Honda HR-V 2016 Long-term Review - 4

Name: Honda HR-V 2016 Long-term Review - 4
Brand: Honda

It's not just unrivalled versatility that makes the Honda HR-V easy to praise

Honda HR-V VTi-L ADAS
Long-Term Test (Update 3)

The Honda HR-V is not the cheapest car the compact SUV class, starting at around $24k, and it's certainly not at the bleeding edge of technology in its segment either. But that hasn't stopped Aussie motorists buying the little Honda in droves… and after spending the best part of the summer holidays in this tidy little number, it's not hard to see why.

There's a calm competence to the HR-V that goes beyond standard features and smartphone connectivity. It's been parked in the motoring.com.au long term car park for the past three months and even when there's far more expensive, more desirable vehicles parked alongside, it seems someone in the office always wants the keys to the HR-V.
The reasons for its popularity are many, but for mine a couple of things stand out: The HR-V's versatility and ease of use.

The modular rear seats are best-in-class making the HR-V feel like a compact van at times, and you could almost drive the little Honda with your eyes closed (not advised), thanks to helpful ergonomics and the sensible placement of controls.

Indeed, spending several weeks in the little Honda is yet another demonstration of the compact SUV segment's coming of age.

What was once an oddity, a cruel jape akin to being burdened with something undesirable – like a mate with top-knot or a foo-man-choo mustachio – is now must-have. The compact SUV is fast becoming the required mode of transport for the modern motorist.

These vehicles are more attractive, smarter, more efficient and in the case of the HR-V, more versatile than a Swiss army knife.

There's a goodly amount of incidental storage, including a secret trap door below the generous-sized central cup holders up front (my daughter loves that one). It's a roomy car too, with ample space for a six-foot tall driver up front and enough room for two adults to comfortably sit in the back – three at a squeeze.

The HR-V's boot isn't gigantic, this is a compact SUV after all, but is sufficient for big grocery shops and loading sports equipment, from body boards to hockey gear. But where the HR-V really comes into its own is when you need to stick a surf board or a mountain bike or even the merciless horror of flat-pack furniture in there.

Like the Honda Jazz, the HR-V's rear seats don't just fold down expand boot space, they tumble, hinge, fold and flip like some sort of double-jointed circus freak, providing more height, width and depth to the cargo area. The modular cargo bay is the most versatile and arguably the best in this class, with simple controls that require very little effort or brain power to operate.

This is especially handy if you're in a hurry, for instance parked up in a five-minute loading zone or waiting for a colleague who claimed they were only moving a "small chair". Lazyboy recliners are not small chairs, okay?

On the subject of being parked, the HR-V's compact size and power-assisted steering makes it easy to park in any variety of spot. The reversing camera helps and has three different angles to choose from, even though the resolution is VGA at best (read: grainy).

This top-spec HR-V features an additional camera beyond the usual rear lens, and it's a doozy! Whenever you flick the left indicator on it initiates vision from a blind-spot camera located under the left wing mirror, displayed on the centre screen. It's a great feature and essentially gives you an extra pair of eyes. It's the kind of thing that should be offered on more vehicles, such is its effectiveness.

But there is one minor caveat… the camera overrides anything else you were fiddling via the infotainment system, such as using voice control to dial a number or bring up an astronomy podcast.

Zipping around in the handy Honda is made easy thanks to a spritely 1.8-litre petrol engine (105kW/172Nm) hooked up to a fuss-free CVT, or continuously variable transmission. It pulls away from traffic lights and give-way signs briskly although it needs more of a run up to overtake on the freeway.

Cruising between Melbourne and Kyneton on several occasions to visit family, a two-hour round trip, the HR-V was a great companion. Putting roughly 2500km on the odo during my time with the Honda, I found it relatively frugal too. Upon collecting the keys the trip computer reading was 8.9L/100km and dropped to 7.4L/100km during its time with me.

Little touches like the large, legible buttons on the steering wheel make fiddling with the cruise control and stereo dead easy on longer trips and the only bugbears I had with the car concerned Bluetooth pairing of my iPhone 6.

About half the calls I made simply wouldn’t pipe through the cars microphone. Despite the call connecting, at times recipients often couldn't hear me and would call back asking if I ghost called them. Other times I couldn’t hear them.

This was often when the phone was piping through Bluetooth and also plugged in and charging but even so I could see this becoming a huge annoyance if I owned one.
And what's with satellite navigation requiring an app purchase? As the top-shelf HR-V I would have expected native support.

I copped a lot of flack for my 2015 "disappointment of the year" yarn, which condemned Honda showrooms' lack of exciting product. I stand by my comments of the year that was 2015 but let me temper them somewhat by saying the HR-V was a shining light for the brand and still is.

The compact SUV is a delight to live with – phone connectivity issues aside – and has a level of versatility that few other compact SUVs can touch. It's a solid urban and country runabout that continues to sell strongly for Honda, and for good reason.

2016 Honda HR-V VTi-L ADAS pricing and specifications:
Price: $33,340 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 105kW/172Nm
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 6.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 155g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP)