As we learned last week, Honda’s first SUV wasn’t a Honda at all. Caught flat-footed by the SUV boom, Honda took some desperate measures to get bring something to market that had an “H” on the grille.
While the CR-V came out at exactly the right time, Honda waited nearly a decade after the Passport’s launch to come up with a large SUV. This time, they’re a little quicker in responding to the next wave of the SUV boom – the subcompact crossover.
The HR-V, already revealed as the “Vezel” in world markets, will go head to head with the Nissan Juke and Chevrolet Trax. Next month will bring the HR-V’s debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, along with details on powertrain, equipment levels and maybe even pricing. Given the success of the CR-V and Pilot, it’s safe to assume that this will be a huge hit for Honda.
Wow, nice.
I just learned about the original HR-V. I like the 3 door quite a lot.
http://allcarznews.com/data_images/models/honda-hr-v/honda-hr-v-07.jpg
PLEASE, Honda…sell it with an actual clutch pedal and a $19,995 starting price – or less!
If that’s your criteria, why not spend an extra $1500(+/-) and go for the Mazda CX5 and not suffer with driving the automotive equivelant of a boiled chicken breast?
The style of this HR-V is a decent little step toward some resemblance of style for Honda… but it’s still going to be boring enough to remind you that it’s a Honda. The only manufacturer worse is Toyota (proper). The Scion brand doesn’t count.
The CX-5 is still on my short list. After having driven one, I find it bigger than I want. Not so horribly big that I’ll cross it off my list, but bigger than I’d like.
CX-3 is going to be anounced very soon.
Methinks you’re not too familiar with superior Honda engines and tossable chassis’….which this may well have….
I think it’s safe to say you’ll get one of those things but not the other.
I’d be surprised if a manual trans version is available in the US. Honda appears to be phasing them out of their sedans, and they’re long gone from their CUVs. I’m guessing it will be only available with a CVT.
I am a manual trans fan yet i’m realistic. It’s 7% of the American market. CX5 M/T FWD Only. So are the Nissan Juke, VW Tiguan, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage & Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. The late Jeep Patriot (& Maybe the Compass)Subaru Crosstrek or Forester are the AWD options. Not sure if Honda will bother with this limited vehicle in the US as it hurts MPG numbers.
Those in the market for a FWD SUV can get a wagon with Snow tires.
Honda does not have a M/T in US CR-V since 2006. No hugh loss in sales. Honda has lot’s of Manual cars still available. 2 Honda Fit’s, 3 CR-Z’s, 2 Civic sedans and 2 Coupes. Low & high HP. 3 Accord Sedans and 3 Coupes including one with a V6 and Nav. Honda’s commitment to all that product does not mean it’s flying out the door the way you might imagine.
Since this is a FIT deluxe, it is possible a M/T will be available in the base model.
We don’t get a lot of manuals because with our EPA, you need to certify each combination. It is expensive. Even if engine A is with manual B the same but in three bodies, you need to certify it each time. Crazy result of our regs, but certainly not the first time. So, BMW certifies a manual 335i sedan…it doesn’t transfer to the 335i wagon. etc etc. A business case must be made for each permutation to justify the EPA cycle.
We don’t get a lot of manuals because buyers don’t buy a lot of manuals, sporty cars excepted. Honda has a good selection of manual transmission cars, and out of over 300 cars in stock at my local dealer, a total of 11 are manuals, 5 Accords, 5
Civics, and a Fit.
Absent the unnatural fixed cost of separate certification, you wouldn’t need more than a sale or two to make selling the manual worth vile for special orders. Cars so equipped are already being built and are selling in other markets.
But that would cost some fief a tiny bit of his domain, of course. Gotta keep our priorities straight here in Dystopia…
Stuki,
Get back to packing! You know how long the TSA lines are at the airport. No one in the US would want you to miss your flight to the North Korean utopia you so deserve.
The Chevrolet Trax base sticker is $21K, I’d be surprised if this is any less.
Which makes the Mazda CX-5 look like a tremendous value @ $21,500
If you want a car that looks like Snoopy.
