Battery-fed HR-V revealed

 Could the e:Prototype unveiled in China this week become Honda NZ’s first electric car?

The SUV e:Prototype is an electric version of the next-generation HR-V, below, expected to show in NZ.

 MIGHT 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.

New HR-V revealed

Hybrid-only powertrains for primary markets.

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.

Honda’s baby crossover on battery charge

The next version of the HR-V will be a hybrid.

THE smallest crossover Honda sells here will ditch pure petrol power for an electrified drivetrain.

The change for comes with the third generation of the HR-V, which will be unveiled to the world in mid-February.

 The new model delivers with a bigger badge; it’ll be tagged the HR-V e:HEV.

In delivering this news, Honda has also released some teaser preview images – none showing the entire car, however, with focus instead on detailing.

Today’s announcement has yet to be followed up by comment from the brand’s New Zealand distributor.

Honda Japan says focussing on a hybrid powertrain from launch is in line with its latest corporate strategy.

One specific ambition is to electrify its entire European line-up by 2022. 

Technical details remain unconfirmed, but it is conjected HR-V will likely use a variation of a 158kW/315Nm 2.0-litre hybrid powertrain Honda already has in place in the larger CR-V, though not in New Zealand, or alternately pick up a technically similar system, married to a 1.5-litre and producing 80kW/253Nm, that features in the latest Jazz supermini. That car has also not availed here.

It's possible that, like the electrified CR-V, the HR-V will be available with a choice of front- or four-wheel-drive configurations, the website for motoring magazine Autocar has surmised. 

Honda claims it will pair "high efficiency with refined, fun-to-drive performance".

It’s thought the HR-V to follow the lead of the next Civic hatchback and so feature a minimalist dashboard with a 9.0in touchscreen infotainment system and a raft of new driver aids. 

The HR-V’s full unveiling will occur on February 18.

 The current car has been in production since 2013.