Honda Mobilio front

Honda Mobilio 1.5 i-VTEC / 1.5 i-DTEC Review: Evolved Mobility

Cabin and features

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The dashboard of the Mobilio has been lifted from the Amaze / Brio duo in a bid to share the parts bin and keep the cost down. The touchscreen panel on the center console is brand new though. Equipped with a rear view camera, satellite navigation and all the audio controls, the new touch screen does manage to add a lot of value to Mobilio’s dash.

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The chunky steering wheel with its wire mesh bottom spoke looks nice and sporty. Look through it and you’ll see the familiar instrumentation, taken, again from the Amaze / Brio duo – though this is one is blue backlit unlike the amber lit Amaze unit. Left pod represents revs, central unit has a speedo and the right pod houses tell tale lights. The MID shows you average consumption, though it doesn’t yet have a distance to dry readout.

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Air conditioner is manual, though the Mobilio now features dedicated roof mounted A/C vents for the second row occupants. The A/C vent unit for the rear passengers comprises three horizontally positioned vents with a controller knob to the right – using which one can control the air-flow on three levels or shut it completely. Another change on the dash as compared to the Amaze is insertion of chrome / satin silver rings around A/C vents and shifter stick. The top spec VX variant comes with glossy faux wood inserts on the dashboard and door panels, which though very well finished may not suit every car buyer’s taste.

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The Indian Mobilio has received some changes over its Indonesian and Thai counterparts. Keeping the Indians’ perception of space in mind, Honda have introduced the car with a two-tone black beige interior for this market unlike the all-black treatment given to the international product. The central armrest for the second row passengers is also an India specific change. The A/C for the car was also equipped with a heater to cope with the severe North Indian cold.

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In terms of storage spaces, the Mobilio boasts as many as 11 cup / bottle holders across the cabin. The front door panel comprises a big bottle holder and a map pocket. Then there are three cup/bottle holders between the front seats. The rear door panels have space for two bottles each – though the central arm-rest doesn’t feature any recesses. For the third row passengers, there are two bottle holders, one on either side, accompanied by another recess for holding wallet / cellphone – though the recess on the right is deeper than the one of the left for some reason.

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The glove box is average sized. Both front and rear door panels have arm-rests with recesses to store wallet/mobile. There is also a reasonably sized trough below the center console with enough space to hold a big wallet of a couple of small cellphones. There is only one power outlet in the entire car though, which in our opinion is an oversight for a people mover.

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The second row of seats is split in 60:40 ratio. Both the second row seat units allow fore and aft adjustment and are adjustable for recline angle as well. This adds tremendous flexibility to the seating layout, allowing for various permutations and combinations between the front and middle seats to facilitate comfortable seating for everyone aboard. Both seats in the second row can be tumbled easily – making for easy ingress and egress for the third row occupants.

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The knee space is sufficient if not liberal, and a reclining seatback makes you find a more comfortable seating position easily. Headroom is more than sufficient and passengers with average height would still have a couple of inches between their scalp and the roof. Shoulder room, though, isn’t sufficient for three fully grown adults to sit abreast. Having its origins in the small Brio and Amaze, the Mobilio isn’t a very wide car, and seating three in the middle row is a bit of a squeeze. As mentioned earlier, the middle row gets its own A/C vents with three outlets and a flow control unit.

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The third row seats are quite well designed and come with adjustable head-rests. These seats are positioned relatively lower on the floor, resulting in knees pointing upwards and not a very comfortable seating position. The knee room is limited – though the fore-aft adjustability of the middle row allows for optimization of available space. The fact that the third row of seats is adjustable for recline angle also adds tremendously in making sitting in the relatively tight space more comfortable.

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The space in the Mobilio’s third row isn’t as much as the Ertiga, though it more than makes up for it by offering a decent sized boot with all three rows of seats up. While the boot space in the Ertiga is next to non-existent, the Mobilio will easily accommodate a large and a medium sized suitcase in its boot with ease, with space left for a couple of haversacks.

In terms of luggage flexibility, the third row backrests on the Mobilio can be foldet flat 50:50 to make space for luggage. The third row seats can be further tumbled forward to release even more space.

Honda Mobilio boot

Honda have attached the spare wheel below the car’s body to release more boot space. You have to turn a bolt in the boot to lower the stepney. The compartment for jack and other tools has been created on the right hand side in the boot area.

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Overall, the Mobilio manages to encapsulate a lot of space within its well designed exterior. Slim front seats meant to liberate maximum leg-space may not be as plush as the ones on more expensive cars like the City, but they are quite functional and offer good comfort. The middle row, though, could have done with a bit more thigh support. While the third row space in the Mobilio may not be segment leading, the availability of much more bootspace as compared to the competition makes it a more versatile product.

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