Honda HR-V Shows its Jazz Roots

HR-V has always been a bit of an odd-bod. It is related to the now-defunct Jazz, and as such, is entry level. The small SUV under 45k segment is crammed with 24 offerings, led by MG ZS with a very considerable margin with models such as the defunct Citroen C4 its struggling sister, Peugeot 2008, Nissan Qashqai and Renault Arkana at the bottom.

Although last year was a record, the V-facts report no longer includes brands such as Polestar and Tesla. This skews both the total number of sales, and the total number of EVs, yet one thing is clear – private buyers are extremely price sensitive and are moving towards eco-friendly models.

The passenger car continues its slide into obscurity at 17.4% of 1,220,607 total registrations. SUVs now make a massive 57% of the market, with medium SUVs leading the way.

The lay of the land: While electric drivetrains are carving a path, most still remain out of the reach of average punters. MG4 recently sold for $30,000 drive-away, the Chinese SUVs offer larger vehicles for the price of legacy brands smaller offerings, and half of Toyota’s sales are how hybrids.

HR-V has 3 models with the top 2 being hybrid and our test car being the entry-level entry level.

The Honda range looks classy if a little understated, whether you like the design language or not.

HR-V is a mammal from a different mama. It takes “less is more” approach, and has a look similar to several Chinese SUVs, including the new Leapmotor C10. It eschews the cutesy pie look of its predecessor for a chunkier, more generic style.

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ABOVE: HR-V

Both drivelines (hybrid to be reviewed again in a few weeks) are powered well under 100kw. Our car had 89kW/145 Nm, even less than the 96kW/253Nm e:Hev.

HR-V interior is sold as being “premium”, but is never very far from Jazz’s entry level roots. The crisp design is a mix of padded softness and hard plastic, but the audio switchgear feels flimsy and its metalised plastic knobs feel very lightweight.

While the cabin is far classier than the cardboard cabin of Toyota’s Yaris/Yaris Cross, it does not feel like an interior of a near 40 grand conveyance. Honda has reduced the price to $32,900 drive-away, well down from the $36,700 plus onroads. That’s around $7,000 of savings, but is it enough to assuage the competition? All the good stuff is in the hybrid models, so, the HR-V is still too expensive. The best seller in the segment is the MG ZS.

The seat fabric has a strange synthetic touch to it, rather like a 70’s rayon suit.

Whereas the cheery little Jazz looks and drives like what a car of that price should, HR-V costs much more than the last of the Jazz models with not significant improvement in the drive experience. Granted, technology costs money, and the HR-V has a lot of safety gear, but it only scored a 4-Star ANCAP rating.

The magic seats are a brilliant way of rearranging an interior to suit whatever the driver is carrying, but seating capacity is limited to 4. There is no seatbelt in the middle rear bench.

The audio system has wireless Apple CarPlay, but the sound is a little thin.

The drive

The modest 1.5L 4-cylinder’s performance suffers from the rubber-band-like gearing system of its CVT automatic.

The steering and brakes have been retuned for the current year, but the ride is a little firm, and clunks over bumps. The torsion beam rear suspension could use touching. Although Honda claims to have reduced noise, the cabin is quite rowdy at speed.

An enthusiastic take-off at the lights has the sweet little engine reaching deep into its inner sanctum for the very last drop of ommph. It screams for mercy, but takes 10 seconds for the 0-100 dash. Our figure of 7.1L/100k was considerably above the 5.8L/100k.

Conclusion:

Although considerably more expensive, the ZR-V is a better drive. More importantly, HR-V has stiff competition with 12 new Chinese brands appearing in the last year. Most are offering a similar experience with more power at a lower price, and a few have pure EV offerings. Legacy brands still have a way to go.

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