ANCAP spotlights Kiwi-favoured Hondas
/Question mark over how relevant Europe NCAP scores are to local stock.
Read MoreQuestion mark over how relevant Europe NCAP scores are to local stock.
Read MoreInbound HR-V will position as entry tier crossover below ZR-V and CR-V.
Read MoreNorth America is first to see refreshed look and a new hybrid drivetrain ticked off for Kiwi use.
Read MoreBoard-level ties and now a common approach to sales strategy will help cement mutual product plans for NZ and Australia.
Read MoreThe Honda Prelude and Toyota MR2 seem set to be revived as electric sizzlers.
Read MoreNo plug-equipped electrics until 2026 won’t be an issue, maker believes.
Read MoreHonda’s core sports utility will feature in three variants, topping with a hybrid.
Read MoreMedium model coming in May; followed by new CR-V toward year-end
Read MoreDoes talk of Civic-based product raise potential for ZR-V?
Read MoreGood news, revheads - Honda here assures it has a solid supply line
Read MoreNo hybrid, all-wheel-drive or fancy paddle shifts for the latest Type R
Read MoreHonda has revised its sports utility line-up, with a big revision for CR-V and a new model sitting between it and the HR-V.
Read MoreThe Civic nameplate is 50 years old today. The gift comes next week.
Read MoreOur neighbour has already announced readiness for chirpy crossover.
Read MoreHonda has released a fresh batch of teasers of the most coveted Civic, this time testing at the Suzuka circuit.
Read MoreChoosing a new version of this past staple couldn’t be easier now.
Read MoreThe neighbour’s showing off their latest new car – and it could look just like the one coming to Kiwi driveways.
Read MoreHonda NZ high-ups discuss the reasons for changes to the long-standing Price Promise policy and talk cars.
Read MoreMIGHT the next generation of Honda’s smallest crossover be set to hit in a fully electric specification to offer as an alternate to petrol-hybrid and fully fossil-fuelled versions already cited for New Zealand?
That speculation in respect to the HR-V has been fuelled by the brand’s star attraction of this week’s Shanghai motor show.
Even though the front and rear styling has been heavily revised, the SUV e:Prototype is clearly based on the new HR-V, which Honda unveiled several months ago and is expected to reach New Zealand in the second quarter of 2022.
Honda has confirmed that the e:Prototype is destined for production, with plans to be rolled out on a global scale.
Some say this means it could be the first electric Honda to be officially offered in our market.
Honda says the car is the first of 10 similar electric vehicles it intends to roll out over the coming five years.
Aside from the design influence from the new HR-V, it has bespoke touches of a thin LED strip in the front and at the top, LED eye-shaped headlights and thin side mirrors.
The LED logo in the front envelops the panel which comes as its charging port. The sides of the vehicle include retractable front door handles, black body cladding, while the rear of the SUV sports twin tail lamps integrated by a light bar and the Honda logo in the middle.
The model features the company's proprietary ADAS driver-assist and safety systems and Honda Connect, which enable Wifi connectivity, over-the-air updates and a smartphone link leveraging a voice recognition mechanism.
Honda says the car’s AI-driven smarts furnish users with connectivity to online shopping and smart home appliances and also utilises digital key via the smartphone.
The company has not revealed any specifications of the battery size, number of electric motors, power or driving range.
TECHNICAL details remain unconfirmed, save that it’s a petrol-electric drivetrain promising “exceptional” efficiency, obviously wrapped into a brand new shape.
More detail is expected to follow in respect to the new-generation Honda HR-V, revealed by the brand today ahead of a global sales roll out that, according to overseas reports, might keep it from New Zealand for some months yet.
Europe is a priority market – yeah, all to do with need to meet that tough and now fully-enforced emissions target – and versions sold there will fitted as standard with a hybrid powertrain, combining a small petrol engine with two electric motors.
Engine size, power and torque outputs, and fuel economy figures have all yet to be announced, as of publishing, but there’ll be no great surprise if it transpires to be a variation of the single-motor hybrid set up version that develops 80kW in the related Jazz hatchback offered in Europe and also set for NZ release soon.
See much new in this third-gen car’s look? Of course you do.
The shape retains a trademark styling cue, those 'hidden' rear door handles but is now far more coupe-like and it takes LED head and tail lights, light strips, a stripe-pattered grille and high-spec models adopt 18-inch rims, whereas entry-level grades have16s.
The dominant feature within a cabin redesigned to maximise the feeling of spaciousness is a new 9.0-inch central infotainment touchscreen with satellite navigation, an inbuilt Wi-Fi hotspot and 'Honda Connect' connected services.
The current car’s versatile folding 'Magic Seats' are retained and it achieves a hands-free power tailgate.
Heated seats, LED interior lighting, a premium sound system, a 'Honda Digital Key' service allowing owners to unlock their car via their smartphone an an air diffusion system that sends a "curtain" of fresh air through new L-shaped vents are other stand-outs worthy of animated discussion at the garden centre.
MotoringNZ reviews new cars and keeps readers up-to-date with the latest developments on the auto industry. All the major brands are represented. The site is owned and edited by New Zealand motoring journalist Richard Bosselman.