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. Many of 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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Looks: 2022 Honda HR-V 1.5 CVT

Delayed closure

Posted: July 23, 2022

The numbers
Prices: Comfort @ R469 00, Executive @ R554 500
Engine: 1498 cc, four-cylinder, DOHC i-VTEC, naturally aspirated
Power: 89 kW at 6600 rpm
Torque: 145 Nm at 4300 rpm
0-100 km/h: 12.0 seconds
Top speed: 175 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 7.7 l/100 km
Tank: 40 litres
Turning circle: 11.0 metres
Luggage: See text
Ground clearance: 187 mm
Tyre sizes: Comfort 215/60R17, Executive 225/50R18
Spare: Full size on alloy wheel
Warranty: Five years, 200 000 km with three years’ roadside assistance
Service plan: Four years, 60 000 km at 15 000 km intervals

I’m a typical man, superficial and shallow, so if I were in the market for a Honda HR-V, I would choose the less expensive model purely because, with its contrasting black grille, it looks prettier than the pricier version with body-coloured air-grate.

That’s especially so in the case of Opal White or Meteoroid Grey cars that look ghostly without the contrast. The dark colours, Coffee Cherry Red and Brilliant Sporty Blue, are more acceptable but not sufficiently so to change my chauvinistic mind.

I’ll get to another concern later but let’s move on. HR-V was facelifted recently, given new kit and its two models realigned. That’s the polite way of saying the 1800 cc engine was returned to the parts bin and the 1497 cc motor was swapped for a newer 1498. It boasts a nominal 1-kW increase in power that I’m sure no-one will notice. Torque output remains the same.

Other differences are that it’s now two millimetres shorter on a wheelbase eight mm longer. It’s also 18 mm wider, 53 kg heavier, has larger wheels, turns more tightly, offers 35 mm more rear leg room and stands 15 mm lower. Fuel tank- and spare wheel sizes remain as previously but luggage space has, on paper, shrunk from 393 litres VDA to 304 despite not appearing so. As Asimo, Honda’s cute little robot, might say: “Does. Not. Compute.”

Bonnet, headlights and lower bumper have been reshaped, a straight side crease replaces the previous angled one, the interior has altered radically and the back end was remodelled in almost every respect.

Equipment changes include a new, tablet-style, eight-inch touchscreen with greatly increased connectivity to replace the old, blended-in, 6.8” unit. Both versions, Comfort and Executive, offer automatic air conditioning with selectable diffusion and extension vents in the back; LED head lamps, DRLs and tail lights; reversing camera; rear pdc, and disc brakes front and rear with a full house of braking enhancements.

Major differences include fabric seats, four airbags and fewer safety aids on Comfort. Executive is more upscale with leather, full-length skyroof, electrical driver’s seat adjustment, front fog lamps, six airbags, automatic wipers, high-beam assist, electric tailgate and the Honda Sensing package. This comprises adaptive cruise control, collision mitigation braking, forward collision warning, lane keeping assistance, lane watch camera and road departure mitigation. This warns you if you get too close to the road’s edge or drift out of your lane.

The skyroof lets in lots of light and makes the car feel more spacious but for unknown reasons, possibly economic, only the front half has a built-in shutter blind. The one for the rear section is a clip-on, clip-off device supplied in a separate pouch.

The powered hatch has a feature that some users will like and others might feel is a waste of money; a second closing button, marked with a walking-away figure, delays closure until the key fob is out of detection range.  I concede that it could be convenient to gather all one’s shopping, luggage, and whatnot into one’s hands, rather than placing it on the ground first, but I’d rather that money was spent on a built-in second shutter blind for the skyroof. Perhaps that’s just me.

Back to that second concern: There have been significant advances in CVT development lately but Honda has left its version basically unchanged since I drove a Jazz (Fit) 1.4 in 2011. It still slips and screams, turning what should be quick overtakes into heart-in-mouth experiences. It's time to change it.

Test unit from Honda Motor SA press fleet



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This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is thoroughly researched, 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 or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

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