Honda HR-V EX-L (2016)

Test Drive Notes Library

Pros
Size. It’s a smallish crossover, that’s easy to maneuver in traffic and easy to park. Inside, it’s got good room up front, very decent room in back for two, and a good amount of cargo room in the back that expands dramatically if you drop the flat-folding rear seats. It’s a versatile car.
Styling. It’s a nice looking vehicle. Both cute and modern.
Easy to drive. Typical of Honda, driving it is effortless. It’ll also probably serve its owners for 150,000 mostly trouble-free miles, if Honda’s past history is a guide. The driving position puts you higher up than in a car, and visibility to the front and front-sides is good.
All wheel drive. Makes it practical for the snow belt and the occasional-snow belt.
Fuel economy. Rated by the EPA at 27 city, 32 highway, and 28 overall, and 28 overall is what we got. That’s quite good for a car with all-wheel drive.
Lane Watch. When you turn on your right directional signal, a camera in the right side view mirror activates, and you see what’s on your right in the center screen.

Cons
It’s no Honda Civic. The redesigned Civic has a high-quality feel, smooth ride, and great handling. The HR-V has none of those. There’s something cheap feeling about the HR-V. And, unlike many other Hondas, there’s nothing fun to drive about it. It reminds us of the old Toyota Matrix. Practical and appliance-like.
While there’s enough room, the seats themselves are only adequate and not terribly comfortable. We wouldn’t want to spent 5 hours in the HR-V.
Sometimes loud CVT transmission. While it delivered adequate power in town, the engine and transmission could get loud, whiny, and a bit slow under hard acceleration, like when entering a highway.
Touch screen. The touch screen is plain old annoying. Especially the capacitive volume control that’s so much harder to use than a volume knob. The software is not terribly intuitive, and the navigation system is cheap, not even telling you the name of the street that it wants you to turn onto. So you hear “turn right,” instead of “turn right on Main Street.” That leaves you with one less way to verify that you’re making the correct turn. Overall, it’s a poor infotainment system, compared to others. You can avoid it by buying the lower trim versions, like the LX, which still has Bluetooth.
Lane Watch is great for the right side. What about the left? And at night? Where’s the blind spot monitor that everyone else has now?
No forward collision warning or emergency pre-collision braking available, which all cars should have.