What have you got against Snoopy?
Nothing, in a dog or a WWI ace.
You wouldn’t believe how many years I tried to mimic Bill Melendez’ Snoopy laugh.
Well, yeah you would.
Maybe if you tried to imitate a Mazda horn instead you’d see the world differently
I just renamed my CX-5…
The Trax and HR-V are/will be priced with an automatic transmission, phone integration, and a backup camera If you want all that on a CX-5, you’ll want the Touring model which is $25K plus destination charge.
“Sell” it like that?
They’d like to actually make money, thank you.
And that involves selling more than ten of them.
I’m sure it will be popular with a certain segment of the commenters here. As for me… no thanks.
Imagine opening your garage door and getting a view of that bit of milquetoast in the morning. I’m sure its more than enough to counteract your morning coffee. Some of you might need to add a bit of meth to your joe just to balance out your levels.
“As for me… no thanks.”
Applies to me as well, although I do believe that a very large market exists in the big cities, IF, and only IF, it is priced accordingly for the demographic it will be marketed to, namely young people.
It’ll probably be marketed to middle aged people (who think they’re young) who can afford a new second car, or can buy a new car for their kids. That’s actually a big market. I can see this as the car for wives who don’t want to pilot a Pilot for around-town grocery, appointments, or shopping trips.
The actual young don’t have any money, just debts. If you have $10 in your pocket and no debts, you have a higher net worth than 25% of America’s population, I’ve read somewhere. That includes most of the under-30 crowd.
“It’ll probably be marketed to middle aged people (who think they’re young)”
Like every other car?
Lorenzo, I agree! That’s why those who can, do what they do to help their kids and grandkids get a leg up on their competition.
Nothing like starting them off educated, with years practical part-time work experience, debt-free and with a reliable ride to get them to launch.
My philosophy, and that of so many others. So far, it has worked for me.
I’m old and think I’m middle aged. Is that the inverse of being young and thinking you’re smart?
What difference does it make who it’s marketed to anyway? Last I knew, they will sell a car to anyone.
It will be marketed to young people but bought by middle to older aged people.
And how exactly does your opinion affect Honda’s bottom line? Were you planning on buying a couple million cars next year?
Is your comment of any use to anybody here? If you’re not a troll, please keep the snark to yourself.
Hubcap,
You were fine at “No Thanks”. If you don’t like the looks, don’t buy one.
“And how exactly does your opinion affect Honda’s bottom line?”
Why would you think my opinion, or for that matter, the opinion of any one person would affect Honda’s bottom line?
I’m not 100% sure, but I’d think it would take a number of negative opinions (at least 10) combined with a number of no purchase decisions to do that.
By the way, have you ever ridden a yak?
Yaks are some tough-ridin, bub!
I just don’t understand what the value of this comment is. Obviously this is not a car for enthusiasts, just like everything else in its segment. I don’t think anyone opens their garage just to stare at their Enclave/Traxx/Juke; just seems to me like you are completely missing the point.
From the POV of what is possible at this price point and in this segment I think it’s a good move and Honda will sell a lot of them. In the end that’s really all that matters for cars like this.
—>”I just don’t understand what the value of this comment is.”
That’s fine. I don’t understand the value of yours. That’s also fine. I just gave an opinion with a wee bit of snark sprinkled on top.
—> “Obviously this is not a car for enthusiasts…”
You’re correct, it’s not. Does it need to be in order for me to leave a comment about its looks?
—> “I don’t think anyone opens their garage just to stare at their Enclave/Traxx/Juke…”
I know you can read, write, and comprehend. Go back to the original comment. That’s not what I said.
—> “…just seems to me like you are completely missing the point.”
Perhaps. But, there is a chance, however slight, that you are. I made a comment about how it looks and for whatever reason you’re placing a bunch of other stuff at my feet. Why? I made no reference to its performance or whether or not it would sell.
You know, you’ve been a bit emotional lately. Is everything OK at work? At home? If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.
I did! I rode a yak… but it talked back.
