2025 Honda HR-V e:HEV X review

12/19/2024 08:00 AM

2025 Honda HR-V e:HEV X

The Honda HR-V has a fascinating history. The name first appeared in Australia on a boxy three-door compact SUV before the idea of a small SUV was fully cemented.

The HR-V took a rest for a few years between 2001 and 2014 before a second generation followed up, this time in a much more firmly established segment. Now the current third-gen model continues the small but practical ethos that runs between all generations, introduced in 2022, but updated for 2025 with some minor tweaks.

The headline act for the latest version is the expanded availability of Honda’s hybrid system. Previously reserved for the top-grade model only, Honda has pledge to offer a wider array of hybrid models, and the HR-V is the model to start the expansion.

This expansion is set to continue to other models too. Right now Honda reserves hybrid technology for flagship grades, but expect models like the ZR-V and CR-V to follow the HR-V’s lead.

In a market with a growing number of hybrid small SUVs, is the Honda the right one for you?

How much is a Honda HR-V?

Pricing for the Honda range in Australia is under a no-negotiation fixed price model. The HR-V starts from $34,900 drive-away for the non-hybrid HR-V X, but the hybrid e:HEV X version shown in this review is $5000 more expensive – priced from $39,900.

Above that you can get the top-spec e:HEV L model from $42,990 drive-away.

The petrol-powered HR-V X kicks off with features like 18-inch alloy wheels, auto-on LED headlights and tail-lights, rear privacy tint, keyless entry with walk-away lock and push-button start, electric park brake, leather-clad steering wheel, a 9.0-inch infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and four-speaker stereo.

The e:HEV X loads up further. Beyond swapping the petrol engine for a hybrid powertrain, the hybrid model also adds heated front seats with fabric and leatherette trim, gloss black exterior cladding, an acoustic windscreen, auto-levelling headlights plus LED fog lights and cornering lights, and a six-speaker stereo.

Safety spec gets a bump too. All models come with autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, speed sign recognition, tyre pressure monitoring and adaptive cruise control.

When you step up to one of the hybrid versions you also get adaptive headlights, intelligent speed limiter, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert.

The HR-V squares off against hybrid small SUV rivals like the Hyundai Kona hybrid, which kicks off from $36,500 plus on-road costs. The design is a touch more forward-looking than Honda’s, but the Kona’s interior is surprisingly premium, even in the base model.

The Nissan Qashqai e-Power does hybrid a little differently, with the electric motor only driving the wheels, and the petrol engine used solely as a generator. The result is a much more EV-like driving experience, but until Nissan introduces the system in models apart from the range-topper, pricing starts from $52,090 before on-road costs.

The Toyota Corolla Cross strikes a neat balance between compact dimensions, practical space and thrifty fuel consumption. The hybrid-only range is priced from $36,480 plus on-road costs, plus the Corolla Cross is available (at extra cost) with all-wheel drive not found on key rivals.

How big is a Honda HR-V?

The Honda HR-V is at the more compact end of the small SUV scale. At 4345mm long it’s 115mm shorter than a Corolla Cross, and 80mm shorter than a Qashqai. The overall difference isn’t massive, but in tight city confines, every millimetre matters.

On the inside you do get a sense that the HR-V is a little smaller than some rivals, but at no point do you feel hemmed in.

The front seat sits surprisingly high for a car that’s not exactly plus-sized, though I found this meant I needed to duck under the top of the door opening to get in and out. While the high hip point is nice, the benefits of having a high seat are lost a little.

The driver faces a carryover dash that is simple and elegant to look at. Low on decorative elements, but actually no worse for it.

With this latest update, Honda has given the centre console a light rework. There’s a little more storage with a two-tier tray arrangement that lets you store your phone (albeit without wireless charging) separately from your keys to save scratches. A pair of cupholders, a lidded armrest, and large front door bottle holders offer a decent variety of storage space.

In e:HEV X spec, the HR-V comes with single-zone climate control, and the dedicated buttons offer clear operation and one of the nicest-feeling clicks on any car this side of a big-dollar prestige car. The same goes for the vents themselves with nice clear controls to direct or diffuse air, and a precise clicky dial to make adjustments with.

