Honda HR-V (2015 – 2021) Review

The Honda Jazz of the same period was used as the base for the Honda HR-V, so it’s a compact SUV. It also means the Honda HR-V inherits much of the Honda Jazz’s cleverness for the cabin, making it far more versatile inside than the likes of the Volkswagen T-Roc, stylish Renault Captur or big-selling Vauxhall Mokka X. However, the Honda HR-V is not the most enjoyable car in its class to drive, especially if you pick one with the CVT-7 automatic gearbox. Read on for our full Honda HR-V review.

Small SUVs tend to fall into two camps. There are those that prioritise being sporty and engaging to drive, such as the Nissan Juke and Mazda CX-3.

And then there are those that focus more on practicality, like the Renault Captur.

Unless you opt for the Sport model, the Honda HR-V is firmly one of the latter. It’s comfortable, feels safe and predictable out on the open road and generally fuss-free.

The ride is smooth and well protected from all but the worst bumps in the road – something that’s particularly reassuring for those with young families. The flipside to this, though, is that it rolls a lot more through corners than many of its rivals.

But if you’re driving an Honda HR-V in a way that causes body roll, you’re missing the point of the car. The steering is light, precise and a breeze to use whether you’re on the open road or manoeuvering into a parking space in town – again both bonus points as a family car.

The engines in the Honda HR-V are a 1.5-litre petrol and a 1.6-litre diesel. Those going for the 130PS petrol option will find it capable of 0-62mph in 10.2 seconds with a six-speed manual gearbox, and 11.4 seconds with the CVT automatic gearbox.

Unfortunately, the 1.5 petrol manual is low-geared and the engine has a boomy, unpleasant note. The 1.5 petrol works better with the CVT-7 that brings higher gearing, calming the car down on the motorway.

But drivers who can’t get on with CVTs really won’t get on with this one. Press the accelerator too hard and it gets frantic. You have to accept that it only works decently when driven gently.

The 120PS 1.6-litre British-built i-DTEC diesel is well suited to the Honda HR-V. It’s quick, responsive and offers good economy, both on paper and through submissions to Real MPG.

It may have less power than the entry-level petrol, but that doesn’t stop it being faster, getting to 62mph in 10 seconds. 

It’s not the quietest engine in the world, but it is eager, with plenty of torque on offer and lots of oomph for safe overtaking. The six-speed gearbox is a cracker, too, with short-throw precise changes, which add a welcome hint of of sportiness.

The Sport model, meanwhile, comes with a turbocharged version of the 1.5-litre petrol engine, combined with either the six-speed manual or CVT automatic gearbox. On paper, the 182PS and 240Nm of torque is appealing, as are further upgrades including the performance suspension and a host of cosmetic tweaks.

It’s a slightly peculiar fit in the Honda HR-V range, however. It feels quick – perhaps slightly sprightlier than its official 7.8 second 0-62mph time – but the tyres are easily overwhelmed by the amount of power on offer.

Accelerate in a bend in second gear and it will spin the front wheels, while enthusiastic cornering creates quite a lot of body lean.

It’s fun, if not the polished experience you’d get from a sporty hatchback with a similar power output. Like the standard 1.5, it’s also weirdly low-geared, meaning you can be in fifth gear in a 30mph limit.

By the time you’re at 70mph in sixth, the engine’s running at around 3000rpm and creating quite a din – not a recipe for a relaxed long-distance cruiser.

The Honda HR-V scored a five-star crash test rating from Euro NCAP when it was new in 2015. It helped that the HR-V came with automatic emergency braking as standard in all models when this was still a relative rarity for any car.

All models also offered front, side and curtain airbags, along with Isofix child seat mounts in the two outer rear seats.

The SE and EX trims also gained Honda’s Advanced Driver Assist System that provided Forward Collision Warning, Traffic Sign Recognition, Speed Limiter, Land Departure Warning and High-Beam Support.

This makes these two trims the ones to aim for with a used HR-V.

If you want to pull an unbraked trailer, the Honda HR-V has a limit between 500 and 650kg depending on the exact model. Swap to a braked trailer and you can tow between 800 and 1400kg based on the model and engine of the car.

Smalls SUVs often suffer from surprisingly cramped interiors, but that’s not the case at all with the Honda HR-V.

