HONDA's brilliant ability to understand the local Malaysian market has led the HR-V, which was originally launched in early 2015, to the top of the sales chart in the B-segment crossover class.
The model has retained its No. 1 position for three consecutive years, selling more than 72,000 units up to June. The HR-V is also Honda's current second best-selling model, contributing 16 per cent of overall sales as at June 2018.
While it's still a sizzling performer on the sales floor, Honda has decided to refresh it for 2018 just to keep it up to date. Bookings for the new HR-V opened on July 12 at all 95 Honda authorised dealers nationwide.
The 2018 model gets new front and rear bumpers, redesigned headlamps as well as a new grille.
The model update also includes the introduction of a new variant in the family, the RS variant, which is the subject of our test drive this week. RS apparently stands for Road Sailing, not Race Spec, just in case you're wondering.
Whatever the acronym, the new HR-V comes with a bolder and sportier exterior incorporating Honda's "Solid Wing Face" concept and sporting newly designed LED Headlights with LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL), LED fog lights and rear combi LED guide lights.
In addition, the RS gets 18-inch Dual-Tone Alloy Wheels, a different, more sportier front grille, detailing such as a dark chrome outer handle, black chrome license garnish, sport black side sill and even mesh fog garnish. Honda Malaysia has also introduced a new colour for the new HR-V, Passion Red Pearl, which is the first in Honda Malaysia's colour line-up.
Safety features in the RS variant includes Honda LaneWatch, a camera system mounted on the passenger side mirror. The passenger side view of the adjacent lanes next to the vehicle including blind spots will be displayed on a display system in the car. This allows a better viewpoint and provides safer driving condition for the driver.
This is on top of the standard safety features such as Six Airbags, Emergency Stop Signal (ESS), Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) and Hill Start Assist (HSA). Additionally, the New HR-V also offers Multi-Angle Rear-View Camera for the convenience of the driver.
Underneath the hood, the HR-V is powered by a 1.8L SOHC i-VTEC engine combined with Honda's Earth Dreams Technology Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) for a balance of performance and fuel efficiency.
The drive
The HR-V is equipped with a Variable Gear Ratio steering system, which changes the steering gear ratio according to the speed of the vehicle. Basically what that means is the amount of turning angle you get for the turn of the steering wheel is different at low and high speeds.
This is quite brilliant, because anyone who's driven small city cars will understand how their highly geared steering feels out on the big highways. They inherently feel unstable because at high speed, big steering inputs are needed to keep the car on the centre line. By varying steering ratios, the driver gets the best of both worlds. Quick and nimble steering in the city, and stable steering on the highway.
Honda rigged up a test for us on a short airstrip. One of the tests was two slalom courses taken at different speeds. We tested both the RS and the standard HR-V across the two set of cones, and it was apparent that the VGR steering made the HR-V RS feel more stable compared to the standard model on the lane changes. On the slow (20kph) cones, the car was eager to respond to steering response, while on the faster set of cones, it felt more predictable and stable.
It was either that, or the fact that the RS was equipped with 18-inch dual-tone alloy wheels, with 225/50 profile Continental UltraContact UC6 tyres, compared to the 215/55 17-inch rims on the lower specced models.
Either way, there were discernible differences in the way the cars drive, so the improvements on the Road Sailing variant may be more than skin deep. We'll need a longer test drive to verify this, so watch this space for the comprehensive review.