2026 Honda Elevate

Honda Elevate

Honda’s Elevate lands right in the bullseye of South Africa’s B-to-C-segment crossovers, aiming for those who want something sharper than the tired HR-V but aren’t trying to squeeze a family of five into one package. It’s going toe-to-toe with the Suzuki Fronx, Nissan Magnite, and Kia Stonic—basically, every car jostling for your attention under R350k. Under the bonnet, you get a 1.5-litre petrol engine, no electrification in sight, with the choice of a six-speed manual or a CVT. Only two Comfort trim listings pop up right now, at R289,950 for the manual and R319,800 for the CVT, which hints Honda SA isn’t risking a warehouse full of unsold stock. They’re dipping a toe in, trying to read the room. That R30k jump from manual to CVT is not small change in this league, and it’ll make you think twice about ticking the auto box. There’s only one used Elevate showing up—a 2024 model with 17,621 km—priced almost the same as new, and that’s the point: the market hasn’t decided what the Elevate should be worth yet, so depreciation’s still napping. What might actually swing SA buyers, on paper at least, is the Honda reputation for reliability and a cabin that looks and feels a notch classier than a Magnite or Stonic. But two cars on the market don’t exactly make a trend. It’s early days—let’s see if the Elevate finds its feet.