Range-wide Honda Sensing confirmed

Eight months after motoring.com.au broke the story, Honda Australia has officially confirmed it will equip its entire model range with the full Honda Sensing suite of driver assist systems.

At the same time, it has revealed it will conduct an education campaign to alert new car buyers to the safety significance of the systems it will make standard.

Currently, Honda equips about 20 per cent of its range with Honda Sensing, restricting the package mostly to flagships.

But from 2020 it will expand through the entire Honda line-up, likely starting with the next-generation Honda Jazz mini-car.

Honda expects to complete the upgrade process by “around” 2022 at full model changes and other points such as year-model changes.

That timing means the HR-V facelift due later this year misses out on the update, while the 2019 Accord will emulate the current model in having Honda Sensing across the range.

Honda Sensing includes forward collision warning, collision mitigation braking system (autonomous emergency braking to you and me), lane departure warning, lane keep assist, road departure mitigation and adaptive cruise control.

It’s worth noting the current Accord’s Honda Sensing package misses out on Forward Collison Warning and Lane Departure Warning.

Honda Australia is presenting this laudable upgrade as evidence of its commitment to safety. But it’s also reflective of the bind it’s caught in at the Thai manufacturing plant where it sources almost all of its range.

The factory cannot break out elements of Honda Sensing such as AEB and make them standard on lesser models. Nor can the package be offered as an option.

So it was either all-in or continue to cop criticism from automotive safety experts and the media for continuing to leave modern DAS such as AEB off its most popular models.

Whatever the motivations, there is no doubt this is an important initiative that will force other brands to follow suit. AEB, let alone other aspects of Honda sensing, is still not universally available let alone standard across the market. Some luxury brands still don’t offer it on all models.

So, will Honda models rise in price because of this initiative?

“We are working through that,” said Honda Australia director Stephen Collins.

“We need to be price competitive and this is not inexpensive technology to put in a Jazz base model, nor any other model.

“But our commitment is to stay good value for money and go well beyond AEB and provide the full kit.”

Honda has revealed its research shows the DAS systems featured within the package were not well understood by most new car buyers.

According to a survey of 1200 people intending to purchase a new car in the next two years only about 10-12 per cent had collision detection and lane keeping systems “top of mind”.

Education about these driver aids and what they did boosted market appeal significantly, Honda found.

“It’s clear that if you’re talking about the customer … you have to approach this type of safety technology with a customer education message,” Collins said.

“With this knowledge, we plan to stagger rollout of Honda Sensing and at the same time educate customers, ensuring they walk the journey with us and understand how Honda Sensing will complement their driving experience.”