The past decade has been turbulent for Honda. The market’s tectonic shift to crossovers has killed off the Civic and Jazz in several markets, while Honda’s delayed EV push has left it with nothing but joint developments with Dongfeng and GM, with no truly global Honda EVs in sight. But things have begun to turn around. After several missteps, Honda’s hybrids have started gaining traction. The new Civic Hybrid—which we’ve reviewed here—is a fantastic performer, and the CR-V hybrid is experiencing fantastic sales here and abroad, giving Honda its best single-model run in the USA since the turn of the century.
The HR-V is the latest Honda hybrid to hit our shores, and while it may not have the impressive specs of the Civic or CR-V, it has the potential to be one of its best sellers.
Let’s take it for a spin and see how it compares.
Styling
The HR-V facelift is a “blink and you’ll miss it” affair. Granted, it’s hard to miss the sporty new grille—with its pleasing dragon-scale pattern—or the eye-catching Sand Khaki Pearl paint, but the rest of the package sits nearly unchanged. The lower front bumper still features the same fog lights and lower grille. They’ve even kept the cute little heartbeat accent in the grille. You still get a wide and low body, with conservative angular lines that make it look more like a lift-back Civic than a tall-riding crossover. The rear end remains practically unchanged, save for the removal of the exhaust cut-outs, as the hybrid uses the same tucked-away single exhaust as the base model HR-V.
The subtly asymmetrical twin-spoke wheel design is new, though, and it’s hard to argue with how handsome the package looks. That said, I do wish they’d frenched in the new grille a little more. The new front bumper gets pushed out due to the square-ish grille, making the front end look flatter than before.
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Interior
The interior of the HR-V has changed very little, but the changes that have been made are at least utilitarian. Gone is the asymmetrical shifter console design in favor of a wider double-shelf section for better gadget storage. You still get a mostly dark cabin and dashboard, with subdued red accents and stitching. There’s a lot of plastic, but most of the high-contact surfaces are soft-touch and pleasingly well-screwed together. Ergonomics are generally excellent, as you’d expect of a Honda, and all important—and even most minor—controls have physical interfaces. Yes, we know, a push-button handbrake isn’t quite as good as a mechanical handbrake lever, but at least it’s got its own switch rather than sharing a control stalk with twenty other functions. You do get the central touchscreen here, but it’s not central to the operation of the vehicle, and thanks to the plethora of buttons, knobs, and steering wheel controls, you almost never have to use it.
Seating comfort is as good as you’d expect, with decent side support and a nice, low boy-racer driving position—not that you’ll be driving it like one. Space is a mixed bag. There’s lots of elbow room and legroom, and even decent headroom, but the sharply slanted roof makes for some claustrophobia. Those roof hoops off to the side sit right in your line of sight, whether in front or in the back. And it wouldn't be a Honda review without us complaining about the rear center armrest. Which—as you’d expect—flops down onto the seat rather than sitting parallel to it. Come on, Honda, fix it already!
Trunk space is, needless to say, incredible. 431 liters underneath a netlike tonneau cover that clips into brackets on the rear hatch. There’s an extra level of cargo space underneath the floor, but no spare, thanks to the hybrid battery. Instead, you get an inflation and patch kit cleverly hidden in the rear fender. Given the Jazz/City platform underneath the HR-V skin, you can fold the second row seats neatly into the floor, revealing a huge cargo bay that can swallow almost anything you can think of. Even better, the seats fold exactly low enough so that the rear AC vents blow over the cargo floor. Yes, you can sleep in here if you fancy guzzling a few liters of gas while parked.
Engine performance
Yes, you will be using some gasoline to run your AC. The HR-V is a hybrid, not a plug-in. There’s a small battery that absorbs excess power generated by the engine and recovers energy under braking, but the main source of power is the 1.5-liter engine. With a 13.5:1 compression ratio, it produces 104.5hp on regular 91 RON gasoline. That doesn’t sound like much, and it isn’t. But that engine is there mostly to act as a generator to power the 129hp electric motor, which has a nice kick to it. A similar set-up to the Nissan Kicks, but unlike the Kicks, the HR-V’s gasoline engine is clutched to a direct drive transmission and can power the car directly on the highway. This removes the middleman’d hybrid system at higher speeds, theoretically making for better highway efficiency.
While you might expect great things given all the power on tap, Honda has optimized the gasoline and electric motors for different speed ranges, so the overlap in power is minimal. This means a tested 0-100kph time of only 10.5sec, a far cry from the lighter, technically less powerful Kicks, though a leg up on the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid. In terms of acceleration feel, the combined 253Nm of torque makes the HR-V feel punchy. Much like a small diesel, only without the diesel clatter. Fuel economy seems competitive with the other Japanese hybrids. We saw highs of 29-32km/L on highway trips and a weeklong average in the 18-20km/L range. Meaning you can get a good 700km from the 40-liter tank before the warning lights start screaming at you to gas up.
Ride and handling
The HR-V drives a bit like the Civic, but also not. It rides on the firm side, but with good bump isolation and comfort from the 225/50 R18 Yokohama BluEarth XT tires, which are also reasonably quiet. The steering is precise, and body control is pretty good. It feels much more grown-up than the older, pre-turbo era model, and more like a Civic than a Honda City. Not surprising, given the similar weight. But it also feels a size smaller, in some ways, and a little less intimidating to park than the long, low sedan. You do get parking aids in the form of parking sensors and cameras, although, like the Civic, you’re limited to a passenger side blindspot camera and a rear parking camera. Which is great and all, but not an impressive loadout compared to up-and-coming competitors from other brands.
Extra features
That said, Honda Sensing is still a pretty smooth system, and that right-side “lane watch” camera comes in handy when making turns or merging on the highway. Adaptive cruise control, low-speed follow, and lane keeping assist are available across the entire HR-V range, a bold move by Honda there. In terms of infotainment extras, you get a bigger seven-inch touchscreen than the regular HR-V, with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and a more comprehensive eight-speaker set-up that—while not exceptionally powerful—is crisp and clear. Further RS-specific goodies include a power tailgate and Honda Connect, which allows you to remotely connect to your vehicle with your cellphone— with functions including emergency calls, vehicle tracking, and remote start-stop—providing extra convenience and peace of mind.
Verdict
It’s sad that we no longer get the high-performance HR-V Turbo, but given market conditions, it doesn’t make sense not to take advantage of government tax breaks and coding exemptions for hybrids. Beyond that, the new RS HR-V provides a decent boost of performance over the standard car, while providing convenience features that go above and beyond even heavily optioned Chinese competitors. All without incurring the ease-of-use penalty such technology often brings. It’s a new market out there, yes, but Honda is doing its best to stay ahead of the curve.
SPECS: Honda HR-V RS e:HEV 2025
Price: P1,799,000
Engine: 1.5-liter gasoline e:HEV + electric motor
Power: 77hp at 6,000-6,400rpm
Torque: 127Nm at 4,500-5,000rpm
Transmission: Electronically-controlled, continuously variable
Layout: FWD
Seating: 5
Score: 8.5/10
More photos of the 2025 Honda HR-V RS e:HEV:
