Honda Australia have revolutionised the new car buying experience, for the better. No longer do you need to go from dealership to dealership haggling for the best price. The new Honda Price Promise means you’ll always pay the same drive away price for your new Honda no matter which Honda Centre you visit, anywhere in Australia.
It doesn’t stop there either added to this is the Honda Road Ahead Guarantee that includes a five year/unlimited kilometre warranty, five years Premium Roadside Assist, and five years map updates for the satellite navigation system. Plus, owners have the confidence of five low price services for just $125 each (some conditions apply, see the Honda Australia website for more information). For the all-new Honda HR-V the service schedule is every 12 months or 10,000km, whichever occurs first.
This basically leaves you two simple questions, do I want the petrol-powered HR-V Vi X or Honda’s new clever hybrid powering the HR-V E:HEV L and in what colour? I recently spent a week with the HR-V Vi X in Premium Crystal Red (metallic) to get to know the all-new Honda HR-V a little better.
Starting with the exterior, the all-new HR-V now has a contemporary coupe-SUV body, which I liked, I don’t like the painted front grille though, unless it is in a dark colour. The Vi X has a 1.5 litre, in line 4-cylinder petrol engine that produces a modest 89kW of power and 145Nm of torque. The official combined fuel consumption is 5.8L/100km of 91 RON petrol and for my week I used 7.5L/100km.
In addition to the default normal driving mode there is also Sport mode and ECON mode, but all I felt that Sport mode did was simply hold the revs higher for longer before moving up the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). Overall, I found the HR-V pleasant to drive, however the CVT did dull the overall experience somewhat.
In the cabin I noticed that this HR-V was built to a cost with features like the single zone climate control, vinyl covered steering wheel and manually adjusted front seats, which are cloth covered. But on the flipside, you get the convenience of keyless entry and keyless start and modern technology with a digital driver’s dash and a 9” high-resolution touchscreen. Voice control is available, but only when voice tags have been assigned and you activate voice control by pressing the button on the steering wheel with the masculine looking silhouette on it.
You can connect to the infotainment system with your smartphone via wireless Apple CarPlay or wired Android Auto. At the front of the centre console is one 12V outlet and two USB ports in a hard plastic storage cubby where your phone may slide when you go around corners.
Adults sitting in the rear seats will find that leg room to be adequate, but head room is a bit tight and smaller children may not be able to reach the door handle to get into the HR-V because it is located up high in keeping with the contemporary styling of the all-new HR-V. There are two ISOFIX/two rear tether child seat restraint points and the centre seat can be folded down as an arm rest and has two rigid cup holders in it. There is an additional bottle holder located in the arm rest of the rear doors that would fit a small drink bottle as well.
There are no rear air vents or USB ports for back seat passengers, but there is a slot behind the front passenger seat for your smartphone to be stored. I like that there was mat across the entire rear foot well that would make cleaning easier and that both rear seats can also be flipped up, giving a you a large tall storage space here.
The tailgate on the Vi X is power assisted for opening and closed manually by pulling the tailgate down. The boot size is adequate for a weekly shop or a pram and a small shop or if more space is required the rear seats have a 60:40 split fold mechanism. The boot has four tie down points, one hook, two lights and tyre repair kit under the boot floor.
The current HR-V models do not have an ANCAP safety rating yet, but they do have many passive and active safety features including front, side, and full-length curtain airbags. Both HR-V models come standard with Honda Sensing featuring Forward Collision Warning, Collision Mitigation Braking System, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keep Assist System, Road Departure Mitigation System, Adaptive Cruise Control, and Traffic Sign Recognition System. The Vi X also gets auto lights with High Beam Support System and a standard rear-view camera with front and rear sensors.
Honda Australia’s Price Promise and Road Ahead Guarantee has taken a huge step forward in the way that we purchase a new car in Australia. The drive away price for the HR-V Vi X is $36,700 and $45,000 for the HR-V E:HEV L. Visit the Honda Australia website to build and price your HR-V or your preferred Honda Centre for more information.
| Pros | Cons |
| Drive away pricing and capped price servicing | No ANCAP safety rating |
| Flexible interior space | Single zone air conditioning |
| Hybrid option available | Modest engine power |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.