Anecdotally, women don't like car model nameplates that are just meaningless letters or numbers, writes Brian Byrne. They don’t make sense, they say. They're right, of course. Numbers or non-word letter sets aren’t visually friendly.
A Ford Cortina can be made into a mind-picture more clearly than a Toyota C-HR. Peugeot nomenclatures for 2008, 3008, and 5008 at least have the ‘2’, ‘3’, and ‘5’ indicating relative car size segments, but the remainder of the numbers mean little. Hyundai is recognisable with Tucson, Skoda with Octavia, and Suzuki with Swift.
Honda doesn’t do too badly with its hatchbacks and saloons, like Jazz and Civic. But when it comes to the brand’s SUVs, naming gets messy. So there’s HR-V, ZR-V, and CR-V. No mind pictures there.
Still, the HR-V is a model that has done well for the Japanese maker worldwide since the first generation in 1999 (though they call it Vezel in the home country). A B-segment crossover, it targeted a younger buyer when it arrived in Europe, tall and squared and lithe-looking. I had a sense then, though, that in Ireland it was more adopted by older people, including downsizing retirees who wanted something practical but tidy and tall (at our later ages it’s harder to stoop down to get into a lower car).
Since 2023, we’ve been in the third HR-V iteration in Europe, in a version that started life globally in 2021. It's a little out of sync here in Ireland with last year’s arrival after a several-year gap when the model wasn’t available here. As a brand, Honda has loyal customers, and for some, the hiatus has been frustrating.
After a more curvy second generation, the latest is back to straight lines. But without the corners that were part of the original. It’s softer and undistinctive in overall shape or end detail. Strongly designed cars can quickly date, but this one seems to have gone entirely to another extreme. A mixture of blob and frump, you could say — blump? Funny enough, on first launch, the shape seemed interesting, but I later came to look at it as rather dull. Look, beauty in anything is indeed in the eye of the beholder, and I believe that some Honda buyers will see the HR-V as beguiling, or at least attractive. Anyway, who am I to judge the tastes of others? People close to me sometimes comment on my lack of sartorial savvy.
One thing without a doubt is the quality of Hondas. In finish both inside and out. In quality of materials. In engineering development and execution. All of which are evident in the HR-V. A reputation continues to be a truth.
What matter if the dashboard sports an infotainment screen that seems about a third of the size of even the middle ones currently across the auto industry? Actually, it matters a lot — it's a Honda deliberate and designed to minimise the distraction which so many other carmakers foist on buyers on an ethos that BIGGER IS BETTER! (With apologies for the Trumpist all-caps shouting, just making a point.) What matter if the instruments, switches and knobs, and overall ambience look and feel old-school? They are at old-school premium car levels of quality and usability.
The HR-V is quite roomy, though don’t expect it to carry the full-grown modern family. There’s good cargo space, and Honda’s ‘magic’ back seat system will have its moments when tall and awkward stuff needs to be shifted.
The driving tech is up to date, with the full hybrid petrol powertrain as the only option in the latest HR-V. It’s a 1.5-litre inline four with an Atkinson cycle that makes the most efficient use of the combustion engine tied to an electric motor and gives a healthy combined 130hp. It can seem that the combustion engine revs higher than you might expect, but that’s because of the Atkinson setup, where it’s at its most efficient. The car was indeed frugal.
If you are the person who appreciates Honda for all the things it does best, well, you’ll know if this one fits in with all your other driving requirements. If you’re the style-first guy or girl on the road, you’ll also know.
PRICE: From €41,750. WHAT I LIKED: Uncompromising quality and easy on the wallet to run.
