The 2022 Honda HR-V e:HEV L is a great small SUV, but is it priced out of the market?
- Hugely impressive interior presentation
- Beautiful ride quality
- Frugal hybrid powertrain and affordable running costs
- Engine lacks oomph
- No current ANCAP score
- Four-seat cabin and smaller-sized boot
Introduction
The Honda HR-V has long flown under the radar as a surprisingly unique small SUV. But until this latest generation, a long period in between new HR-V products has allowed up-and-coming rival small SUVs such as the MG ZS and Kia Seltos to run away with a large chunk of small SUV segment sales.
With the 2022 Honda HR-V, the Japanese carmaker has made great strides in updating the ageing infotainment system and dated style of its predecessor.
It’s also added a hybrid variant to the model line-up – one of the few options in the segment to do so. But, with all this added equipment, prices are higher than you might expect. The range starts at $36,700 drive-away for the HR-V Vi X. The top-spec HR-V e:HEV L we spent time in costs $45,000 drive-away.
For context, that’s about what you will pay on the road for mid-spec variants of bigger and sometimes more powerful medium-sized SUVs.
Honda national standardised drive-away pricing means there is no haggling or discounting – the price is the price. That may appeal to some buyers chasing a fuss-free purchasing experience.
However, we’re most interested in what the car is like. I saddled up in a top-spec HR-V e:HEV L, with the hybrid-assisted 1.5-litre non-turbo engine, to see whether the experience matches the higher price.
| Key details | 2022 Honda HR-V e:HEV L |
| Price | $45,000 drive-away |
| Colour of test car | Meteoroid Grey metallic |
| Options | None |
| Price as tested | $45,000 drive-away |
| Rivals | Kia Seltos | Toyota Yaris Cross | Hyundai Kona |
Inside
Having spent time in previous Honda HR-Vs, I was expecting a thoughtfully designed and roomy cabin. I was not disappointed – both these experiences have been translated over to the new-generation car, which makes for a nice cabin ambience and pleasing overall lift in presentation.
It’s one of the few small SUVs that focuses strongly on passenger comfort and practical prowess, with ingenious details like the Magic Seats and an ergonomic cabin layout. The metallic doorhandles feel much more upmarket than they should, and the switchgear and dials look and feel premium too.
Some features I came to appreciate in the e:HEV variant – over and above the entry-level specification – include its heated seats, heated steering wheel, auto-dimming rear-vision mirror, power tailgate, and leather-wrapped steering wheel.
It’s great to see the Honda E’s next-generation infotainment design spreading across the wider Honda range as well. I’ll go into more detail about the system in the next section.
Driver space is good, making for a comfortable, cosy place to spend time, and everything is conveniently placed within the driver’s reach. There is not a huge amount of space for the legs of taller drivers, which becomes apparent when you slide in underneath the steering wheel and into the seat. But once ensconced, there are no huge complaints.
Storage in the first row is plentiful, with a sizeable cubby in front of the gearshifter and a secret little slot above that too. It is odd to not find a wireless phone charger in one of those spots in this high-spec model.
The door pockets contain a good amount of room for drink bottles, but the plastic moulding feels of a lower quality compared to the rest of the cabin’s upmarket materials. The plastic of the centre console appears similarly average.
The second row is accommodating for adults partly because of the HRV’s longer wheelbase and also because Honda has only provided two seats in the second row. At first it might seem the lack of middle seating is an omission given this car’s otherwise spacious cabin, but actually, there is a reason, albeit an unusual one.
Given most occasions will only see two passengers at most in the second row of a small SUV, this isn’t a huge slip-up, but buyers will have to gauge for themselves whether it’s a negative.
There is plenty of legroom and headroom for taller people, while the Magic Seats can fold in all manner of ways to accommodate cumbersome items.
That extra available space is welcome because the HR-V’s boot isn’t big for the class – it is rated at 304L with the seats up. This is down on rivals such as the Mitsubishi ASX (393L), Hyundai Kona (374L), and 2023 Nissan Qashqai (418–429L).
| 2022 Honda HR-V e:HEV L | |
| Seats | Four |
| Boot volume | 304L seats up 1274L seats folded |
| Length | 4335mm |
| Width | 1790mm |
| Height | 1590mm |
| Wheelbase | 2610mm |
Infotainment and Connectivity
A new infotainment system made its Australian debut on the current-generation Honda Civic and is employed in this HR-V. It’s a great system dominated by a simple home screen with easily viewed tiles. Shortcuts along the bottom of the 9.0-inch touchscreen allow you to easily skip between the functions.
Wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto are present, or you can make do with the system’s own functionality with things like digital radio and native satellite navigation.
Graphics and displays show in an appealing fashion, while navigation throughout the various menu systems is responsive and intuitive.
Safety and Technology
Standard active safety kit across the range includes items such as adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, front and rear parking sensors, traffic sign recognition, and autonomous emergency braking. This equipment comes as part of the branded Honda Sensing safety suite.
Specific to the e:HEV L model grade are additions such as blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.
The HR-V comes with front, side, and full-length curtain airbags.
No ANCAP safety rating is listed for the Honda HR-V. The comparable Euro NCAP test returned a four-star result; however, official results for the Australian market are yet to be published.
| 2022 Honda HR-V e:HEV L | |
| ANCAP rating | Unrated |
Value for Money
The price tag has headed north for the current-generation Honda HR-V, pushing it as a pricey small SUV option against rivals such as the new Kia Seltos GT-Line Limited Edition ($41,690 drive-away in Sydney), Ford Puma ST-Line ($40,045 drive-away), Hyundai Kona Highlander ($42,267 drive-away), and Skoda Kamiq Signature ($42,990 drive-away).
