The all-new Toyota Wigo, along with its Perodua Axia and Daihatsu Ayla siblings, has stolen the subcompact hatchback spotlight over the last few months.

Even amid issues about the integrity of its crash-test results, Toyota's littlest car has generated a lot of buzz about its new styling, stronger engine and improved features.

But rival Honda Cars isn’t just sitting pretty – the company debuted updates to its Brio hatchback on May 5, 2023 in Indonesia, and our colleagues from AutoFun Indonesia were on hand to witness it.

Styling tweaks

The Indonesian market gets two variants – the standard and the RS. 

The former receives new 14-inch alloy wheels, revised front and rear bumpers, redesigned headlights with LED daytime running light, a revamped chrome grill and new gray cloth upholstery.

Meanwhile, the sporty RS model receives full LED headlights and foglights, a dark-chrome front grill, gloss-black retractable side mirrors and dark-chrome 15-inch alloy wheels.

Inside the Brio RS, drivers now face a restyled dashboard with red and gray lining, a new seat design, a push-start button and a sporty gauge cluster with red accents. There’s also a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with steering-wheel controls.

Under the hood, the Brio retains its 1.2-liter, single-cam, 16-valve inline-4 gasoline engine producing 90 PS and 110 Nm of torque. This is mated to a continuously variable transmission in the Indonesian market.

Car for the millennials

PT Honda Prospect Motor product planning and sales and marketing director Ryo Asaoka said the Brio is made primarily for millennials.

He said these include people aged 27 to 42, are keen socializers, have a fairly active lifestyle and have a significant presence on social media.

“The Honda Brio, from the first generation to the present, carries three main DNA: sporty and sophisticated, fun to drive and fuel-efficient,” said Asaoka. “This becomes our basis in every development of Brio.”

Do you think this revamped Brio will have enough to take on the all-new Wigo?

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