With the HR-V also increases in September Honda into the booming mini SUV segment. The Japanese, who rolls off the assembly line in Mexico, wants to score points against Opel Mokka, Nissan Juke or Renault Captur with striking looks and high variability. Like most of its competitors, the HR-V is only offered with front-wheel drive. There is a choice of two engines, an 96 kW / 130 PS powerful petrol engine and a diesel with 88 kW / 120 PS. The prices start at 19.990 Euro.
At first glance, you don't notice that the 4,29 meter-long HR-V shares the platform with the new jazz and is therefore a small car. It comes up with a slightly beefy front and bulky fenders. The very subtle, martial impression is weakened by the elegant side lines with the slightly sloping roof line. The interior design is convincing: away from easy-care hard plastic structures in the dashboard or in the center console, towards optically and haptically appealing interior was probably the design specification.
The space is plentiful for this vehicle class. The practical back seat with the variable seats known from the platform brother Jazz should provide great cinema in hardware store parking lots: The seats can be folded up like in cinema seats, so that storage space is created from the footwell of the fund to the roof and flower pots and plants can be safely stowed away , The rear seats can also be folded down to a level loading area, so the trunk volume varies between 453 and up to 1.026 liters. And if the packages are a bit longer again: the foldable backrest in the front seat enables items up to 2,45 meters to be transported.
The range of engines is rather clear. Brand new is the 96 kW / 130 PS strong 1,5 liter petrol engine, which will soon also find its way into jazz. The engine is coupled to a six-speed gearbox as standard, as an alternative there is a continuously variable automatic. Those who prefer more pulling power than 155 Nm can use the 88 kW / 120 PS diesel. This is already known from Civic and CR-V. 300 Nm are available here from 2.000 revolutions. Honda specifies the standard value with 5 liters.
The range of assistants is extensive. A city emergency braking system and an automatic parking brake are always on board, and collision warning systems, lane departure warning systems, traffic sign recognition and automatic high beam can be added on request. Honda also offers a speed limiter that uses the information from the traffic sign recognition and warns you acoustically if the set speed is too high for the section of road you have driven.
The HR-V is available in three equipment lines. The basic versions (19.990 Euro for gasoline, 22.290 Euro for diesel) always have air conditioning, 16 inch alloy wheels and an audio system on board. Well equipped with all sorts of comfort and safety features, the mini SUV should reach the 30.000 Euro mark. But this is not uncommon in this vehicle category.
Author: Elfriede Munsch / SP-X