It’s based on the Honda Jazz and, as a result, has one of the smartest interiors of any car of this size, with the same space-conscious approach.

Part of that is down to the Honda HR-V being a touch bigger than many of its peers. Although a rival for the Nissan Juke, for example, it is only a shade smaller than the Nissan Qashqai.

That means decent head and legroom all round, especially in the rear.

This abundance of space is dow to how Honda packaged parts of the car that you don’t see. In most models of this size, there’s a hump – the transmission tunnel – that runs down the middle of the vehicle and eats up space.

By moving this and the fuel tank, Honda was able to introduce a flat floor and additional space.

That’s what allows the Honda HR-V to have the ‘magic seats’. As well as splitting and folding flat like you’d expect – to accommodate items of almost 2.5 metres in length – the seat squabs also fold upward, exposing a fully flat floor that’s ideal for carrying taller objects like plants.

With the seats in place, boot space is 453 litres – decent in its own right – rising to 1026 litres when they are folded.

Behind the wheel, the driver gets a clear forward view of the road, but the sloping roofline means that the view out of the rear isn’t as good as you might expect, especially when there are three people in the back.

This is another area where Honda has a strong reputation, and the 2015 Honda HR-V did nothing to detract from this.

Every button, switch, stalk and lever your hands come into contact with feels honed and substantial. They also work with a precision that tells you an engineer really thought about their functionality.

The result of Honda’s careful approach is a car that puts up with family life very well and should last strongly as a used purchase.

Those choosing the SE or EX trims for the Honda HR-V when new were treated to a seven-inch infotainment screen.

It’s not quite as integrated into the dash design as you might want, but it does have a clear, easy-to-read screen. This made up for how slow it could be to react to inputs, which makes it feel very out of date now.

Sat-nav was standard on the EX versions and an option for the SE models, which was dealt with by the SE Navi. The Android-based operating system can run various apps and there’s MirrorLink and Bluetooth for added connectivity.

At the lower end of the price scale in the used market, an eight-year-old Honda HR-V with average mileage will cost from just less than £10,000.

A five-year-old example with 50,000 miles to its name should set you back around £13,000.

A three-year-old version of the Honda HR-V of this generation will be at the £22,000 mark for the lowest mileage examples with the CVT auto gearbox.

Under the more recent and more stringent WLTP fuel economy testing, the Honda HR-V was given a figure of up to 56.5mpg for the 1.6 i-DTEC diesel model.

Our Real MPG data shows owners routinely exceeding this with a median of 58.2mpg, which makes this the engine to aim for if you are at all concerned with running costs.

The 1.5-litre petrol engine has a claimed combined economy of up to 42.8mpg with the manual gearbox, or 41.5mpg with the auto. In both cases, Real MPG figures show drivers regularly beating these figures and recording fuel economy in the mid-40s.

None of the models in the Honda HR-V range is especially heavy on carbon dioxide emissions, with the diesel offering as low as 104g/km.

This has the happy knock-on effect of keeping road tax at low rates for cars registered before 1 April 2017, while those registered from that date pay the flat rate of £180 per annum at the time of writing.

Servicing an Honda HR-V will not be a strain on your bank balance, even at Honda dealers, and insurance shouldn’t worry you either as this model sits in groups 18 to 22, depending on engine and trim level.

The Honda HR-V S version comes equipped with climate control, Honda’s City Brake system, cruise control and dusk-sensing automatic headlamps.

Move up to the Honda HR-V SE and you gain Honda’s Advanced Driver Assist System, which uses radar sensors, plus forward and rear-facing cameras.

Technologies include Forward Collision Warning, Traffic Sign Recognition, Intelligent Speed Limiter, Lane Departure Warning and High-beam Support System. Rain-sensing wipers, front and rear parking sensors and a six-speaker audio upgrade are also included, along with a ‘Smart Touch’ interior with touch panel controls for the upgraded dual-zone climate control.

The Honda HR-V EX has a full leather interior, smart entry and start and a rear view camera, tilt-and-slide opening panoramic glass sunroof and 17-inch alloy wheels.

Lastly, there’s the Honda HR-V Sport with its performance dampers, a high-gloss black chrome trim and black honeycomb grille, a slim front splitter, side skirts, wheelarch mouldings and a unique rear bumper design.

It also has LED headlights, smoked rear tail-lights, and black and dark red part-leather seats.