Rear seat space is comically large for a car of this size, but like the front seats, the rears have a high cushion and a relatively low roof, so you’ll need to duck quite low to get in and out. The rear doors also come with hidden external handles, which give the car a stylised coupe-like look, but also make it harder for little ones to reach up and let themselves in.

The rear seats also offer Honda’s ‘magic seats’ party trick. You can either fold the backrests down, which lays the seat base flat for an uninterrupted load space, or you can flip the rear-hinged base up, allowing you to load in tall items through the doors.

Passengers get good leg room and lots of toe room under the front seats – if you can reach them. Passengers of average height will still be a long way from the seats in front. There’s a fold-down armrest in the rear, but no air vents to feed ventilation through, though these are a feature of the e:HEV L model.

The glaring difference between the HR-V and its rivals is its four-seat capacity. Where most small SUVs can fit three across the rear bench, the HR-V is only set up for two. Ultimately this isn’t a terrible idea – it’s not a super-wide car so squeezing three in wouldn’t be comfy, but even the option to quickly squeeze in an extra passenger or to centre-mount a child seat has been removed.

The bigger picture on this is that Australia’s specific top-tether child seat mount requirements weren’t able to be met, so Honda Aus’ simply removes the centre seatbelt. You can even still see the plastic housing in the roof that would normally contain it.

The boot is 304 litres with the rear seats up, which isn’t huge for the segment. A Corolla Cross has between 380L and 425L depending on the variant, while a Kona hybrid has 407L. The rear seats fold away to 1274L, and with the fold-flat magic seats, you get a flat floor in a single action with no need to pull up the seat back, and then fold the backrest.

Does the Honda HR-V have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?

The HR-V range uses a 9.0-inch touchscreen display that runs wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto, alongside AM/FM/digital radio, Bluetooth, and inbuilt satellite navigation. As part of the 2025 update, Honda Connect access via a paired smartphone is also available.

The system is basic but in a good way. The high-contrast screen offers big tiles to access key functions and lets you customise the layout to suit your needs. Physical home and back buttons, and a volume dial make it easy to interact with, and the touchscreen is responsive to inputs.

The instrument display is part-digital, with a traditional speedo and a multi-function display that can show speed and speed limit info plus vehicle status like the trip computer, powertrain status, safety systems overview, media info, and more.

The six-speaker stereo won’t blow you away, but it’s a decent sound system with reasonable punch.

The Honda Connect capability is included for five years and gives you access to functions like vehicle location data, remote lock, fuel level checks and more via a smartphone app. In the event of an accident, Honda Connect can also contact emergency services if the driver is unresponsive.

Is the Honda HR-V a safe car?

The HR-V range was tested by ANCAP in 2022, resulting in a four-star safety rating. While adult and pedestrian protection ratings were high enough for a five-star score at 82 per cent and 72 per cent respectively, the individual child occupant and safety assist scores were under the five-star threshold rated at 77 per cent and 69 per cent.

ANCAP defines a five-star score as 80 per cent and higher for adult and child occupant assessment, and 70 per cent or more for pedestrian protection and safety assist systems.

The HR-V is equipped with dual front, front-seat side, and full-length curtain airbags, but does not feature a centre airbag between front seat occupants as seen on some rivals.

What safety technology does the Honda HR-V have?

All HR-V models come with autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, speed sign recognition, tyre pressure monitoring, and adaptive cruise control.

The hybrid versions come with a longer list of inclusions with adaptive headlights, blind-spot monitoring, intelligent speed limiter, and rear cross-traffic alert.

Honda has a good grip on safety system tuning. The HR-V didn’t flag unnecessary warnings and feels quite natural with systems like adaptive cruise control in play. The lane-keep assist system can be a little twitchy and fidgety, but a single press toggles this on and off easily.

How much does the Honda HR-V cost to run?

The regular Honda range is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty and five years’ roadside assist. Honda also offers a program called Honda Extend, which applies to vehicles serviced at Honda service centres. With servicing criteria met, up to three years’ additional warranty and roadside assistance are available.

Honda also applies warranty extensions at the time of sale on some special offer and runout vehicles, so it pays to check the Honda website for applicable offers.

Honda’s capped-price servicing rates among the most affordable in Australia too. Each of the first five service visits is capped at $199 for scheduled maintenance, and service intervals are set at 12 months or 10,000km, whichever comes first. While the distance range is a little short for rural buyers or cross-country travellers, it should suit urban buyers or anyone that travels less (under 200km per week).

