There’s a new Honda HR-V for the US – but it’s unrelated to the one sold in Europe, Japan and Australia. However, there’s a chance it could find its way Down Under with a different name.
Honda’s US arm has revealed its 2023 Honda HR-V, its new small SUV offering – but there’s little in common with Australia’s new HR-V.
Whereas the 2022 HR-V now on sale in Australia, Europe and Japan shares its underpinnings with Honda’s overseas Jazz city car, America’s HR-V is twinned under the skin with the new Civic small car – and is a larger vehicle in all directions, with a more advanced chassis.
While the US HR-V is pitched primarily at North America – as the replacement for the eight-year-old HR-V previously sold in Australia – Honda has confirmed it will be sold in Europe (and likely the UK) with a different name and hybrid power, opening it up to right-hand drive and, in turn, Australia.
Drive has contacted Honda Australia for comment, however the company has previously hinted at plans to introduce a third SUV locally, below the CR-V – and with production likely to occur in Japan for Europe (and likely Japan too), the US HR-V could reach local shores, albeit with different badging.
Details are scarce for the time being, however it’s clear America’s HR-V slots between the outgoing global HR-V and the larger CR-V – the latter of which is expected to grow for its next generation, to more closely battle larger (seven-seat) vehicles such as the Skoda Kodiaq, Mitsubishi Outlander and Hyundai Santa Fe.
Highlights of the design include a “low horizontal beltline”, longer wheelbase, longer bonnet, LED headlights and tail-lights, four full-size door handles (rather than the Australian HR-V’s ‘hidden’ rear handles), and alloy wheels.
Dimensions are yet to be confirmed, though Japanese reports suggest it could measure around 4500mm long and 1800mm wide – slotting it between the Australian and European HR-V (4335mm long, 1790mm wide) and current CR-V (4635mm long, 1855mm wide).
No images of the car’s interior have been released, however it could share parts with its Civic small car twin, including a 9.0-inch central touchscreen and 10.2-inch digital instrument display.
It’s also unclear what sits under the bonnet, though Honda USA promises “a more responsive engine” than the outgoing car, which used a 1.8-litre non-turbo four-cylinder petrol engine with 105kW and 172Nm. Independent rear suspension will also feature beneath the new model.
The Civic can be had in the US with a 118kW/187Nm 2.0-litre non-turbo four-cylinder or a 134kW/240Nm 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, both driving the front wheels through available continuously-variable automatic transmissions (CVTs).
The US-focused HR-V will be sold in Europe with hybrid power, likely the Civic’s 135kW/315Nm e:HEV system comprised of a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine and two electric motors.
The 2023 Honda HR-V will go on sale in the US in the northern summer of 2022 (June to August). An Australian launch is yet to be confirmed.
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