Honda ZR-V revealed

The 2023 Honda ZR-V has been unveiled in Japan today, showing off a premium Maserati-like front grille design a pair of four-cylinder petrol engines – one turbocharged, the other hybridised.

Honda Australia execs have confirmed the new mid-size SUV will come to Australia next year, as the brand seeks to flesh out its new product offerings and take its SUV to three models.

Competing with vehicles like the Mazda CX-5, Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Tucson, the new Honda ZR-V will slot in below the larger new-generation Honda CR-V (also coming next year) and above the Honda HR-V, providing a five-seat option given the HR-V is now technically a four-seat vehicle.

While the ZR-V name has not been set in stone – despite Honda trademarking it for Australia – Honda Australia has confirmed it will offer both regular and hybrid powertrains.

The Japanese reveal of the SUV shows those engines to be the same 1.5-litre turbo-petrol unit and 2.0-litre hybrid powertrain from the Honda Civic.

The 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine will offer “highly responsive and sporty driving” according to the Honda ZR-V press statement, and should be good for 131kW and 240Nm, while the twin-motor hybrid system is expected to churn out 135kW and 315Nm.

Unlike the front-drive Civic, the Honda ZR-V is set to be exclusively all-wheel drive, using a continuously variable transmission to transfer engine power to the wheels.

The ZR-V is closely related to the US-market HR-V, but as the new official images reveal it sports a different grille design with vertical slats that have a strong Maserati flavour, along with a new-look front fascia and bold exhaust outlets at the rear.

The Honda ZR-V will be sold in markets such as Europe, Japan and Australia, and the cabin of the SUV also shows a slightly different look to its US-market twin, the ZR-V ditching a conventional gear lever for a trio of large buttons.

Otherwise, it looks pretty similar to its Honda siblings, including the Honda Civic, featuring a ‘less is more’ approach by reducing the complexity and number of controls and adopting an uncomplicated horizontal dash design.

Technology highlights include a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display, and the central touch-screen is a 9.0-inch unit.

Full specifications are expected to be announced in the next few months, when production versions of the car begin rolling out across Japan ahead of pre-orders in September.

Honda Australia’s chief operating officer Stephen Collins predicts the new medium SUV will be the second best-selling vehicle for the brand once it’s established in the local market, behind the top-selling CR-V.

Join the conversation at 

our Facebook page

Or email us at 

editor@carsales.com.au