Topic: First Drive: 2016 Honda HR-V

[JRM]

People want fuel sippers in this category.

I think its more of a small size and awd availability thing.....

+1

[northsparrow]

Thanks for the stats. conwelpic

[mixmanmash]

People want fuel sippers in this category.

Sometimes a little more power results in lower fuel consumption as it doesn't work as hard to keep up.  My Passat TSI, for example has averaged 7.6 l/100 km over 17,000 kms.  I've achieved as low as 5.6 L/100 kms on sticktly highway trips.

I agree.  It's more of where the torque / power is at a given RPM.

[G.Bombay]

GBombay. PJungnitsch

May I ask why your Matrixes and Vibes need replacing? Have they been abused or been driven over 400,000 km already?

My father is on his second matrix, same as you, its like his work truck. It will last a while longer, he's in no hurry but is thinking ahead. With Toyota not offering a replacement for the Matrix he likes the HRV. He also likes the added height and AWD as he lives in the snow belt. His first Matrix was AWD but was slow as molasses.

[PJungnitsch]

Yep, pretty much exactly the same thinking from me. The Vibetrix are great vehicles, but mine is a 2003 and eventually it will wear out. And after switching back and forth to my gf's CRV I realize just how much better a little extra height and AWD is in the winter around here.

Plus there's all the additional safety stuff nowadays which is not bad quality of life insurance in a daily driver.

[northsparrow]

PJUng.. & GBombay

My Vibe is 10 years old. It gets 'Krowned' every year underneath, waxed on top and I use Amsoil's top synthetic in
the engine and transaxle .

As an added precaution I keep the clutter in my garage to a level where I can actually park
it away from the UV rays, ice storms, dropping leaves and dive-bombing birds.

The pay off for my not very onerous maintenance schedule is a car that still drives and looks like new.

It is not going to wear out for at least another decade.

By that time they should be offering cars that burn carbon dioxide and emit oxygen.

[Solstice2006]

PJUng.. & GBombay

My Vibe is 10 years old. It gets 'Krowned' every year underneath, waxed on top and I use Amsoil's top synthetic in
the engine and transaxle .

As an added precaution I keep the clutter in my garage to a level where I can actually park
it away from the UV rays, ice storms, dropping leaves and dive-bombing birds.

The pay off for my not very onerous maintenance schedule is a car that still drives and looks like new.

It is not going to wear out for at least another decade.

By that time they should be offering cars that burn carbon dioxide and emit oxygen.

Or a collission may occur, then your stuck with a CUV alternative...

[ThePointblank]

My thoughts on the HR-V when I saw it at the Vancouver Auto Show:

1. Seriously Honda, where's the rear view from the inside? Small rear window, coupled to large and tall rear seat head rests = zero visibility. At least you made the back up camera standard...

2. Why did you have to put the rear door handles so high? Think about it from a usability standpoint; if children need to open the doors, they can barely reach the handles. And with this segment of vehicles, you bet many potential buyers would have small kids.

3. On the high end models, the touch screen audio system is a disaster. Honda, don't try to make every controlled by the touch screen; they are often hard to use for very basic things such as volume control and switching radio channels.

Fix those three issues that I saw off the bat, I think they have a good seller.

[quadzilla]

2. Why did you have to put the rear door handles so high? Think about it from a usability standpoint; if children need to open the doors, they can barely reach the handles. And with this segment of vehicles, you bet many potential buyers would have small kids.

Maybe they also got tired of kids swinging open the doors into the car beside them.

[conwelpic]

My thoughts on the HR-V when I saw it at the Vancouver Auto Show:

1. Seriously Honda, where's the rear view from the inside? Small rear window, coupled to large and tall rear seat head rests = zero visibility. At least you made the back up camera standard...

2. Why did you have to put the rear door handles so high? Think about it from a usability standpoint; if children need to open the doors, they can barely reach the handles. And with this segment of vehicles, you bet many potential buyers would have small kids.

3. On the high end models, the touch screen audio system is a disaster. Honda, don't try to make every controlled by the touch screen; they are often hard to use for very basic things such as volume control and switching radio channels.

Fix those three issues that I saw off the bat, I think they have a good seller.

just thinking of your comments with regards to the 2016 CX-3
1. - doesn't appear much different in this regard
2. - regular door handles, so that problem solved
3. - it appears to have more knob controls

[dirtyjeffer]

i too would have liked to see a bit more power, but it seems this will likely be competitive in the segment anyway...aside from that, the interior looks great, and the exterior styling looks good too...it does have a bit of a swoopy look to it, but it isn't over done, so i don't mind it...the prices look decent, and the cargo options (space/versatility) also look promising...i agree, Honda will sell tons of these.

[The Mighty Duck]

The Fit is an awesome little car and imo has consistently been the best-in-class when it comes to sub-compacts. It looks like this HR-V is going to be the same thing in the "sub-compact CUV" market. I can certainly see the appeal - I'm still not much of a CUV guy, but these newest ones have slowly been winning me over.

That said, Honda got some well-deserved criticism for the AWD system in the CR-V being a joke. They're using the same system in the HR-V, hopefully they've resolved the issue...

[dkaz]

Agree with the comments that sales will be strong.

Why can't the Japanese put in a proper panoramic moonroof? Livens up the interior and is lovely for fresh air too.

They did, but only for the EU version. And nicer wheels, dual zone climate control, and nice headlights.

The Canadian version will have dual zone auto climate in the EX up. The LX has single zone auto climate.

Good job on the auto climate, and manual transmission. If were in the market for a subcompact CUV today, without a question I'd pick the HR-V over the CX-3. The lack of manual in the CX-3 puts that completely off my radar in the first place.

[Solstice2006]

Agree with the comments that sales will be strong.

Why can't the Japanese put in a proper panoramic moonroof? Livens up the interior and is lovely for fresh air too.

They did, but only for the EU version. And nicer wheels, dual zone climate control, and nice headlights.

The Canadian version will have dual zone auto climate in the EX up. The LX has single zone auto climate.

Good job on the auto climate, and manual transmission. If were in the market for a subcompact CUV today, without a question I'd pick the HR-V over the CX-3. The lack of manual in the CX-3 puts that completely off my radar in the first place.

Only the base model HRV has it right?  I would give up the manual, to get the interior of the CX-3 over the HRV, and the option to get AWD.  As you can't get AWD with manual. 

[johngenx]

As you can't get AWD with manual.

Unless you get a Subaru

[conwelpic]

Only the base model HRV has it right?  I would give up the manual, to get the interior of the CX-3 over the HRV, and the option to get AWD.  As you can't get AWD with manual.

If your referring to the manual transmission, its available on the LX and EX models in the HR-V but only for FWD.

[dirtyjeffer]

I would give up the manual, to get the interior of the CX-3 over the HRV, and the option to get AWD.  As you can't get AWD with manual.

myself, i much prefer the interior of this to the CX-3.

[Noto]

This will force Subaru to make the Crosstrek that much nicer

...but yes, Kudos to Honda for undercutting the price on comparable trims with the Crosstrek.

As for the platform, I still worry about this:
IIHS suggests that the Fit isn't particularly safe as far as the small overlap is concerned.  Subcompact platforms don't perform as well.

I'll wait and see what IIHS says before making final judgement.

[conwelpic]

just read a Canadian review that says this vehicle will go on sale in Canada on July 10th.

[DF]

This HR-V is a total rip off.  It has a dated chassis and an engine that has been around for more than 10 years since its introduction.  Still with a single cam, no direct injection.