If there’s one thing Honda has struggled with in New Zealand, it’s a broad range of models to sell. With so many New Zealand buyers wanting an SUV and nothing else, they only had the CR-V; it’s been three years since the HR-V was last sold here.

In the last 6 months, Honda has added two new SUV models to their line-up; the ZR-V launched in May and more recently the reborn HR-V, launched in August. DriveLife went to the launch of the ZR-V and came away quite impressed. Alistair Weekes from DriveLilfe reviewed the ZR-V and was also complimentary of the car. 

So, how about the HR-V? Is it just a smaller version of the ZR-V, and just as good? We spent a week and 500km behind the wheel to find out.

What We Like and Dislike About The 2024 Honda HR-V Sport

What we likeWhat we don’t like
Generally a refined drive
Well-built
Spacious
Design
Not many annoying beeps
Rear seats fold flat
Magic Seats
Hidden start/stop button
Engine can get a little noisy
No 360-degree camera

What’s In The 2024 Honda HR-V Range?

Honda New Zealand has decided that we will see just a single model here, so the Honda HR-V Sport is your only option at this time, priced at $45,800.

It’s powered by a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine, the HR-V is fitted with the same “e:HEV” hybrid system we saw in the ZR-V. The petrol engine alone puts out 78kW of power, with the combined hybrid total at 96kW of power. Combined torque is a very reasonable 253Nm.

The HR-V is fitted with Honda’s E-CVT transmission, and Honda suggests fuel economy should be 4.3L/100km.

2024 Honda HR-V Colour Range

You get to choose from five colour options for your HR-V:

  • Crystal Black Pearl (our test car)
  • Platinum White Pearl
  • Premium Crystal Red Metallic
  • Premium Opal Pearl
  • Urban Gray

There is no extra charge for any change of colour.

For a full list of specs and options available for the 2024 Honda HR-V Sport, head on over to Honda New Zealand’s website.

How Does The 2024 Honda HR-V Sport Compare To Its Competition?

The HR-V finds itself in an extremely populated segment of the market, with plenty of competition from other Japanese brands, not to mention Korean, European and Chinese options.

All models listed below are two-wheel drive.

Make/ ModelEnginePower/
Torque
kW/Nm
SeatsFuel L/100kmTowing
Capacity
Boot
Space,
litres
Price
Hyundai Kona 1.6 Hybrid Active1.6-litre, 4-cylinder petrol-hybrid104/26554.3600/1,300407$52,990
Kia Niro HEV Earth+1.6-litre, 4-cylinder petrol-hybrid104/26554.4600/1,300451$49,990
Honda HR-V Sport1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol- hybrid96/25354.3NA319$45,800
Toyota Yaris Cross Limited1.5-litre, 3-cylinder petrol/hybrid68/12053.8400/400390$45,390
Nissan Juke Ti1.0-litre, 3-cylinder turbo petrol180/20055.8648/1,250422$44,390
Suzuki S-Cross JLX Hybrid1.4-litre, 4-cylinder petrol-mild hybrid95/23555.5600/1,500430$42,990
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross VRX1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol112/25458.1750/1,600405$42,990
Mazda CX-3 SP202.0-litre, 4-cylinder petrol110/19556.3NA264$42,190
OMODA C5 GT1.6-litre, 4-cylinder turbocharged-petrol137/27556.8750/1,100378$37,990
Haval Jolion Lux Hybrid1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol hybrid139/37555.0750/1,300390$35,990
MG ZS Excite1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol84/15057.1500359$24,990

Please note that DriveLife does its best to ensure the information above is correct at the time of publication, however, prices, specifications and models can change over time. Please bear that in mind when comparing models in the comparison table.

First Impressions Of The 2024 Honda HR-V Sport

Those who remember the original 1999 Honda HR-V will definitely recall the design of that model. Putting it nicely, it was ‘unique’, but for me, it looked like a boat on wheels. It seemed it was designed to be amphibious, and was not attractive in my eyes.

Fast-forward to 2024 and the HR-V looks very, very nice. Surprisingly, this car turned heads in the supermarket car park. Some of that may be down to the Crystal Black Pearl paint – I can’t remember the last time we got a black car to test – but there’s a synergy to the design that makes it stand out.

