Honda Vezel

2014 Honda Vezel

Honda, once a car that makes the enthusiast-focused cars now a carmaker that makes cars that disappoint us...sort of. Once, they were cool, but now, they have lost their luster. The Integra is long gone and its name was used for their motorcycle, the Civic is long dead now three years ago, the Type R is dead and never come back in the JDM empire, and we have to wait until the next two years for their new NSX as well as their revival of the Beat kei roadster. Now, they've been focused on making too much eco-boxes but ever since the implementation of Honda's SPORT HYBRID powertrain, Honda tries to turn the tables around in the fast ever-changing world around us.

The Accord Hybrid was proven to be more efficient than the Insight, the latest Honda Fit Hybrid had a double clutch that is more responsive to drive than the CVT gearbox most hybrids had, they're really are a game changer in its own right...well, as a theory.

Question now is...how come Honda came up with their own answer against Nissan's Juke? It all started back at the 2013 NAIAS in Detroit when Honda previews their answer to the Nissan Juke. It was the Urban SUV concept that spirals the critics into questioning about what would it be when this crossover was based on the new generation Honda Fit. Now that there's a new Honda Fit, it only took moments before Honda pulled out the wraps for their production version of the Urban SUV Concept and gave it the name...VEZEL.

What's in the name VEZEL? It's a portmanteau for the words "Vehicle" and "Bezel" and Honda says that this crossover's worth a charm and multi-faceted like a jewel that changes its looks depending on the angle. That's seems a bit dry to me but judging by the looks of it...it doesn't quite as bad as a Nissan Juke but if you managed to turn up in one of these, it won't win you friends.

2014 Honda Vezel

But still, even though it's not quite a head-turner, the Vezel's design does inherited from the concept model. Almost 90% of the looks were retained and from every angle, this city crossover should sure use some eau de pomme here should this crossover is ready to go wandering to the streets of Tokyo.

The Vezel offers two types of powertrain available such as a 1.5L L15B petrol engine which generates 132PS of power and 155Nm of torque while mated with a CVT gearbox and the main feature for this car is this...the same 1.5L petrol engine but this time connected to a 22kW electric motor and a Lithium-ion Battery, the same as what you expect from today's Fit Hybrid, which in my opinion, is the better hybrid car ever offered because of a certain gearbox I find it worth noticing...a 7-speed double clutch gearbox. Yummy.

Even though I find the 7-speed DCT to be quite too shabby, it's still more responsive than the CVT gearbox and because this 7-speed gearbox implemented on a hybrid car as part of the SPORT HYBRID powertrain, I can expect this to be a bit more fuel efficient than the competition...and it does. 27.0kmpl as calculated in Japan's JC08 Mode standards, scaling that up, that's almost 5kmpl more than the Toyota Harrier Hybrid. Quite surprising but not expecting for the most fuel-efficient hybrid SUV in the market.

2014 Honda Vezel

Because this is just a crossover that looks like a hatchback, the Vezel still handles like a hatchback rather than being an SUV. It feels fine on the city streets but when you show it to the corner, the Vezel's not quite in a mood for the handling department and oh, if you push the SPORT button, the dials have gone red and the suspension's gone harder but still you can expect a fair bit of understeer. No matter how hard you're cornering this, it won't cut a mustard. The theory is that when the suspension's getting harder, the more cornering cars would be but for the Vezel, even with the SPORT Mode on, it's just another theory bites the rust. You got to be more careful than that but if you give the Vezel the optional 4WD system, it's a little bit more promising than the FF model. Promising but still comes the understeer so you may want to watch out for that.

2014 Honda Vezel interior

2014 Honda Vezel interior

Well, even though the handling is just one of the complaints for the new Vezel, I still find the interior to be a bit more comfortable. It can seat up to five people, has 393-liters of max cargo if you're interested for space, and for some circumstances, I can have a sat-nav with smartphone integration. What makes me bizarre on the Vezel is the available Electronic Parking Brake which eliminates the handbrake for some reason, making driving tests a bit more confusing, and then the City Brake Active System which uses a radar to detect incoming vehicles at about 30kph or less and in some cases...brakes automatically but not at all. There's even an EMERGENCY STOP SIGNAL, which is now a norm for all Hondas, which triggers hazard lights when drivers behind you are approaching and in the case of sudden braking when the vehicle is moving.

Question is...would you go for this rather than the Nissan Juke? But first, the starting price for the Vezel is 1,870,000 Japanese Yen for the entry level 1.5 G model, a 180,550 Yen more than the entry-level Nissan Juke 1.5RS Type V. However, the normal petrol Vezel has a fuel economy of 20.6kmpl, so it's 2.6kmpl more than the Juke even though both of them come with an engine stop-start system.

Available Colors: White Orchid Pearl, Alabaster Silver Metallic, Tinted Silver Metallic, Rousset Black Metallic, Crystal Black Pearl, Morpho Blue Pearl. Premium Deep Rosso Pearl, and Misty Green Pearl.

Photo: Honda Motor Co. Ltd.