Buy whatever you want. I am certain that whatever you do drive will have its own critics. Big deal.
Thank you. The car is what it is. And it will sell.
The first Acura SUV was pretty embarrassing too…
As for the HRV, seems like a good idea. I still see lots of the 1st and 2nd gen CRVs running around. They used to be about this size. It’d be perfect for a lot of people. Moms need cars too, ya know.
And I mean boomer moms, not moms with actual little kids. (They’re why the CRV got bigger.) HRV would be great for sensible, practical people who want to sit high (visibility, ingress/egress), reliability, good mpg, decent price, room for grandkids’ Christmas presents in the back. They’ll sell as many as they build, guaranteed. The CRV will continue to get a little bigger and plusher and more expensive, and there won’t be quite a gap between CRV and Pilot.
Look, if the thing comes to market with 155HP a six speed M/T and AWD it is going to sell to a VERY LARGE demographic. Everybody doesn’t WANT a large CUV, and some won’t mind driving this if it has a little grunt. The Chevy Spark and Buick Encore are doing quite well and for first time buyers, or college kids, this is going to be a very attractive proposition. If you were buying your kid a car for college, why not consider a dependable affordable car rather than a used Jeep or whatever that could potentially leave you liable for large repair bills?
Nothing with a manual transmission *ever* sells to a very large demographic.
If there is a manual (which I hope there is) it will have a 1%-3% take rate.
“The first Acura SUV was pretty embarrassing too…”
The SLX (rebadged Trooper) was a slow seller, but wasn’t really an Acura, then the MDX which was and still is a big hit. The LAST SUV (ZDX), now that’s an embarrassment
The ZDX is clearly the result of corporate espionage and depreciated tooling. Someone at Honda got ahold of early X6 plans…and no, it doesn’t make much sense for the Bawarians either….
I think I’ve seen one in the wild…maybe….
Yes, they were trying to get a jump on the competition (X6), but little did they know that no one really wanted the competition either. Lucky for them they didn’t have spys stealing the development of the Crosscabriolet as well…
… or maybe they did and just laughed it off as being a Nissan counter-intelligence fake
Huh. So that’s what the Fit would look like if it were stung by a bee and had an allergic reaction.
and had some ugly rubbed all over it.
This is going to be a massive sales hit but take share away from the civic and (lesser extent) fit.
Andy nailed the demographic that’s going to eat this car up. My mother is a boomer empty nest mother that drives a civic right now is waiting for this to come out and will be buying it asap.
Is it going to have AWD? My mother has an AWD/4WD requirement for cars now.
it will have both FWD and AWD.
“My mother has an AWD/4WD requirement for cars now.”
Snow belt?
Yeah, they live where the Detroit area starts to become more rural. My mother has to drive between smaller cities on two lane roads for work. She’s been making due with an HHR for seven years and 150k+ miles. They are going car shopping next week. Looking new and used AWD vehicles at $25k and under.
Before we settled on a new Fit for my wife (milage and space were more important than AWD) and during the long wait for the Fit to arrive, we almost bought and Impreza.
Comes in under your budget and if your mom can live with the plastic interior it’s quite a nice driving car. Just check if head gasket problems are still an issue.
The closest Subaru dealer to her is 30-45 minutes away, so she won’t go for that. The Forrester is nice too.
Be sure to check out the Subaru Crosstrek: its in the price range, its a very nice size, and it is almost unstoppable in the snow: AWD + epic ground clearance.
Its interesting, my parents are AWD neutral, and live in a city with big time winter. My dad has owned several pickups, not one with AWD. His most recent, a Dodge Ram was 2WD w/ posi and he was happier than a clam. (This assumes that clams are happy, which cannot be verified despite the popular euphemism.)
My mom has the A4 quattro, but according to my dad they got a quattro because “the FWD version would have no resale value.” Before that and otherwise currently its all large FWD GM sedans.
