and brake assist), vehicle stability assist and hill-start assist.

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