Tolerating the real world impact of the HR-V’s decibels, however, is downright challenging.
#HONDA HRV CAR SEAT CHECK DRIVER#
I’ll accept the fact that in Car and Driver testing of the quiet CR-V Touring and loud HR-V EX-L, sound levels were basically identical. In the tweeted words of TTAC’s managing editor: (Automaker-supplied measurements don’t always make much sense, particularly when it comes to legroom.) Regardless, as someone who rarely slides the seat back to its most distant location, I couldn’t get far enough away from the HR-V’s pedals. This is a problem in the Fit, and Honda actually lists less front legroom in the HR-V. But in this leather-clad HR-V’s driver’s seat, the side bolstering is too soft to be effective and, far worse, the seat itself does not slide back to create sufficient legroom. My body type, a lanky frame stretching nearly six-feet tall, is not necessarily yours. But the HR-V serves to highlight the reasons a typical buyer’s search for an affordable, practical, flexible, efficient vehicle does not presently end with a subcompact crossover purchase. After all, the nascent subcompact crossover segment is hurrying to make headway.
But it’s worth noting that traditional compact SUVs/CUVs such as Honda’s own CR-V, a perennial best seller, attract many thousands more buyers. Yes, subcompact crossover sales are taking off, essentially doubling month after month. Sure, the HR-V is popular, and sales have decreased during its tenure only because availability is scarce. Yet besides the very concept of the Fit-based HR-V - and the little Honda’s subcompact crossover rivals - and a handful of niggling issues, there are five chief issues, which on their own could be deal breakers for a large number of buyers. There are reviews aplenty for those who wish to read about the HR-V’s positives: we published on GCBC last week Alex Dykes’ thorough video review went live in April. Priced (in the United States) at $26,890, the 2016 Honda HR-V EX-L Navi AWD is incomplete and unfinished. HR-V? Quite successful, but also loud, uncomfortable, slow, overpriced, and frustrating. Second-gen Insight? A lackluster response to the all-conquering Prius. CR-Z? Sadly, it’s boring and not terribly efficient. Yet I am not remotely close to succumbing to the notion that Honda can do no wrong.Ĭrosstour? It’s ghastly and expensive. I believe the Integra GS-R is the ultimate expression of all that was right with the auto industry. I managed to enjoy a week with the new Honda Pilot despite a troupe of electronic gremlins. I consider the Accord to be the best midsize sedan on the market. It’s not our first Honda it likely won’t be our last. (Mercedes-Benz wins.)īut in the real world with real money, our family vehicle is a 2015 Honda Odyssey. Just yesterday, I shuffled out of a Fiat 500X Trekking AWD into a Mercedes-Benz GLC300 4Matic for a true back-to-back nine-speed automatic transmission comparo. Every week, I’m driving something different.