The really humorous (and scary) thing to me is that my parents generally refuse to use winter tires, preferring blocky all season touring tires, which tend to work given the weight and drive of LeSabres and the like. (I always try and tell them its about stopping, to no avail.) The only winter tires I can ever remember them purchasing are fitted to the Audi, and only then because it came with Pirelli P6 Summer only tires, which no amount of stubbornness or coaxing can be made to even leave the driveway in snow.
When I discuss new cars with my dad, he cannot wrap his head around the S/CUV craze, stating “they’re just tall wagons!” My explanation was that a) people like the hieght, for various reasons including ingress/egress and to look truckers in the eye and b) the perception of safety that a commanding view of the road and AWD impart.” He generally accepts this explanation, but like his son prefers sedans.
(For context, my dad is an car enthusiast, who does his own wrenching and rocks a ’47 Merc pickup that he met my mom while driving (the Merc is put away these days sadly). My mom is a competent driver who loves her convertible. Both have clean winter driving records. I think this sort of context makes for an interesting discussion)
My dad has had a truck for the last 40 years and I doubt that will change. I convinced my mom she needed winter tires and winters have been much better in her HHR. Now she just wants winter tires and AWD.
My parents just order in when it snows, problem solved
She’ll be able to do that in a few years, but until she retires, she’ll have to drive in some snow. She does work for a school district, so if it’s really bad, she stays home.
I think she may end up with a 2012 MKZ. AWD models with under 30k miles are going for around $17k-$20k around here as a certified car.
CD3 MY10-12 Lincoln Zephyr is the official 28CL value buy in the pseudo-luxury segment.
28-
I found her a nice one at a dealer for $17995 before negotiations. 22k miles, loaded, AWD, 3.5L, 100k mile warranty. I think they could get it for closer to $15k than $18k.
I was just thinking its prob worth 15ish at this point being the CD3 and three or more model years old.
Generally speaking for say 16, who turns down a used newer Zephyr for a new C segment anything?
MY12 Lincoln Zephyr AWD
10/09/14 PA Regular $18,300 12,672 Above WHITE 6G P Yes
10/05/14 NY Lease $18,200 13,216 Above BLACK 6G A Yes
10/09/14 PA Lease $16,900 13,718 Above MDGREY 6G P Yes
10/17/14 PA Regular $17,500 14,510 Above GREY 6G P Yes
10/19/14 GEORGIA Lease $15,400 14,572 Avg BLUE 6G A Yes
10/09/14 PA Lease $15,700 14,705 Avg SILVER 6G P Yes
10/14/14 NY Lease $16,300 15,005 Avg GREY 6G A Yes
10/08/14 NY Lease $13,900 15,435 Avg MAROON 6G A Yes
10/10/14 PA Lease $16,200 15,511 Avg DKRED 6G P Yes
10/09/14 CHICAGO Lease $15,600 16,020 Avg SILVER 6G A Yes
10/02/14 CINCINNA Regular $15,800 16,846 Avg SILVER 6G A Yes
10/02/14 PITTSBGH Lease $16,100 17,018 Avg BLACK 6G A Yes
10/07/14 PA Lease $17,300 17,257 Above MDGREY 6G P Yes
10/16/14 NASHVILL Lease $18,500 17,280 Above WHT PLAT 6G A Yes
10/14/14 ST LOUIS Regular $16,600 17,490 Avg CRYSTAL 6G A Yes
10/08/14 NY Lease $13,900 18,362 Avg RED 6G A Yes
10/16/14 PITTSBGH Lease $19,600 18,372 Above CHAMPGNE 6G A No
10/16/14 DFW Lease $14,900 18,420 Avg FQ-RED 6G A Yes
10/11/14 PITTSBGH Lease $17,200 18,648 Above BLACK 6G A Yes
10/16/14 DFW Lease $15,100 18,740 Avg UA-EBONY 6G A Yes
10/08/14 PITTSBGH Lease $15,000 18,745 Avg DKBLACK 6G A Yes
10/14/14 NY Lease $17,500 18,900 Above BLACK 6G A Yes
