9 November 2015
The 2015 HR-V is designed to impress a wide, design-conscious audience - from young singles, pre-family couples, and small families through to relaxed retirees, all of whom value their lifestyle. I’m sure even babies will love it too. Class leading interior space is designed to comfortably contain up to 5 occupants, dimensions said to match those commonly found in larger vehicles. This sensation is amplified in the Sport models with the addition of a super-sized, panoramic sky roof.
Sweet dreams are made of these
The car is fitted with Honda’s 105kW 1.8L i-VTEC engine, an upgrade over the 1st edition 1.6L. This engine is coupled with Honda’s newly developed Earth Dreams Technology CVT which has been created to deliver impressive fuel economy in conjunction with significant improvements to driveability.
The CVT gearbox allows the engine to operate more often within its most efficient range, by continuously varying the gear ratio instead of adjusting the throttle. All this adds up to super reasonable fuel economy figures of 6.6L/100km for the S and 6.9L/100km for the Sport models.
It's got the Magic...
HR-V also adopts Honda’s popular Magic Seat system, which gives numerous rear seat position configurations to allow for passenger and load carrying combinations. You can create a large space behind the front seats, extra cargo height from floor to ceiling, or a super-long “tunnel” for those objects that are just a little bit longer. HR-V also has a handy cargo blind that doubles as a windscreen sunshade, and folds up into a small package when not needed.
The verdict
The Honda HR-V 2015 looks great and drives on the open road with ease, but be wary if you take one off the beaten track as no AWD version is offered. Safety systems are minimal, with only the top spec model receiving city brake assist and LaneWatch camera. There’s no built-in Sat Nav on offer for any of the models – instead it’s only available via a smartphone app.
Entry level begins with the HR-V S fetching $32,900 and ends with the HR-V Sport+ at $43,900.