Honda HR-V – maintaining the magic

A MIND-BOGGLING amount of choice with fresh contenders consistently entering the fray has made the compact crossover scene one of the most competitive in the new car business.

Reputation and reliability have served Japanese heavyweight Honda well over the years but the brand was quick to acknowledge that its best-selling model in Europe, the HR-V, needed a facelift.

So the tail end of last year saw the popular SUV benefit from some interior and exterior design and colour changes along with a tech upgrade and extra hybrid efficiency.

Whether those changes went far enough depends on personal taste – do you prefer the more edgy profile of models like the Toyota CR-V and Peugeot 3008 or the HR-V’s more conservative, if nicely low-slung, lines.

What the Honda most certainly does have though is decent fuel economy, plenty of standard equipment and a well finished interior.

As is the case with most cars in its class there’s ample leg and headroom up front; it’s in rear where the HR-V holds a trump card courtesy of what Honda calls its magic seats.

Enabled by the space saved through the fuel tank being positioned beneath the front seats, these ‘magic’ rear ones fold flat and also flip up like cinema seats so it’s easy to stash bulky items or shopping bags in the middle of the car.

It’s proper versatility, which is just as well because on the negative side the HR-V’s boot isn’t as big as some of its competitors, measuring 319 litres with the seats in place and 1,289 loaded to the roof with the seats down.

All HR-Vs are now hybrid, so power comes via a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine and two electric motors producing 131bhp for a 0-62mph acceleration of 10.7 seconds.

More importantly the official fuel consumption figure of 52.3 miles per gallon is impressive, aided by the capability of driving short distances purely on electric power. Our own return of 45.1mpg over 200 miles of mixed urban, rural and motorway driving was more than satisfactory given the conditions.

Smooth and quiet from start-up, the Honda will stay in electric mode for most suburban driving – its battery power is topped up as you drive via regenerative braking – but can be quite noisy if you floor the throttle.

It is a well balanced car though, has three separate driving modes of Eco, Normal and Sport and, as its name suggests, offers the driver a raised seating position allied to excellent visibility front and back. Parking is also easy thanks to sensors at each end plus a rear-view camera.

As for tech, all HR-V trim grades come with a seven-inch digital driver’s display behind the steering wheel and a central nine-inch infotainment touchscreen, the latter far less dramatic than the larger screens of some rivals.

That said, both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay audio streaming come as standard on all trim levels and there’s the refreshing presence of proper knobs for the heating.

Prices start at £32,250 (Elegance) and our tested Advance model, second cheapest of the four trim grades at £34,780, brings an impressive amount of kit, adding the likes of a heated leather steering wheel, powered tailgate, dual zone air con and LED cornering lights to the standard fare of 18-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry and start, adaptive cruise control and Honda’s CONNECT infotainment with sat nav.

Another interesting feature is an air diffusion system which directs air along the car’s side windows and roof instead of directly onto the passengers.

It’s on every model, is inspired by nature and creates a gentle “curtain” of air via L-shaped vents in the dashboard corners to maintain a level cabin temperature and provide a calm, airy feeling without draughts.