Other than the funky rear door handles, there’s not a uniqueness about the car, but Honda has still managed to make it look distinctive. Part of that is down to the ‘integrated grille’, Honda proving that the grille does not need to be in-your-face and massive, as seen on many other SUVs – particularly the new Chinese designs coming through.

I’m happy to report that compared to so many other current small SUVs, the HR-V is not overly cluttered with design features and sticky-outy bits; it’s simple, clean, and uncluttered.

At the rear of the new HR-V, that full-width light bar looks classy at nighttime, adding a bit of an Audi SUV look to the car. Add in some sexy wheel design, and you have a car that catches your eye.

Honda suggests that by doing things with the design like “subtly integrating” the rear door handles, the car has the “look of a streamlined 3-door coupe”. I think that’s really stretching the imagination, but it’s a handsome car regardless.

What’s The Interior Like In The 2024 Honda HR-V Sport?

On getting into the new HR-V, you are faced with a nice, small and chunky leather steering wheel. It feels great to hold, although the piano black finish on parts of it show up any dust or fingerprints very quickly. That piano black finish is on the console too, and suffers from the same issue – as it does in any car.

On the plus side of things, Honda has sensibly stuck to a good ‘ole gear lever, sitting up proud on the centre console. It falls to hand nicely and is finished in leather, like the steering wheel.

Other surfaces in the HR-V have a nice quality too, and there are plenty of plush or soft materials used in the cabin. As you’d expect in a modern Honda, fit and finish is excellent.

Storage is reasonably well taken care of, with a small cubby in front of the gear lever, and then what seems to be a cellphone shelf above that. Weirdly, that shelf does not have Qi wireless phone charging capability, and there is no wireless charging pad anywhere else in the cabin. You do get a single USB-A and also a USB-C port between the two storage areas, and also a 12-volt socket, perfectly placed for my dashcam.

I’m happy to report that Honda has stuck with dials and knobs for air conditioning, so there is no clicking through screens on the infotainment system to change the AC, and that’s fine with me. It’s much safer to use knobs and dials for that. Speaking of AC, the air vents at either end of the dash have a metal knob to change them from fresh air, to air-conditioned air, to off, and the clicks and tactile feel of these knobs make you want to change it just for the sake of it. They feel so cool to use and make a very satisfying ‘click’ when going between settings. It’s a small thing, but obviously something Honda has paid attention to.

There are a couple of cupholders behind the gear lever, and then a small cubby at the rear of the centre console. Contrary to a very popular design feature at the moment, the HR-V does not have any under-console storage.

While nearly all the interior of the HR-V is black, thankfully there is an ivory headliner that helps give it a little boost, making it feel not quite so claustrophobic.

The front seats are all manual adjustment only, and are a mix of cloth and leather. There is no lumbar adjustment, if that’s something you always use. The HR-V’s rear seats have Honda’s incredible Magic Seat system, something so simple and yet so utterly practical. Basically, if you need to carry something tall in your HR-V, you lift the rear seat bases, and they stay up. That’s pretty much it, but it does mean you get floor to ceiling height and the full width of the HR-V to use. It would be great for something like a new TV, or even things like tall pot plants from the nursery. They are simply magic.

Not only can you lift the rear seats up and out of the way, but they fold completely flat if you need the full length of the car for carrying long things. There are few SUVs in this segment that can make that claim. Rear legroom is very good in this car, above average for its class, there are also two USB-C ports for rear-seat passengers, and AC vents too.

The boot in the new HR-V is 319 litres in size with the rear seats up (a little low for this class), with a couple of small side storage areas and then some extra storage under the floor.

The electric tailgate has an integrated cargo blind and this is so much more practical than a cargo blind that gets taken in and out, and is surely cheaper to produce. They work brilliantly, and I wish every SUV had one. 

What’s The 2024 Honda HR-V Sport Like To Drive?

First impressions of driving the new HR-V are of a smaller ZR-V, and that’s a good thing. The new HR-V is nicely refined, and day-to-day driving is effortless and generally very quiet. In this respect, it’s a great commuter.

Something that adds to that ease of daily driving (and really, any driving), is that there are not many annoying beeps and warnings that appear. Sadly, in other cars this is becoming all too common to the point where I put it out there now that many buyers will move from a model or from a brand entirely, simply because the car is too annoying to drive. Not so the HR-V; I got a couple of impending crash warnings in the same places where it happens in other cars, but overall it’s subdued and just gets on with moving you along the road. Something helping this is the lack of a driver attention monitor; we realise that this will eventually become standard in all cars with a 5-star ANCAP rating, but they need a lot more fine-tuning. That the HR-V does not have this is a point in its favour, although it does only have a 4-star safety rating.