10/02/14 PITTSBGH Lease $16,000 18,951 Avg GRAY 6G A Yes
10/14/14 GEORGIA Regular $17,200 18,957 Above GREY 6G A Yes
10/08/14 PITTSBGH Lease $12,900 18,978 Below DKRED 6G A No
10/08/14 NY Lease $15,400 19,097 Avg BLACK 6G A Yes
10/12/14 NJ Lease $15,600 19,608 Avg MDBLUE 6G O Yes
10/14/14 NY Lease $16,000 20,192 Avg GREY 6G A Yes
10/09/14 PA Lease $15,700 20,224 Avg DKBLACK 6G P Yes
10/08/14 NY Lease $14,000 21,581 Avg RED 6G A Yes
10/14/14 NY Lease $16,800 21,726 Avg WHITE 6G A Yes
10/15/14 NY Lease $13,000 21,732 Below BLACK 6G A Yes
10/09/14 PA Lease $16,500 21,762 Avg DKRED 6G P Yes
10/01/14 DENVER Lease $17,800 22,159 Above BLUE 6G A Yes
10/14/14 NY Lease $16,100 22,280 Avg WHITE 6G A Yes
10/16/14 PITTSBGH Lease $15,000 22,290 Avg DKBLACK 6G A Yes
10/15/14 NJ Lease $14,700 22,463 Avg BROWN 6G A Yes
10/19/14 NJ Lease $16,400 22,501 Avg BLACK 6G A Yes
10/12/14 NJ Lease $16,600 22,634 Avg DKBLACK 6G P Yes
10/14/14 NY Lease $14,800 22,741 Avg BLACK 6G A Yes
I agree. For 16, I can’t justify a new compact over a used MKZ. For that price, you can get a 6 yr/100k warranty included too.
The MKZ is today’s K-car Lebaron, which the Lincoln’s resale values reflect. If anything, there are fewer people that appreciate the thin veneer of Detroit badge engineered ‘luxury’ today than there were in the ’80s.
Interesting analogy CJ.
CJ-
I don’t disagree with the premise. I wouldn’t buy an MKZ, or any Lincoln product new. As a used vehicle, I find value in the MKZ because of things that make it a terrible new purchase: Depreciation, related to a reiable FWD mainstream vehicle, and from an unpopular brand.
I drive a Lincoln not because Lincoln makes the best luxury cars. I buy them because they often retail for cheaper than their Ford cousins. Plus, buying a used 2012 MKZ will get you the 3.5L V6 instead of a 2.0T on the 2013+ Fusion.
You can get away with pretty bad tires in the snow if it’s flat.
Add hills, and…
Holy crap, yea the Fit is dead. Civic is still comfy but may take a hit as well. Fit with a higher hip point and loading floor = a Fit that works for more people; especially older folks, who actually have the money to buy cars.
Acura needs a version of the HR-V ASAP.
“Holy crap, yea the Fit is dead.” This is probably true. I’m sure a jacked up Fit with less interior space will outsell the Fit 4 to 1.
“Fit with a higher hip point and loading floor”
..but that doesn’t come with a significantly higher roof/door opening just means more clonked heads and hips stressed from trying to avoid same.
Honda will not have discount this thing for a couple years. It will sell like crazy.
I wish Honda would let the Italians design their vehicles like they use to.
Who gets in a CR-V and says, “wow, this is just too big for me.”
I don’t know.
But I would gladly bet that there are 60,000 people every year who get into a Fit and say “I would love this if it were a little larger, had more ground clearance, and came in AWD.”
The CR-V is about the size of a CX-5. I got in a CX-5 and said, “wow, this is just too big for me.”
Then again, I drive a 1st gen Scion xB.
I certainly do. Older CR-V was about the right size, but not the new one.
Ditto. My first gen was perfect. They’ve only gotten more cumbersome since. Just took recycle to the curb and waved to my neighbor in his very clean first gen. I’d buy an NOS version in an instant, even in silver like his.
My 2009 third gen is feeling clunky and loose to me now but local roads beat the sweet out of everything. Still no visible rust, though.
Plenty of people get in a CR-V and say “wow, this is just a bit too expensive.”
