The North American Honda HR-V gets fleshed out.
The Malaysian market is gearing up for the launch of an all-new Honda HR-V. Many buyers are holding out on buying a Toyota Corolla Cross just to see how Honda Malaysia packages this 2nd generation B-segment crossover. Over in the US though, the HR-V that’s coming is an entirely different beast than what the rest of the world will receive. The North American Honda HR-V is in fact a whole segment larger and based on the 11th generation Honda Civic.
This means makes it a more effective competitor against the Toyota Corolla Cross that was recently launched in the US market. While the Corolla Cross sits on a similar TNGA-C platform as the Corolla sedan, it comes with a torsion beam setup at the rear.
This upcoming US-market Honda HR-V will get fully-independent rear suspension instead, which might make it a lot more refined and confident around the corners.
Besides the chassis and suspension, we also get some hints about equipment. Honda of America says their HR-V will get LED headlights and taillights and hidden windshield wipers. This HR-V also benefits from the same laser-brazing technology that goes into the construction of the 11th generation Honda Civic, which eliminates roof moldings.
We also get a good look at the American HR-V’s exterior design.
US HR-V vs Global HR-V Design Comparison
Front
From head on, the US and global HR-V look like two completely different vehicles from different car manufacturers. The American HR-V grille features an intricate 3D hexagon lattice structure in black while the global car gets horizontal bars in body colour with a single chrome strip at the top. The American HR-V’s headlights are reminiscent of the current Civic’s while the global model looks more like the City with its DRLs sitting on the ‘brow’ of the headlight piece. The hood bulges on the US HRV also appear to be more dramatic, and flow into the grille, which is placed a little lower in the front.
Side
From the side it’s evident that these cars are not the same. In terms of proportions, it looks like the American model has longer overhangs. Towards the rear, the American HR-V also has a more conventional shape versus the global HR-V whose rear glass and rear bumper steeply rake inwards towards the centre. The global model also appears to have a more distinctly sloping roofline and hidden rear door handles versus the conventional look of this new American model. What the American model does have is a little more glass between the C- and D-pillars where the global HR-V makes do with longer windows for the rear passengers. This also appears to translate to longer doors at the rear, which will likely lead to very different ingress and egress characteristics for occupants at the rear of both cars.
Rear
From around back, it becomes very evident that the American HR-V is a curvier car than the global HR-V. The metalwork is a lot more bulbous. They’ve also opted to go for a look that is more reminiscent of the older HR-V and new Civic around back. The single light bar connecting the two taillights seen on the global model is absent here. The US HR-V also appears to have a larger rear spoiler too.
