2018 Honda HR-V AWD Review

2018 Honda HR-V AWD Review - The HR-V draws deeply on past and also present. In numerous methods, it's a reversion to the very best things 20th-century Honda ever did, such as elegant interiors, wonderful suspension adjusting, and well-considered details. And then it goes all Kendrick-Lamar-pimpin'-butterflies for its powertrain, electronic devices, also its really principle: This Honda is just the most up to date to join the growing rankings of 21st-century micro-utes.


Just what constitutes a crossover is elusive when reduced to twerp dimension. Nissan's Juke is self-consciously eccentric; the Chevrolet Trax is handsomely uncomplicated; Jeep's brand-new Insurgent blends rugged heritage with cute information; exactly what Fiat is finishing with the 500X is, uh, interesting; and also the upcoming Mazda CX-3 looks unpretentiously promising. Yet even if this is an untidy newborn section whose regulations wait for self-control, the infant crossover is plainly the economic climate vehicle of right currently.

2018 Honda HR-V AWD Review

The greatest kid in this room is the exceptionally precious Kia Spirit, which markets concerning 10,000 systems a month in the USA, does not offer 4x4, and is marketed with anthropomorphic hamsters. On the other hand, the HR-V extends style: restrained interior and exterior design that does not court attention yet takes care of to be attractive as well as considerable anyhow.

Honda had not revealed pricing for the HR-V as this was composed, only vowing that it would start under $20,000 as well as peak somewhere in the mid-to-high 20s for a loaded EX-L like our examination automobile. The 2018 Honda HR-V AWD must be on sale at car dealerships as you read this.

Based upon the Fit platform and constructed alongside it at Honda's plant in Celaya, Mexico, the HR-V is standard in a lot of its mechanical details. There are shows off in advance and a torsion beam of light in the back, and also the engine rests transversely under the hood. Like the Fit, the HR-V cleverly puts its energy tank under the driver's seat, where it's bordered by protective steel plating.



The 2018 Honda HR-V AWD is, however, considerably larger than the Fit. At 102.8 inches, the wheelbase is 3.2 inches much longer than its contributor's. As well as at 169.1 inches, it's 9.1 inches lengthier overall. It's also a little bit greater than 6 inches much longer than a Spirit or Juke. Yet the HR-V is still more compared to 10 inches shorter compared to its big brother, the ludicrously prominent CR-V.

Bigger dimensions lead to some added heft. This four-wheel-drive EX-L with natural leather and navigation evaluated 3098 pounds-- 465 pounds more than a Fit with a CVT-- which produces the demand for some added power. So the Fit's pokey engine, a 130-hp 1.5-liter DOHC four, was set aside in favor of pokey-plus. That is, a 141-hp 1.8-liter SOHC 4. While both engines feature 16 valves and Honda's signature i-VTEC variable-valve-timing-and-lift system, only the Fit's usages direct shot. As well as the HR-V's engine looks specifically wan in comparison with the turbocharged 1.6 in the Juke, which is rated at 188 horsepower.

Honda's build high quality appears also before opening up the driver's doorway. The panels all fit securely on this preproduction test automobile, the 17-inch wheels look expensive, and there's no orange peel in the paint. Honda borders the entire bottom edge of the HR-V in black plastic-- throughout the bumper covers, along the rockers, as well as around the wheel arches-- making the car seem it's using above it is. However the declared 6.7 inches of unloaded ground allowance (4.7 inches completely filled) is modest. It's wise to just remain off the trails.

2018 Honda HR-V AWD Review

Exactly what's finest regarding the 2018 Honda HR-V AWD is inside, consisting of elements such as the uncomplicated instrumentation grouped under a single binnacle. Straightforward shapes develop the door panels; as well as the sweet, intense trim around the vents seems downright advanced. The seat cushions are short, yet the leather covering them is soft and well sewed. After Honda's goofball journeys into uncomfortable cabin designs (the Civic's two-tiered dash, for example), the HR-V's restrained design counts as something of a return to form.



Specifically appreciated is the large vent that stumbles upon the dash in front of the right-seat traveler. It's a true praise to state it actually blows. Problematically, though, a lot of the normal control buttons are missing out on in action. In their location is a touch-sensitive five-inch LCD screen and also touch-sensitive black panel for the air flow system. Stylistically, it's sleekly Bauhaus. Almost, it makes trying to change a radio station while using gloves difficult.