Still on that daily drive, visibility out of the car is almost excellent; there is a huge C pillar that blocks your three-quarter view almost entirely – although the HR-V Sport is fitted with blind-spot monitoring. From the driver’s seat, the view out the back window takes up almost the entire interior mirror, another rarity in today’s cars with tiny rear windows. 

While the daily drive is generally a very refined affair, the engine can get a little noisy under heavy load – with Wellington’s hills, this is a common occurrence. It’s never intrusive, but it makes itself known at times. On the motorway, the engine is almost silent and there’s minimal road noise, while wind noise is well controlled in all but the worst of weather.

The hybrid system in the new HR-V is a leave-it-alone affair; there is no driver input into the entire hybrid system – you just get in and drive, and the HR-V takes care of this for you. It’s not a plug-in hybrid, so instead it’s “self charging”, as most brands love to call it. As you drive, it charges itself down hills, or simply with the engine running.

This means at any time, if you have enough charge in the battery bank, the car will switch between engine running (and driving the car too, or only charging the batteries), or hybrid mode, or EV mode. Even at 100km/h, the car will stick itself in EV mode if the conditions are right.

While you can’t change anything with the hybrid system, you can change your drive mode  from Eco, to Normal, to Sport, although going through the different drive modes doesn’t see a lot of change. Moving from Normal to Eco, the car doesn’t seem to be any different in the slightest. The HR-V will remember if you left it in Eco mode when you restart the car, and I ended up leaving it in Eco mode just about my whole time with the car. There’s still plenty of performance in Eco mode.

Sport mode will see the car perk up some, and while throttle response is a little quicker, I would have been just as happy if the HR-V didn’t let you pick a drive mode at all – and the same could be said for all SUVs in this segment. While the HR-V remembers if you selected Eco mode when you left the car (and then get back in), it doesn’t remember if you selected Sport mode.

You do get steering wheel paddles if you feel the need to change gears yourself, but Honda’s e-CVT transmission does a fine job of selecting the right “gear” at the right time. Like the Nissan Leaf and some other hybrids and EVs, you can pull the gear lever all the way back to use “B” mode; this applies brake regeneration (regen) to the HR-V, meaning you brake less and also will get some extra charge going into the battery bank. It’s easy to move between B mode and Drive, just shift the lever if you find that B mode is applying too much brake regen at any time.

The adaptive cruise control in the HR-V works very well, once you have it working. If you do have the transmission in B mode, adaptive cruise control will not work – a trap for new users, but you do get a message on the dash. When using adaptive cruise, you can turn on LKAS (Lane Keep Assist System), Honda’s name for self-steering. You will need to hold the steering wheel for safety – as you do in any car with this feature – as the HR-V does have a tendency to weave in its lane at times, if you rely on the LKAS system. Generally, the self-steering in the HR-V does well.

The car has a speed limiter too, and weirdly this will work even if you have the car in B mode. The speed limiter will not work when going downhill, but this feature is something I’ve only seen on two cars ever, so Honda is not alone here.

If you haven’t got the adaptive cruise button on at all, it’s three steps to get the speed limiter to work, which seems a bit painful. You need to hit the speed limiter button on the steering wheel, then the adaptive cruise button, and then the Set button. If you already have the adaptive cruise button on, at least that’s one less step.

The centre screen on the HR-V is excellent; the resolution is superb, and flicking between screens is fairly quick. There’s no home page on the screen, instead Honda places all the tiles there that are quick-access buttons to different applications. I’m happy to report that on the right-hand side of the screen there are physical Home and Back buttons, so you aren’t reliant on the touch screen for everything. An even better bonus is the actual knob for audio volume, off/on and track/station select. After using the system in the latest Suzuki Swift that’s all by touch screen or sliders at the base of the screen, Honda’s system is so much better. 

One surprising item missing on the HR-V Sport is a 360-degree camera; at near-on $46,000, I really expected this to be standard equipment. This is one area where the Chinese brands are upping their game.

The dashboard resolution is excellent too, and while it’s not customisable, you do get a large range of options for the dial on the left-hand side of the dash, including power charge, power flow, range and fuel, speed and time, audio, phone, Nav, speed alarm, brake light display, seat belts, and safety support. Most likely 95% of HR-V drivers will pick one screen and leave it there, but it’s nice to have some options.

