SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Holistic: 2019 Honda HR-V 1.8 Elegance

Being adult

Posted: 29 October 2018

The numbers
Price: R419 900
Engine: 1799 cc, SOHC i-VTEC, 16-valve, inline four-cylinder
Power: 105 kW at 6500 rpm
Torque: 172 Nm at 4300 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 10.1 seconds
Maximum speed: 188 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 7.6 l/100 km
Tank: 50 litres
Cargo: 393 – 1002 litres
Ground clearance: 170 mm
Turning circle: 11.4 metres
Spare: Full size alloy, 215/55R17
Maximum towing mass (braked): 800 kg
Warranty: 5 years / 200 000 km, with 3 years’ roadside assistance
Service plan: 4 years / 60 000 km, at 15 000 km intervals

Deep within each of us dwells a secret alter ego (SAE). It’s our personal Mr. or Ms. Hyde, counterpoint to our external, mild-mannered, Bruce Banner or Clark Kent. SAE yearns to be possessed by a Honda Civic Type-R; 228 kilowatts peaking at an absurd (for a turbomotor) 6500 rpm, 400 Newton metres spread over a torque band that stretches from here to forever, zero to 100 km/h in 5.8 seconds and a top speed (throw me into jail and toss the key) of 227 clicks.

Few of us have the wherewithal to indulge our SAEs. We also need to be adult about what can and cannot, be done. That’s where Honda’s HR-V crossover comes in. One’s first thought is that HR-V stands for Honda Recreational Vehicle. No. It officially means Hi-rider Revolutionary Vehicle. Guess the copywriters were under-motivated that day.

That’s why we conjured up some alternatives: Honda Recreational Vehicle can be loaded up with camping gear; the Weber, chairs and frosty box; or the band’s amps, drums and guitars. One could strap a board on top. How about Honda Rescue Vehicle because it can carry a wheelchair easily? What of Household Responsibility Vehicle as it absorbs a domestic lawnmower, sideways with handle folded and grass box on top, into its only moderately impressive-looking 393 litres of cargo space? That’s with the seatbacks up.

Dropping them down reveals a perfectly flat and uninterrupted 1.5 metres-plus of cargo volume for planks, paint and cement from the hardware store. Or just call it Honda Removal Vehicle when it’s called upon to shift your kid’s worldly goods to new digs?

As noted before, HR-V comes in two specification levels. Apart from 1.8-litre Elegance, there’s 1.5 Comfort. This has all the kit you really need, slightly higher ground clearance for steeper driveways and bigger “traffic calming” humps, and a smaller fuel tank. It was given the 1800’s fancier communications system recently so, apart from touchscreen technology, it now boasts an HDMI connector so you can operate your phone’s apps on the larger screen.
Read about that here and there’s this 2016 review as well.

As much as we secretly wanted the “baby” version, to see what it could do, we were allocated a top-spec’ 1800 cc Elegance again. It’s still smooth riding, sufficiently powerful, well made, decently quiet, strongly built, loaded with safety equipment and solid on gravel roads. It does all the HR-V things mentioned above and, thankfully, is still Dad’s Car or Mommy’s Bus. We appreciate that because we’re Family.

What we have noticed after driving this current version of Honda’s CVT a few times, however, is that it’s not intended for those with feet of lead. Responsibility to family, future and environment, not to mention continued integrity of wallet, includes driving carefully. That’s to save fuel. And everything else.

The primary goal of CVT is to provide the performance one needs yet keep the engine operating within its most effective and economical rev range. Put unsubtly, reasonable demands for overtaking power will be met willingly while hooliganism will lead to screams of protest. Engine revs will peak, noise will be made and forward progress will be minimal. That has not changed. Most CVTs are fitted to family cars never intended for foolish driving. Adult behaviour, remember?

Moving on, here are a few long-standing urban legends about CVTs and how Honda’s latest version has dealt with them:
1)    The car won’t creep forward at idle speed on level ground. Incorrect; it will.
2)    The car has insufficient creep action, at idle speed, to remain stationary on a slight incline. Depends; HR-V’s creep action is possibly slightly less than on some conventional automatics but it will stay still within limits. Too much incline will obviously allow the car to roll back, but that is also true with other automatics.
3)    CVT gearboxes do not allow engine braking. In other words, taking your foot off both accelerator and brake while running downhill will eventually allow the car to accelerate out of control. Partly true - we conducted two experiments:
•    The first entailed “feet off” at the top of a long downgrade on a 100-km/h section of freeway. Apart from a single occasion on which speed crept up to 110 km/h, velocity generally remained between 100- and 105 km/h. No traffic cop is likely to ticket you in either case because most cars’ speedometers over-read anyway.
•    The second experiment was conducted within a semi-urban area. We lifted feet at 40 km/h and allowed the car to run. Downhill speed control kicked in at 80 km/h. You could definitely earn a ticket for such irresponsible behaviour in a 60-km/h zone, but your car is not psychic and we aren’t responsible for the actions of other drivers.

As for the SAE, it will have to wait until we win the Lotto - to buy a bigger house with more garaging, runabouts for the heirs as they grow up and then, perhaps, a Type-R - if we’re still young enough to enjoy one. Until then we can only dream. And in the meantime be adult.


Test unit from Honda Motor SA press fleet



What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.