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Thanks: Honda Ayışığı Plaza Things we like Well-presented cabin with up-to-date tech across the range Planted chassis and comfortable ride Seamless hybrid operation Agency model easier to swallow when the price is right Not so much Rather small boot High-set floor in second row Blind-spot monitoring reserved for top grade Hybrid’s inconsistent steering feel Twenty-six years ago, the original Honda CR-V defined the compact crossover in Australia. Now known as The Medium SUV, Honda’s strength in this segment has waned in the last 12-18 months, with Toyota’s RAV4, Mazda’s CX-5 and Nissan’s fantastic new X-Trail having entered the picture. As the CR-V has swollen in size for its sixth generation, Honda decided to employ the middleweight ZR-V – or HR-V in America – for Australia’s most popular market segment. Smaller than a RAV4 or CX-5, the ZR-V is still bigger than the Karoq and Corolla Cross. Available with two rows of seating, three trim levels and your choice of turbo-petrol or hybrid powertrains, the fixed-price ZR-V range spans $40,200-$54,900 drive-away. It seems Honda is more on-the-money with its list prices than when the Civic came along. And it needs to be on the money, as the ZR-V is the primary puzzle piece in Honda's ambition to drive its annual sales back above 20,000. How much is it, and what do you get? Honda has packed a heap of safety and technology features into the base VTi X, from a crisp touchscreen and digital driver’s display to a decent eight-speaker sound system and five years of connected services. The cloth upholstery is far more sophisticated than the itchy fabric in a RAV4 GX – we don’t reckon you’d feel short-changed saving a couple of bucks on the $40,200 drive-away VTi X. A turbo-petrol four-cylinder is standard fare, kicking out 131kW/240Nm – exactly the same as the Civic. Grunt is sent via an automatic continuously variable transmission (CVT) to the front wheels, with no all-wheel-drive models coming to Australia for now. If you want a new ZR-V immediately in Crystal Garnet, Platinum grey or Platinum white, the VTi X is the only one on dealer forecourts. Putting an order in for a hybrid (at the time of writing) will see you waiting until December. Read More
