I had to take my car to the Honda dealer for some work a few weeks ago, and they needed to keep it overnight. Since I was heading out of town, they gave me a 2018 HR-V loaner for several days, and I was able to put about 500 miles of driving on it. They gave me an EX-L (front wheel drive version). I thought I'd share a few thoughts on the vehicle.
Overall, I was really impressed with the little CUV. It is surprisingly comfortable for such a small vehicle, the elevated seating position was nice, and visibility was decent. Controls around the steering wheel fall easily to hand. I'm glad Honda used the R-series engine from the 9G Civic and not the L-series engine from the Fit. I drove a Hyundai Tucson a month ago when I was visiting relatives in the Midwest, and that car did not like maintaining highway speeds. The HR-V, on the other hand, spooled up quickly and accelerated well. It certainly wasn't the V6 of my Accord, but it was peppy enough. Despite the price point, the sound quality of the stereo was acceptable (unlike the cheap system that was in my 2013 Subaru Impreza that sounded like it was 1987). The seats were comfortable, and for such a small vehicle, the storage was really impressive. With the seats down, you get 58.8 cubic feet of storage according to Honda. Fuel efficiency was good at 28 city/34 highway, although if I had the AWD version, that would have dropped a little. Handling dynamics were fine for what the vehicle is. And the blind spot camera was nice - when I got my Accord back, it's the one feature I really missed.
It did have some quirks, though. There is no volume knob (!) although you can use the steering wheel controls as well. The HVAC system uses a touch panel, so trying to find buttons by feel is challenging. The fuel filler door release is placed in a weird spot- right next to the hood release under the dashboard, so I may have opened the hood once or twice when I went to fill up the tank (grrr!). And the reality is that it is a small vehicle. When you're traveling by yourself, it's not bad, but add a passenger or two and you start to feel a little claustrophobic.
Overall, it wasn't a bad car at all. Not sure if I'd ever buy one, but I could see it as a good fit for someone like my mom, who would benefit from an all-weather around town runabout.
Overall, I was really impressed with the little CUV. It is surprisingly comfortable for such a small vehicle, the elevated seating position was nice, and visibility was decent. Controls around the steering wheel fall easily to hand. I'm glad Honda used the R-series engine from the 9G Civic and not the L-series engine from the Fit. I drove a Hyundai Tucson a month ago when I was visiting relatives in the Midwest, and that car did not like maintaining highway speeds. The HR-V, on the other hand, spooled up quickly and accelerated well. It certainly wasn't the V6 of my Accord, but it was peppy enough. Despite the price point, the sound quality of the stereo was acceptable (unlike the cheap system that was in my 2013 Subaru Impreza that sounded like it was 1987). The seats were comfortable, and for such a small vehicle, the storage was really impressive. With the seats down, you get 58.8 cubic feet of storage according to Honda. Fuel efficiency was good at 28 city/34 highway, although if I had the AWD version, that would have dropped a little. Handling dynamics were fine for what the vehicle is. And the blind spot camera was nice - when I got my Accord back, it's the one feature I really missed.
It did have some quirks, though. There is no volume knob (!) although you can use the steering wheel controls as well. The HVAC system uses a touch panel, so trying to find buttons by feel is challenging. The fuel filler door release is placed in a weird spot- right next to the hood release under the dashboard, so I may have opened the hood once or twice when I went to fill up the tank (grrr!). And the reality is that it is a small vehicle. When you're traveling by yourself, it's not bad, but add a passenger or two and you start to feel a little claustrophobic.
Overall, it wasn't a bad car at all. Not sure if I'd ever buy one, but I could see it as a good fit for someone like my mom, who would benefit from an all-weather around town runabout.