Is there even a market for this? I don’t see barely any Encores out and about around these parts.
Encore sales have exceeded expectations.
Think of it as a Kia Soul for grownups.
Secret confession of a J-car snob: I effin’ love the Encore’s looks. But I think that’s as far as that daliance will go.
Encores are also $10K more then this Honda
I think everyone is underestimating what the HR-Vs will actually go for out the door.
This is the company that sells all the 40K minivans it can make.
The HR-V, like the Fit is a starter kit and will probably come with similar options. I’ll venture a guess that it would be difficult to get this north of $25K
This is an out of the park home run in terms of styling and packaging. This is going to do some serious volume. At least 10,000 per month will be doable; but it will be interesting to note if net Fit/Civic volume rises.
In terms of styling, I have been tracking the Vezels evolution from thinly veiled concept to production.
This is simply a brilliant, clean, classic Honda design.
I agree, the HR-V will be a smash hit.
As for the Fit, it will become the class sales leader, retail, like the Accord, CR-V and Civic, now that Honda has the capacity.
The Fit is a small Swiss army knife kind of car. It may not beat in every area but the overall package is better than any of the competition, as is Honda’s way.
I don’t find the styling to be all that offensive. To me the civic is a bland car as well, so this thing kind of follows along the same path.
A civic with AWD and a lift kit will sell enmasse. The question is, will this move Rav4 buyers over or the Civic customer who was already in the lit in the first place. I would think the former is the goal, but fear the later will be the rule.
if the margins on this are greater than that of the civic, honda will not mind cannibalization all that much.
So this is exactly what I call “Clickbait” whether or not it meets someone else’s definition. A headline that grabs attention and indicates that more info regarding the “American-Spec” version is forthcoming.
Not 5 posts earlier, today, the same eact picture was posted along with information as so when the American Spec version would debut. Now this post with no new info.
This is one of the reasons for TTAC’s decline in readership and quality commentary. Non-news or re-run news. It used to at least be reruns from other websites which is useful if one does not read other sites, but now you are rerunning your own “news”.
I get that Derek may not like this assertion of clickbait but it is EXACTLY what everyone was talking about a week or so ago when it was heavily discussed.
All the comments are just the commenters discussing amongst themselves as to whether or not it will be a success, even though no details are given. At least make a call to Honda to see if you can get the specs, if not, then see what’s offered in other markets. Barring that, make an educated guess…
This is news, this is the first “official” picture of the American HR-V. No other information has been released by Honda. All the other auto-news outlets have released the same picture and information. Should TTAC not release what news is available because it’s not much?
I think you’re totally off base calling this “clikbait”
Are they going to offer a lifted version with a low gear? Because otherwise it’s a no sale for me, sadly. And I would rather buy something made in Japan than in Italy (I realize that eventually the production will be localized into NAFTA somewhere, which is quite sad).
Can’t find specs for this yet but it doesn’t appear to have dramatically better ground clearance or roof height than the Fit.
But it most certainly has less interior capacity. So, nothing for me here but of course I’ll look at one because Honda.
Looks like a great successor to the 1st gen CR-V.
Nah, that had a glorious squarish greenhouse and more ride height.
This is more like the Honda Beetle.
LOL. Original or New?
That’s a nice looking little car, I like it! The grille area is a bit too busy for me in terms of design, but overall it’s very handsome.
“As we learned last week, Honda’s first SUV wasn’t a Honda at all”
Are you kidding???????
My relative was buying Passport. I said, “don’t do it”. 3 lawsuits later….
As far as HR-V goes… I bet that its interior will be, how to say this… worse than Mazda CX5 or Juke.
Wait, why did they sue you?
Not me – Honda. I told him that he is buying Isuzu in disguise. He had problems worth thousands in repairs. Lemon law guys were able to recover some. I worked with the guy who had a Trooper. His engine also has major oil problems. That is when oil disappears from the engine.
What – no rear door handles?
Click on the picture, they’re there. Very well integrated.
Put on two more doors, paint it yellow, and it’s a CVCC wagon.