Test drive: Honda HR-V Executive 1.6 i-DTEC; one for everyone

Daniel Valdivielso @valdi92 30 May 2016 10 min.

Test drive: Honda HR-V Executive 1.6 i-DTEC; one for everyone

This week at Highmotor we have with us one of those cars that could perfectly represent the concept of “jack of all trades”.

We are talking about the Honda HR-V, a small crossover powered in this case by a 1.6 i-DTEC diesel engine and equipped with the top trim level, the Executive.

The Honda HR-V is not new. At the beginning of the century the Japanese manufacturer launched the first generation of the HR-V as a compact with rugged aspirations. It was not a very popular model in the Spanish market due to its odd styling and its petrol-only engines. However, that very primitive HR-V already set the path for the HR-V we know today.

Exterior design

The Honda HR-V currently on sale has been on the market for a little over half a year. It is therefore a model that is still rarely seen, and it draws attention with its unusual shapes. The front features a glossy black trim moulding that runs along both the upper grille and the number plate area. The brand logo is present, in a fairly modest size.

The light units are relatively large, although they blend well with the lines of the rest of the car by properly linking the front end with the front wings. They integrate daytime running lights in the form of an LED strip. In this Executive version the dipped beam is also LED, while the main beam and indicators still rely on halogen bulbs.

On the lower part of the front end, two small elongated mouldings at the extremes house the fog lights, reinforcing the impression of width and sturdiness. In the centre, a new opening with a honeycomb-style grille finishes off a well-proportioned nose.

The HR-V measures 4.29 metres long, 1.77 metres wide and 1.60 metres high

The side view is the classic one of the compact crossovers that are so abundant on our roads today. The roof bars, in a metallic finish, point to a family-oriented use of the car. The glazed area is fairly balanced and forms a sort of wave that ends in a black moulding on the C-pillar, where the handle to open the rear doors is also hidden, in the style of the Alfa Romeo 147 or Seat Leon II.

The bodywork draws a pair of tension lines that rise progressively from the front to the rear, which, together with lower body panels and wheel arches finished in black plastic and 17″ two-tone alloy wheels, help give the HR-V a sturdy and rugged image, very much in line with the segment.

At the rear there is a bumper with integrated black plastic protectors, where we also find the recessed fog lights. The tailgate is large and very easy to open. The number plate is located in the centre. The rear light clusters, which in this version have a slightly different internal design from the rest of the versions, are well integrated and contribute to the design of the rear end, where the bodywork forms a sort of semicircle with its lines.

Interior design

Moving inside, originality takes centre stage. The HR-V does not hide its Japanese origins, for better and for worse. The good news is that you quickly find a good driving position, as well as useful details that are appreciated, such as the dual USB ports or the abundance of storage cubbies. The downside is the inaccessibility of some of the controls, located behind the steering wheel or behind the centre tunnel, or the unnecessary difficulty of some menus both in the on-board computer and in the multimedia system.

The dashboard design is aimed at making the driver the main focus. Everything is slightly oriented towards making the driver more comfortable and more focused than the other occupants of the car. The front of the dashboard houses the instrumentation, very well decorated with colours and easy to read, the Honda Connect multimedia screen and the air vents, whose aesthetic taste is questionable on the passenger side.

The position of the gear lever is a clear positive, as it is really within easy reach thanks to a raised centre console which, on the other hand, leaves a large gap where the USB and HDMI ports are placed, as well as the 12 V sockets. The materials used are modest, as there are no soft plastics except for those used on the front of the dashboard, finished with a sort of stitching that is pleasant to the touch.

However, Honda has resolved this very intelligently, since the surfaces that the occupants – and especially the driver – touch 99% of the time are well finished and very pleasant to the touch. Both the steering wheel and the gear knob are leather-wrapped, the door panels are finished in a sort of padded fabric, and the armrests, both on the doors and the centre, are covered in soft material.

However, there are finishing details that could be improved, such as the weak joint between the roof lining and the windscreen, where with a little tugging you can get a finger in. In addition, the parcel shelf that hides the boot from prying eyes rises very little when we open the tailgate, so when we bend down to load something, we may end up hitting our head on it.