Drilling down further, the HR-V can’t boast features like the Hyundai Kona’s fully digital 10.25-inch instrument cluster, or the sunroof and Bose sound system of the Kia Seltos GT-Line. The Kia and Hyundai are covered by lengthy eight- and 10-year roadside assistance plans respectively, which the Honda can’t match.
The value-for-money battle isn’t just won and lost in the equipment lists either. The Honda’s power figure (96kW) can’t match the 110kW outputs offered by each of the Kia Seltos GT-Line, Skoda Kamiq, or Hyundai Kona. Its torque figure bolstered by the electric battery fares better, with the 253Nm figure beating out all those rivals.
On the plus side, the Honda claws back some points when it comes to fuel economy. The Honda HR-V’s 4.3L/100km claim is far better than the Skoda Kamiq (5.6L/100km), Kia Seltos (6.8L/100km), and Hyundai Kona (6.2L/100km).
Running costs are kept to a minimum – some of the most affordable on the market, even. Each of the first five services costs a low $125 and must be completed every 12 months or 10,000km.
As well, Honda throws in a five-year warranty (with unlimited kilometres) and a five-year premium roadside assistance plan. We searched for an insurance quote at the NRMA’s website for the HR-V e:HEV L based on a 35-year-old Sydney man with a clean driving record and received a $1952 quote. This compares with a $1292 quote for the Hyundai Kona Highlander FWD, $1237 quote for the Skoda Kamiq Signature, and a $1313 quote for the Kia Seltos GT-Line LE.
| At a glance | 2022 Honda HR-V e:HEV L |
| Warranty | Five years / unlimited km |
| Service intervals | 12 months or 10,000km |
| Servicing costs | $375 (3 years), $625 (5 years) |
Honda has improved the fuel efficiency of the new HR-V over its predecessor. A fuel efficiency of 4.3L/100km compares with 6.7L/100km of the old model. It need only be filled with 91-octane petrol, which should keep running costs low.
Few other hybrids are offered in the small SUV category, though the Toyota C-HR is a comparable hybrid that uses an identical 4.3L/100km of fuel. On actual tests, our time with a hybrid C-HR returned a 5.1L/100km rating, which is higher than what we got with the HR-V e:HEV L (4.7L/100km) this time around.
Fuel Consumption – brought to you by bp
| Fuel Useage | Fuel Stats |
| Fuel cons. (claimed) | 4.3L/100km |
| Fuel cons. (on test) | 4.7L/100km |
| Fuel type | 91-octane unleaded |
| Fuel tank size | 40L |
Driving
Tapping the public’s thirst for hybridised models, our top-spec Honda HR-V is powered by a new 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine that has 96kW and 253Nm. While these numbers are down on the outgoing HR-V, fuel consumption is a much more frugal 4.3L/100km combined (Honda’s claim) compared to before. On test in a mainly urban environment, we managed 4.7L/100km.
In terms of how the HR-V performs on-road, there is a willingness to use that power, but it can feel a bit underpowered in high-demand situations like overtaking. This may not be ideal for rural buyers, but city drivers will rarely notice a lack of power.
The continuously variable transmission paired to the powertrain is responsive to throttle prods and changing speeds, and doesn’t exhibit that typical CVT annoyance of being overly droney or loud.
The driving position is comfortable and provides decent all-round visibility, which helps when manoeuvring the car around suburban streets. The light, direct steering feel is welcome in a small SUV, which makes it an entertaining thing to zip around in, and even impresses when sniffing out a set of twisty roads.
A small array of drive modes are available, such as Econ, which prioritises the hybrid powertrain to run the car in electric mode for a short amount of time, or you can lean more heavily on the petrol engine in Sport mode. If left in Normal, the HR-V does a good job of shifting between power sources without fussing the driver, and you can even get up to cruising speeds using electricity (and a light throttle pressure).
The car remains mostly quiet when running around the city, though there is some road noise on the coarser-chip bitumen typical of country B-roads.
Ride quality is a highlight of the HR-V, with a compliant and soft suspension tune that commendably shields people inside the cabin from large bumps and small undulations. It’s an impressively well-controlled suspension system for a small SUV.
I am not a fan of the Honda’s adaptive cruise-control technology, which brakes fairly aggressively to maintain a minimum distance to the car in front, and struggles at times to latch onto the right car.
| Key details | 2022 Honda HR-V e:HEV L |
| Engine | 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol-hybrid |
| Power | 78kW @ 6400rpm petrol 96kW @ 4000–8000rpm combined |
| Torque | 131Nm @ 3500rpm petrol 253Nm @ 0–3500rpm combined |
| Drive type | Front-wheel drive |
| Transmission | Continuously variable automatic transmission |
| Power to weight ratio | 69kW/t |
| Weight (kerb) | 1382kg |
Conclusion
No doubt, the 2022 Honda HR-V is a well-executed small SUV. It’s spacious for passengers, features clever storage solutions, is powered by a frugal hybrid powertrain, and keeps occupants comfy on all types of journeys. It’s also affordable to run.
But it only seats four people, the boot is smaller than many rivals, and the engine is not particularly powerful – although it is economical.
Then there’s the price, which is our main gripe. At $45,000 drive-away, the patience for accepting negatives wears thin. The HR-V is more expensive than you traditionally pay for a small SUV. The value and equipment you get for that price tag doesn’t equate in our book.
Buyers of the Honda HR-V won’t look back on their purchase and wonder ‘what if?’, but there are myriad options in the contested segment that arguably offer better value for money.
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