The subcompact sport utility segment quickly supplanted the subcompact car segment as the new entry-point for automotive brands. When the Honda HR-V first hit the streets, it was based on their own subcompact entry, the Honda Fit. With that lineage, the original HR-V brought a unique second row magic seat that could flip its bottom seat cushion up to allow for an ultra tall cargo pass through or dump the seats down completely for massive storage space. Such creativity! This type of ingenuity really tends to help a car endear itself to its owner base.
For its second act, Honda has taken a more matured route. Gone is the magic seat and the ultra flexible interior. But in its place is a much more premium ride and handling provision. This new HR-V gives up the Fit bones and jumps on team Civic. Is the loss of some pretty trademark flexibility too much of a tradeoff for the added comfort and stability? We’ll try to find out.
On the outside, the new HR-V eschews some of the bubbly and vertical nature of its predecessor for a design that emphasizes more of its width and gets a larger greenhouse and sculpted features. I like that it doesn’t have a beluga nose bump or unibrow ridge of chrome up front like certain other Hondas, although perhaps it comes off a bit snouty depending on the angle you’re looking at it. Nevertheless, the HR-V is rather handsome and even better, comes shod with some plush 60-series sidewall tires on 17″ wheels. Seriously, kudos for Honda for showing some restraint on the constant upsizing of wheels.
Inside, the design again borrows heavily from the current Honda playbook, so there’s a horizontal strip of seemingly vented slots across the instrument panel, a decent 9″ touch screen infotainment unit plunked down on top of said panel and nice knobs and buttons for the ventilation controls below that. Everything you touch is of nice heft and quality, so the tactile bits around the cabin provide an up level experience.
How is it to drive? Well, the CVT (continuously variable transmission) is definitely a CVT – it spins up the engine and pegs the revs up high until you left off the throttle for a fairly noisy affair. Power around town is perfectly good. With a mere 158 horses and paltry 138 of the torques on tap, acceleration for highway merging or overtaking do leave a bit to be desired. Sure, the VW Taos offers the same horses, but its small turbo motor pumps out 184 stout pound-feet of torque. The Kia Seltos might be the hot rod of the group with an available turbo good for 195 horsepower and torque. So if acceleration is your adrenaline fix, you may need to look elsewhere.
Steering feels nicely weighted and nearly as responsive as the Acura Integra (not sure if that’s good for HR-V or bad for Integra). The ride is taut, but still comfortable and well-damped, working to settle out large road events rather quickly. Even without the power, this is still a joyful drive. This is the biggest benefit of upsizing to the Civic-based platform and one I’m sure many customers will appreciate day in and day out.
What’s the HR-V like to life with? Feature wise the HR-V is a bit of a mixed bag. Our top of the line EX-L gets the previously mentioned 9″ media screen, supported with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto along with a wireless charging pad for your phone. There are leather seats that are heated up front and the driver seat gets power adjustments, but no lumbar adjustments at all! I’d personally gladly give up the auto dimming interior rear view mirror for a lumbar adjustment.
The EX-L also gets full front and rear parking sensors, good for those city dwellers looking to squeeze into those urban spots. There’s also the passive entry and push button start, with a handy walkaway lock function. Would like to see an auto unlock upon approach back to the vehicle as well. While we’re wishing for things, would also like to see rear air conditioning vents and perhaps at least an available power lift gate. The window lock function also blocks out the driver from opening the rear windows, so would like to see logic that allows the driver to lock out rear passenger controls while retaining the ability to operate them for driver themself.
Speaking of the rear quarters, space in the 2nd row is okay. For new parents, it is a little tight for an infant seat behind the front row, but it is still manageable without the front passenger or driver having to scoot forward significantly. Also still good room in the cargo area for everything else that accompanies the little humans.
Practicality, clean styling and solid driving dynamics (if not outright power) help headline the new HR-V. Yes. the fuel economy needs some work and could definitely gain some more power too. One of Honda’s turbo engines and/or hybrid powertrains would do wonders here and also help set up the HR-V to battle the forthcoming Corolla Cross Hybrid. Yet, adding all those items would also increase price, which would land the HR-V further into big brother CR-V territory, where the itself new CR-V is a major force to be reckoned with.
Maybe that’s the HR-V’s true limiting factor, where through May year-to-date, we’re seeing CR-V sales up over 40% vs. last year, while the HR-V is down 33% despite being new as well. Without the quirky tricks and features of the first generation, no standouts in terms of power and/or efficiency or features, the HR-V relies heavily on brand loyalists and its price position. Luckily there are still plenty of those for the Honda brand and not every brand needs every segment to perform similarly. I’m sure Honda wouldn’t mind if would be HR-V shoppers end up going home in CR-Vs.