Redundant sound and navigation controls-- actual switches-- on the perfectly cushioned steering wheel are the vehicle driver's default controls. Why risk aggravation by dealing with the touch screen?

There's still a genuine button to start the engine, and the 1.8 revives with an un-Honda-like apathy. It's smooth and nearly vibration-free, yet it does not have the eager-to-rev character that makes the very best Honda fours so beloved. Then again, this isn't an old Acura Integra or perhaps an HR-V Si, so it's very easy to move on in the spirit of mercy, with some hope undamaged.

It's when the transmission is engaged that the 2018 Honda HR-V AWD encounter droops precipitously. A six-speed manual is offered on front-drive HR-Vs, yet picking 4x4 means taking the automatic whether you desire it or not. As well as the automated is a CVT.


Constantly variable transmissions make a great deal of feeling. They're mechanically basic and also in some cases a lot more reliable than tailored automatics. The issue is that their operation could result in an awful sound. And that's especially bothersome when they're coupled with low-torque engines that have to rev to provide good velocity.

The HR-V's rated torque of simply 127 pound-feet optimals at a reasonably agitated 4300 rpm. So with the CVT left in "D," the engine scoots right around that torque optimal then sits there droning like the salutatorian giving a junior-high commencement address. It's bothersome sufficient that you 'd rather get back and also restart the eighth grade compared to listen to it.

Most severe of all, the CVT and also the small power outcome conspire to strangle acceleration. On complete drone, the HR-V slumped over to 60 miles per hour in 9.5 seconds and finished the quarter-mile in 17.4 seconds at 82 miles per hour. That has to do with the very same performance as the slow Chevy Trax, however a Spirit featureded with the 164-hp 2.0-liter engine and six-speed automatic escape from it.


In compensation, the EPA rates the four-wheel-drive HR-V at 27 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the freeway. In blended driving, not including efficiency testing, C/D saw a remarkable 35 mpg.

CVTs work most ideal when mated to engines that produce even more torque down reduced and in a broader band throughout their operating range. Compared with the HR-V's tranny, the CVT in the turbocharged Juke, which obtains 177 pound-feet of torque in between 1600 and also 5200 rpm, is an apotheosis of dignified athleticism.

Fortunately, Honda does supply a workaround through optional paddle shifters that hint transmission software application with seven virtual onward gears. With the shifter in "S" as well as using the paddles, it's possible to act that the HR-V does not have a CVT whatsoever. The changes are quick if not company, and the engine even creates a mild induction lilt that can be involving.

Honda does electrical power steering well, and also the HR-V is no exemption. The guiding isn't specifically fast, but it interacts perfectly as well as the 2018 Honda HR-V AWD suspension is tuned even more stiffly compared to several competitors', so there's little physical body coming in edges without compromising much comfort. The 215/55R -17 Michelin Primacy MXV4 all-season tires are quiet as well as lost water like a malamute loses fur, yet they do not have tenacity, publishing just 0.80 g on the skidpad. And yet, just like the Fit, there's some dormant star power in this framework waiting to be released given the right rubber.



Under difficult braking, the HR-V stays remarkably flat for remaining in a course of cars infamous for noses that dive so hard that they get the bends coming back up. Although the 70-to-zero quiting range is small, pedal feel is foreseeable.

Every little thing a 21st-century traveler requirements is represented in the HR-V. There are a number of USB ports, the available navigating system is instinctive, as well as the back seat effortlessly moves away to extend the generous freight room. As well as, as with virtually every current Honda, there's a camera below the right-side mirror for scoping out that rear-quarter website traffic blind spot. When driven gingerly, with tender accelerator application and also great deals of gliding, a light surrounding the speedometer glows eco-friendly in praise of your environmental virtue.


Yet there are 20th-century merits worth celebrating, also. Such as having the courtesy to drive swiftly enough to make sure that traffic doesn't stack up behind you and your glowing-green halo. Such as the actual enjoyment of a mechanical interaction between driver, equipments, and automobile. Honda has actually recaptured a lot of its tried and true virtues with the 2018 Honda HR-V AWD, but there are still some ripe ones around all set to be chosen.

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