The Honda BR-V is an important model for the brand, making up the bulk of their sales in 2024. Yet it sits far behind the class leaders in terms of sales, whether or not you count all small seven-seaters or just ‘crossover’ seven-seaters.
Still, the Honda name remains a strong one, and the BR-V is one of the most modern and refined seven-seaters in its class. Can this upper midlevel variant make a case for itself against stiff competition? Let’s find out.
Styling
The BR-V’s styling is refreshingly conventional in a segment full of wannabe space shuttles. Granted, the Toyota Veloz cuts a similar profile, but the Honda’s clean, radiused lines are easier on the eyes than the origami-folded plastic panels on the Toyota. The front end is neat and clean, resembling the outgoing Honda Civic, while the greenhouse apes the CR-V. Well-proportioned flanks tie everything together nicely.
Despite presenting as a crossover, the profile is more akin to a sporty wagon. Which makes us rather sad that we no longer get a low-slung Mobilio version of this platform. The rear end feels almost Germanic compared to the rest of the platform, like something out of Volkswagen, but we’re not complaining.
As this is a ‘crossover,’ big black plastic cladding surrounds the wheel wells, and big split-spoke 17-inch wheels dress up a package that doesn’t really need much further dressing up.
Interior
The interior is quite familiar to anyone who has driven a Honda in the last 10 years. Big, simple shapes and modular hexagonal forms are rendered in pleblon texture and matte metallic plastic. To be perfectly fair, the plastic does feel more substantial than most of the thin stuff you find in vehicles in this class. In terms of material wealth, you get stitched leatherette on the doors and seats. The seat surfacing is rather slick and stiff, though, making it somewhat easy to slide off if you’re wearing the wrong kind of pants. The cabin is, as expected, quite spacious, with good head and leg room in the front two rows, though the third row is a penalty box for one, but can fit two if you slide the second row forward enough for second-row occupants to scrape their knees against the front seats.
Cargo space is big with that third row folded, though there’s no way to tumble the entire thing forward or fold it into the floor as in other small sevens, so there’s a small slide-in shelf to raise the floor to meet them, giving you a false floor underneath to hide bags or valuables in.
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Engine performance
The venerable 1.5-liter four-cylinder L15 gasoline engine is a willing performer, smooth and high-revving. Or rather, it is when it’s installed in a Honda City. Here, it has a lot more weight to lug around, and it shows. In normal driving, you hardly ever notice the sewing-machine-like hum, but pull out to overtake at highway speed, and it’s buzzing like a bandsaw as the CVT slurs its way up to speed. Stay mindful of the extra weight, though, and performance is acceptably brisk in traffic.
The CVT may not have the instant response of Hyundai’s IVT, but it’s quite willing and pleasingly responsive. Fuel economy in mixed driving hovers around 11-13km/L. Neither terrible nor exceptional. It wouldn’t be such an issue if the fuel tank weren’t so small—46 liters is just way too small for a car like this.
Ride and handling
There are few surprises driving the updated BR-V. It drives well, as you would expect a Honda to. The suspension is on the stiff side, but not annoyingly so, and the steering is direct and linear.
Meaty 215/55 R17 Bridgestone Turanza T005A tires soak up bumps well and provide relatively little rolling resistance. The upright and square body makes driving through traffic and parking relatively easy, but for those who need a little assistance, you still get a reversing camera, anyway. Don’t expect much more than that, as this isn’t a top-of-the-line VX.
Extra features
Compared to the VX, you don’t get Honda Sensing, so no lane-departure or road-departure mitigation, adaptive cruise control, or collision prevention. But you get just about everything else. It has the same interior and exterior kit. Same seven-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Same six-speaker system that’s serviceable, if not overly impressive. Granted, you don’t get much in the way of other amenities, but this is a utilitarian seven-seater, and what you get is about par for the sharper end of the class.
Verdict
At P1,295,000 million, the Honda BR-V is cheaper than the Mitsubishi Xpander Cross or the Hyundai Stargazer X, but priced similarly to a top-spec Veloz or Stargazer. It’s important to take note of this because while other brands have split their sevens between MPV and crossover variants, the BR-V has to cover the price segments once reserved for the now-defunct Mobilio. Which means it needs to make a case for itself against ‘MPVs’ that are a bit lower down to the ground and offer full safety suites.
That said, if you do need the extra curb clearance, the BR-V is a cost-effective package with superior refinement and performance to most of its competitors, and if you can live without the electronic hand-holding, it’s a solid choice in a crowded market.
SPECS: 2025 Honda BR-V V CVT
Price: P1,295,000
Engine: 1.5-liter gasoline I4
Power: 119hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 145Nm @ 4,300rpm
Transmission: continuously variable transmission
Layout: FWD
Seating: 7
Score: 8/10
More photos of the 2025 Honda BR-V V CVT:
