Honda will announce later what the name of the SUV will be for the U.S. -- Vezel doesn't really roll off the tongue -- and also what the power trains will be for this market, according to the report from Japan.
It's an all-new vehicle based on the platform of the Fit, the smallest car that Honda sells in the U.S. Vezel is about 9 inches shorter than the CR-V -- currently the smallest crossover SUV Honda sells in the U.S. -- and about 7 inches longer than the Fit.
While small, Honda asserts that the new model will have "a coupe-like, high-quality personal space for the front seats and minivan-like elbowroom, comfort and functionality for the rear seats" -- an interesting split personality.
Small crossover SUVs are a hot segment now, with Mazda's CX-5 and Subaru's Crosstrek XV continue to be volume sellers for those brands, and Nissan's Juke and Buick's new Encore are getting sales traction.
The Vezel was unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Show in November and for the Japanese market has a 1.5-liter gasoline direct-injection gasoline engine version and a 1.5-liter hybrid model. It has front- and all-wheel drive models.
The report said powertrains for the U.S., including possibly the hybrid, are still to be decided. The current U.S. Fit uses a 1.5-liter engine.
Down the road, the Vezel will get a turbocharged version to improve fuel economy and boost power, Yoshiharu Itai, the crossover's chief engineer, told Auto News. Timing of the turbo debut hasn't been decided, but Itai said he expects to use the new line of small turbo engines Honda introduced last month before the Tokyo Motor Show. He is considering the 1.5-liter turbo, which Honda showed in an Acura ILX sedan.
"We haven't decided yet what model year it will be, but we have that in our plan," Itai said of a turbocharged Vezel at! a recent briefing outside Tokyo. "We are creating a package so that turbocharging could be installed with this model."
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