The $995 for five years’ servicing on the HR-V compares to $1250 for a Corolla Cross, or a significant $2230 for a Qashqai hybrid and $2535 for a Kona hybrid.

A quote for comprehensive insurance came in at $1814 per year for the HR-V hybrid, using a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

For the same driver, a Corolla Cross GX would cost $1498, a Qashqai e-Power costs $1640, while a Hyundai Kona comes in at $2315.

Is the Honda HR-V fuel-efficient?

Honda’s official fuel consumption for the HR-V hybrid is 4.3 litres per 100 kilometres, decently undercutting the 6.2L/100km of the non-hybrid version. In the real world that sat a little higher at 4.8L/100km. Still decent for the conditions, though we have seen similar in the Corolla Cross (4.9L/100km as tested) and slightly higher in the Nissan Qashqai (5.2L/100km).

The HR-V is configured to run on regular unleaded petrol, with no need for premium fuel. Based on the as-tested fuel consumption we recorded, the HR-V has the potential to cover over 830km on a single tank.

What is the Honda HR-V like to drive?

The hybrid system used by Honda is something of an underappreciated gem. Without the widespread familiarity of Toyota’s hybrid system, Honda enters the hybrid fight with one arm tied behind its back.

The system is an impressive one, though. Smooth, quiet, and refined – the Honda powertrain delivers everything you’d expect of a hybrid system.

The 1.5-litre petrol engine delivers 78kW and 131Nm, while the combined output is 96kW and 253Nm – but Honda Australia doesn’t publish electric motor outputs.

Honda’s system prioritises electric power, and you’ll often do all of your city-speed running around in near silence. The petrol motor chimes in as battery charge gets low, but this isn’t something the driver handles, the car runs its own battery management.

This system does mean that in some situations the engine noise doesn’t always match the driving situation, with the petrol engine working as a generator to charge the battery, and the electric motor drawing on that charge to power the wheels.

The result is smooth, linear EV-like acceleration. At higher speeds, the petrol motor can power the wheels directly. Honda’s use of the term ‘e-CVT’ to describe the transmission doesn’t describe the system terribly well. It’s more like a power management device that swaps between electric and petrol motivation, rather than a traditional variable-ratio continuously variable transmission as found in Honda’s petrol models.

Between the instant power delivery and the HR-V’s smaller dimensions, it feels like a very nimble car.

There’s a handling balance that’s nicely dialled in. Ride comfort is good, and the car doesn’t tend to be impacted by broken road surfaces or corrugations, and able to keep up with variable conditions.

The suspension itself isn’t particularly sophisticated in its design, but Honda has put some effort into control. This is a nice car on a winding road but never too taut, nor too soft. The steering is light at parking speeds, but feels stable at highway speeds, and offers a good fluent feel on the road.

Interior noise is usually quite low, but some tyre noise kicks in on coarse tarmac, and the petrol engine can be heard when you call on peak performance, but in general running it’s very subtle.

Should I buy a Honda HR-V?

The Honda HR-V won’t suit everyone, but for anyone seeking more space and versatility, Honda offers the slightly larger ZR-V.

The HR-V, meanwhile, knows its place. It is compact, versatile and well equipped. It’s not badly priced, but doesn’t enter into the cutthroat bargain-basement market either.

There are enough premium touches inside and accompanying refinement to fill a gap for discerning buyers who might be looking to downsize. The ownership and warranty benefits are big incentives too.

Though it may be easy to overlook, the HR-V hybrid would be worth a second look for anyone with their eye on a compact SUV.

How do I buy a Honda HR-V? The next steps.

With a small but worthwhile boost in equipment, along with the quieter and more efficient hybrid powertrain, the HR-V e:HEV X shapes up as something of a sweet spot in the updated HR-V range.

Stock is starting to hit dealers, so isn’t exactly plentiful right now, but that situation will improve as stock flows in.

With Honda’s remap of its dealer footprint over the last few years locations have changed, but you can search for your nearest Honda dealer here. You can also check out new, used, and demonstrator Honda HR-Vs for sale on Drive Marketplace without even leaving home.

With a fast-paced market and offers flowing through all the time, you can read all the latest Honda news here.

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