The interior of the HR-V is very Honda. Well-fitted materials and surprising space for the dimensions of the car

The seats are very comfortable, trimmed in leather on the sides and headrests and in fabric on the centre section. The front seats have two-stage heating in this trim level. Speaking of seats, the cabin of this Honda, as the Japanese brand has accustomed us with its latest models, is genuinely spacious, especially considering the exterior dimensions of the car.

The HR-V stands out for its rear seats, where every dimension is more typical of a higher segment, so three occupants can travel without feeling cramped. In addition, the rear seats feature the Honda Magic Seat System, which allows the lower part of the seat base to be folded away so the floor becomes completely flat but separated from the boot, creating a flat surface with a very useful load height. Very handy if we want to carry, for example, a large plant. This feature is made possible because the 50-litre fuel tank is located under the driver’s seat.

The HR-V’s boot offers a capacity of 470 litres, expandable via a false floor and folding down the rear seatbacks to a total of 1,533 litres, figures that put it at the top of its segment. Lighting is limited, as there is only one low-power lamp, located on one side.

Driving dynamics

The Honda engineers have provided two engines for the HR-V range in our country, one petrol and one diesel. Our unit featured the most in-demand and popular engine, the 1.6 i-DTEC diesel, paired with a 6-speed manual gearbox. This powerplant delivers 120 CV at 4,000 rpm and 300 Nm at 2,000 rpm. It is homologated to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in exactly 10 seconds, reaching a top speed of 192 km/h.

In real life, the Honda 1.6 is one of the best diesels in its displacement class, if not the best outright. Very refined, it barely lets you feel its diesel character. It pushes hard from low revs and pulls strongly up to beyond 4,000 rpm, at which point it’s worth changing up. On long journeys it becomes a great motorway cruiser thanks to its pulling power even in 6th gear, which means you rarely need to use the gearbox, something you will end up doing for pleasure given its excellent feel and short throws.

Without any doubt, the 1.6 i-DTEC engine is one of the best diesels in its class

As well as its good drivability, the 1.6 Honda engine stands out above all for its very low consumption. Its homologated figures are 4.4 litres on the urban cycle, 3.9 litres on the extra-urban cycle and 4.1 litres combined. Clearly we will not reach such figures, but on the road, at 100-110 km/h, it is easy to hover around 4.2-4.5 litres on the on-board computer, a figure that does not reach 5 litres on fast roads. In town we will hover around 6 litres without much difficulty, helped by a well-functioning Start&Stop system. Over 1,500 km of testing, the on-board computer showed a final figure of 5.2 litres/100 km.

The HR-V is built in a “Frankenstein” fashion. In practical terms, the platform is almost the same as that used by the Jazz, the engine comes from the Civic and the gearbox comes from the American Accord. Mechanically the HR-V uses a fairly “conventional” suspension layout, with MacPherson struts at the front axle and a trailing arm with torsion bar at the rear. The damping is well tuned, absorbing road irregularities without the bodywork rolling excessively. The braking system – four discs – stops the car properly. The steering feel is typical of current times, not very informative.

Once on the move, it is pleasant to find that, for example, visibility is very good thanks to sufficient glazing, pillars that are not too intrusive, generously sized mirrors, and a driving position slightly higher than that of a conventional saloon.

How much does the unit you see cost?

The unit the brand provided for this test features the highest equipment level, called Executive. The price is 28,500 € without any discount but with taxes included. At first glance this is a somewhat high price for a vehicle positioned halfway between segments B and C, but its equipment is genuinely extensive.

The HR-V includes, for example, LED headlights, light and rain sensors, keyless entry and start system, panoramic sunroof, city emergency braking and lane departure warning, sign recognition with intelligent speed limiter, 17″ alloy wheels, front and rear parking sensors with rear-view camera, dual-zone climate control, mixed leather-fabric upholstery, heated front seats, Garmin navigation or Mirror Link, with metallic paint being the only option at an additional cost of 550 €. Therefore, the unit shown in the pictures has a final price of 29,050 €.