Brent Van Der Schyff climbed out of bed, through the backdoor and onto some of Cape Town’s back rural roads to join Honda and their new HR-V at its local launch in the Western Cape.
The uber sleek coupe-style SUV, now bigger and better than the outgoing HR-V model is a shift in the right direction to battle for market share in the premium SUV of the market, coming up against the likes of the Volkswagen T-Roc, Toyota CH-R, Audi Q3, Mazda CX-30 and Hyundai Kona.
Honda’s new Design era
Hondas of recent years have drifted in terms of the sharpness they had in the 90s so it’s refreshing to see a change around in design philosophy, offering a differentiated design package when compared to other Eastern manufacturers. The lines are all in the place and compliment the larger shape of the modern-day medium-sized SUV. It might not necessarily be everyone’s cup of tea, but I see this as a positive step in the right direction. The colour matching front grill took a bit of getting used to. In fact, I’m still thinking about if I do like so let’s put a pin in it and focus on the things I did not doubt. Joining the trend with the stylish C-Pillar design that Audi has got right, Honda is following in its path which is a good thing. Overall, summarising my feelings on the entire design philosophy shift Honda has brought, I feel that it’s not quite bland but it’s not exactly ground-breaking or edgy but that’s exactly what would appeal to the wider market. So, I guess it’s mission accomplished, Honda.
What’s it like on the inside?
Honda has made a solid effort in carrying that premium feel into the cabin. The seating position for driver and passenger is comfortable with wide visibility of the road and surroundings. Honda has ditched the touchscreen for climate control and instead of going for perfectly weighted dials, easy on the touch and it just feels good. Perhaps I’m just old school like that and a more modern touchscreen could have been used but that in turn would have driven the overall price up.
The 8-inch infotainment system is a focal point of the interior incorporating not only your typical entertainment features like apple car play and android auto but also a multi-angle rearview camera that displays your blind spot while overtaking. You can activate this neat feature any other time with a press of the button on the indicator stalk.
The cabin has plenty of space for everyone both in the front and rear and the executive model which we were in, featured a panoramic roof that creates a further feeling of space. Two USB points and wireless charging are upfront as well as two USB points at the rear. Utilitarian efforts are further enhanced thanks to the ability to fold flat or flip up the seats, depending on how much space is needed and for those shoppers/DIY warriors on the weekend there’s the hands-free power tailgate and a walk away close function that detects when the key is moving away from the car that then closes the tailgate. Neat!
What’s the HR-V like to drive?
The new HR-V is powered by a 1.5-litre DOHC 4-cylinder i-VTEC petrol engine that delivers 89kW and 145Nm mated to a newer CVT automatic gearbox. On the road we feel that torque figures may be under pressure, especially under load with extra passengers and luggage. While testing out some key safety features like lane keep assist, I’m impressed at how well it works when compared to some systems in the past which would’ve felt intrusive, Honda has got this balance correct with their Honda Sensing safety system that is more inclusive of the surroundings than in the outgoing model. Under braking, the HR-V feels balanced and in control, thanks to 293mm ventilated discs up front and 282 mm solid discs at the rear.
Honda’s claimed figures of 6litres/100km remains slightly hopeful as we found replicating what would be the average scenario of some town driving mixed with some open roads where we could stretch the legs a bit and managed an average of 7.1litres/100km which is not bad at all. I suspect that where your typical HR-V will mainly live being in the suburbs you could improve on those figures.
While our route never encountered any gravel roads, I feel that the HR-V could offer quite the experience there too making use of the hill descent control to maintain control over slippery surfaces. All throughout the drive I could sense that this is the type of car you’d feel comfortable in regardless of the road conditions and in South Africa, that’s an important attribute
In Summary
The new Honda HR-V is a formidable package and deserves to be on the options list when compared against its competitors. It ticks so many boxes in safety and utility space and is difficult not to like. As for that CVT box, the jury is still out but that doesn’t detract away from it being a great car.
Likes
- Sportier Rear Section design
- Level of comfort
- Competitive pricing
- An abundance of safety features like Adaptive cruise control, Lane keeping assist System, road departure mitigation and Auto-high beam (Adjusts the beam on/off depending on oncoming traffic)
Dislikes
- Although slightly improved from previous models CVT gearbox could be better
- Lack of USB C ports
Pricing and Models
Honda HR-V Comfort CVT R469 000
Honda HR-V Executive CVT R554 500
The Honda HR-V is sold with a 5-year/200 000km warranty and a 4-year/60 000km service plan. Also included on all models is 3-year AA Roadside assistance for additional peace of mind.
