Honda releases local HR-V specs

Honda has announced final Australian specifications for the 2015 HR-V via its local website ahead of the model's release in February, revealing all versions of the compact SUV will be well equipped.

Effectively confirming everything about its all-new baby SUV except price, which will open from under $25,000, Honda has locked in four HR-V model grades.

Each of them will be powered by a 1.8-litre SOHC i-VTEC four-cylinder petrol engine delivering 105kW of power at 6500rpm and 172Nm of torque at 4300rpm – slightly more than the same engine in the Civic.

A continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) will be the only gearbox available from the launch of the front-wheel drive model.

In contrast with Mazda's new CX-3, another high-profile new compact SUV that's due to arrive here about a month after the HR-V, there's no AWD, no manual transmission and no diesel option.

Fuel consumption is the only key detail still unknown about the HR-V, so it remains to be seen whether it matches the CX-3, which is expected to consume less than 5.0L/100km (diesel) and less than 6.5L/100km (petrol), which should make it Mazda's most efficient model and Australia's most frugal compact SUV.

However, Honda has confirmed all versions of the HR-V will come standard with a reversing camera and 7.0-inch colour touch-screen display audio system – neither of which is likely to be standard in all CX-3s.

Standard safety features include twin front, front-side and side curtain airbags, plus stability/traction control, making the HR-V likely to score a full five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Like the Mazda, the HR-V will also be available with a host of advanced driver safety aids, including autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning, blind-spot monitoring lane departure warning and automatic high-beam control.

A blind-spot monitor and automated low-speed braking are standard from the mid-range HR-V VTi-S, which also features automatic LED headlights.

In Honda-speak, Lane Watch employs a side mirror-based camera to monitor objects in the left-side blind spot of the vehicle, while the City-Brake Active System can apply the brakes if it detects a forward collision is imminent at speeds of up to 30km/h.

More intelligent safety devices are only available only with the top-shelf VTi-L model, which can be had with Honda's Advanced Driver Assist System (ADAS) including Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and High-Beam Support System (HSS).

Features fitted across the range include LED tail-lights and Honda's Magic Seats, which in this case are claimed to fold into 18 different combinations. The only mechanical option will be 18-inch alloy wheels.

Pictured here in order, the 2015 HR-V model line-up comprises the entry-level VTi, mid-range VTi-S, flagship VTi-Land the VTi-L + ADAS. Full specs are listed below.