A part of us still wishes that the Honda WR-V joins the local budget crossover market. After all, it’s already being offered in neighboring countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. Besides, who wouldn’t want a high-riding small Honda for under a million pesos?
Even Japan will soon get the WR-V. However, the version it will get is significantly different from the Southeast Asian model. Instead, the Japanese market WR-V will be derived from Honda Cars India’s Elevate.
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Set to be released on December 2023, the subcompact crossover will slot below the Vezel (aka the HR-V). It rides on Honda’s Global Small Car platform, the same as the City, City Hatchback, Fit/Jazz, and HR-V. For reference, the WR-V for Southeast Asia is based on a different chassis, one that uses the BR-V and Amaze (Brio sedan, not sold in ASEAN) platform.
Predictably, the Japan-market WR-V’s main target is the Toyota Raize and Daihatsu Rocky. The subcompact budget crossover market is gaining traction over there, so it could be said that it timed its introduction just right. By the way, this model will not be assembled in its home market. Instead, it will be directly imported from India.
Three trim levels will be on offer for the JDM Honda WR-V. It kicks off with the X, followed by the Z, and topped off by the Z+. No power figures were mentioned at the time of writing, but Honda says all variants will be powered by a 1.5-liter i-VTEC engine. It might come as no surprise if the specs are the same as the City and the non-turbocharged HR-V at 119hp and 145Nm of torque. No hybrids were mentioned.
Other highlights? Of course, Honda Sensing is fitted standard, as well as Honda Connect. Also, the brand aims to keep prices at around the ‘low two million yen’ range that should match up nicely with the small Toyota and Daihatsu crossovers.
