Living with a Honda HR-V: five annoying things about this SUV

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• First report: intro
• Second report: five good things
• Third report: Five annoying things

This is the Carwow long-term Honda HR-V, and we’ve been using it every day for the past few months for everything from high-octane drag race shoots to popping to the shops.

There are a lot of things we like about this car, some of which you can check out in our second report, but there are also some quirks and features that we’re not so keen on. Here are the five most annoying things we’ve noticed in our time with the Honda HR-V.

1. A few unwelcome noises

Over the past few thousand miles we’ve started to notice some small rattles coming from parts of the cabin. They always seem to be just out of reach of the driver, but with the stereo on they’re harder to notice. The interior feels solidly put together with quality materials, so these noises must be coming from behind the trim.

2. Ridiculous sun shades

When you have a full-length glass roof, most cars have some sort of sliding blind to block out the light when you don’t want it. The HR-V has a perfectly reasonable shade in the front which you slide back, but the one in the rear is mind-bloggling.

It’s in two parts which you have to remove before putting them in a bag which comes with the car, and then there’s nowhere to store it inside the car. We just keep them installed and face the fact the rear passengers will have to go without light.

3. A tight squeeze

The HR-V isn’t the best for carrying three people across the rear bench. Not only is it quite narrow, but the way Honda has mounted the middle seatbelt latch makes it so that if it’s in use, it’s sticking into the right-hand passenger’s backside. It’s not a comfy way to complete a long journey.

4. Droning on

When you first start the HR-V, you might be hoping for hybrid silence as you glide away. Well what you actually get is a monotonous drone before it settles into hybrid mode, and once you’re on the move it makes an incredible racket under hard acceleration. It’s not the most refined hybrid system out there.

5. Make the beeping stop

The HR-V’s safety beeps can be a bit OTT at times, and turning them off is quite the faff. A special shoutout goes to the speed limit warning, which is buried deep in the last menu you’d expect to find it in.

Five good things about our Honda HR-V

Our Honda HR-V long-termer is proving itself as a great daily companion, and after a couple of months with the car there are a few features which stand out. Here are five standout features.

1. It has a spacious interior

For such a small SUV, you actually get loads of space inside. There’s more than enough legroom in the back for tall adults, and there’s plenty of room up front as well. It’s much more spacious than the Peugeot E-2008, meaning you can carry four people in comfort.

2. Easy-access camera system

Being a top-spec Style Plus model, our HR-V has a handy 360-degree camera system. Not only does this make tight parking spaces much easier to negotiate, we also like the easy-access button on the indicator stalk which will bring the cameras up on screen. It’s helped us out a few times when navigating London’s width restrictors.

3. Clever storage solutions

We’ve been making use of the HR-V’s clever storage areas during our time with the car. There’s a handy box under the boot floor to stop smaller items from rolling around, and the rear seat bases can flip up so you can fit really tall items, or, as our own Mat Watson found out when he reviewed the car, you can turn your HR-V into a tunnel to walk through.

4. Heated everything

The Honda HR-V is the perfect car for winter, because there are so many heated features. Our car has heated seats and steering wheel to stay toasty on cold days, and there are heating elements under the windscreen wipers so you can defrost them without having to leave the car.

5. Physical buttons

In a world where manufacturers are doing away with physical controls in favour of touchscreens, we’re very grateful to find proper knobs and buttons in our HR-V. The interior is very easy to use on the move, and all the switchgear feels nice and tactile as well.

*Prices correct at the time of writing

Living with a Honda HR-V: First report

There’s no shortage of small SUVs on the market these days, and choosing one can be tricky. Honda’s offering is the HR-V – an alternative to cars such as the Peugeot 2008, Skoda Kamiq and the Toyota Yaris Cross.

But what makes the HR-V stand out against the competition? That’s what we’re hoping to find out over the next three months. We’ll be living with this car to see what’s good about it, as well as uncovering any annoying foibles.

So let’s take a closer look at our new HR-V. We’ve gone for the range-topping Advance Style Plus model, which wears a £37,000 price tag. That makes it around £3,600 more expensive than a top-spec Peugeot 2008, but by buying through Carwow you can save yourself around £2,000.

You get a lot of standard equipment as well. Our car has a panoramic glass roof, heated seats and steering wheel, a 360-degree camera system, adaptive cruise control and a contrasting black roof. This rather fetching colour is called Sage Green Metallic, and it’s actually the only no-cost paint option available. The rest will cost you £650.

Choosing an engine for our HR-V was easy, because there’s only one option available. It’s a 1.5-litre self-charging hybrid with 131hp, and it should be able to return 52mpg. In our first few weeks with the car we’ve managed 49mpg, but we’ll keep an eye on this as the months go by.

Keep an eye on this page for further reports on our time with the Honda HR-V, and be sure to check out our social media channels to see more of this car as well.

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