There are other features that endear the HR-V; it has walk-away locking, all the windows are automatic up/down, there’s Hill Descent Control, and the brake auto-hold function stays on when you get back into the car. The SatNav is easy to use, and gives you directions on the dashboard and the centre screen. When driving, the brake pedal feel is excellent, and the steering weight is good. There’s not too much steering feel to speak of, but compared to many Chinese SUVs, at least the steering has some weight to it.

A couple of other small niggles for me; the start/stop button is hidden behind the steering wheel spoke, and it always felt a little awkward contorting my arm to get to it. The only other thing is the sun visors; while they slide to help block out the sun coming through the door (great!), they don’t slide enough so leave a big gap for the sun to come through (not so great). Honestly, that was it for the negatives on the driving experience and day-to-day use of the 2024 Honda HR-Sport.

Honda suggests the HR-V Sport should return 4.3L/100km of fuel. Over my 500km in the car in mixed driving conditions, it managed 5.3L/100km as a real-world figure. I felt for Wellington’s hilly terrain and the size of the HR-V, this was a more than acceptable result.

2024 Honda HR-V Sport – Specifications

Vehicle Type5-door small-medium SUV
Starting Price$45,800
Price as Tested$45,800
Enginee:HEV 1.5L, Two Motor Hybrid, 4 Cylinder, 16 valve, i-VTEC, Chain Drive DOHC
Power, Torque
kW/Nm
Power: 78 (petrol engine), combined power 96
Torque: 127 (petrol engine), combined 253
Transmissione-CVT Electronic Control Continuously Variable Fixed Gear Transmission
Spare WheelNA (temporary repair kit)
Kerb Weight, Kg1,382
Length x Width x Height
mm
4,345×1,790×1,590
Boot Space / Cargo Capacity,
Litres
(seats up/seats down)
319/1,290
Fuel tank capacity,
litres
40
Fuel Economy,
L/100km
Advertised Spec – Combined – 4.3
Real-World Test – Combined – 5.3
Low Usage: 0-6 / Medium Usage 6-12 / High Usage 12+
Towing Capacity
Kg, unbraked/braked
Not rated
Turning circle
metres
11.8
Small: 6-10m / Medium 10-12m / Large 12m+
WarrantyUp to 5 Year Warranty (3 year Manufacturer + 2 year Distributor), unlimited kilometres, fully transferable.
Conditions apply to Distributor Warranty extension.
Free 24/7 Honda Roadside Assistance up to 5 years (while under Warranty).
e:HEV Battery, 8 Year Warranty, 160,000km
Safety informationANCAP Rating – 4 stars – Link
Rightcar.govt.nz – 4 Stars – QQK98

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REVIEW OVERVIEW
Driver Technology
7
Economy
7
Handling
7
Infotainment
8
Interior
8
Performance
7
Ride
8
Safety
8
Styling
8
Value
7
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Fred Alvrez
How on earth to start this? I've been car/bike/truck crazy since I was a teen. Like John, I had the obligatory Countach poster on the wall. I guess I'm more officially into classic and muscle cars than anything else - I currently have a '65 Sunbeam Tiger that left the factory the same day as I left the hospital as a newborn with my mother. How could I not buy that car? In 2016 my wife and I drove across the USA in a brand-new Dodge Challenger, and then shipped it home. We did this again in 2019 in a 1990 Chev Corvette - you can read about that trip on DriveLife, and again in 2023 buying a C5 Corvette and shipping it home. I'm a driving instructor and an Observer for the Institute of Advanced Motorists - trying to do my bit to make our roads safer.
2024-honda-hr-v-sport-hybrid-car-reviewLike Mazda’s CX range, looks alone could help sell this car. I love what Honda has done with the integrated grille, and the overall design - especially when painted black - it really did it for me. <br><br> So too did the driving experience. Honda cars have always been a decent drive, and the HR-V continues the tradition. I have no doubt that existing Honda owners would slot right into the HR-V and new buyers would love it too.  <br><br> The real problem Honda might have is with the amount of competition in this market segment; it’s so busy, with a huge range of prices. Getting potential buyers in the car when there’s so much choice in this segment is a hard call, but if Honda pulls it off, the 2024 HR-V Sport should do well.

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