5 Reasons to Buy a 2023 Honda HR-V

The Honda HR-V is one of the most compelling options in the segment and today I will show you why it might best the Subaru Crosstrek, Hyundai Kona, Mazda CX-30 and Toyota Corolla Cross!

The all-new hrv is shockingly premium for its price tag but more importantly it reminds me of older hondas for better and worse so today i want to highlight the highs the lows and some of the biggest changes for the new generation this is the part where i tell you the few changes for the new model year but in the case of the hrv it is completely new the previous

Car was based on the old fitz platform whereas now we’re riding on honda’s global architecture and it’s really closely related to the new civic underneath which is a good thing it also means the car grew in length by about nine and a half inches and it got a bit wider without getting any taller and now it has a larger engine to carry around more mass so it’s not

Any quicker but that’s not the point before we continue if you enjoy fun detailed car content without fluff consider subscribing and hitting the bell for notifications if you want all of my thoughts and the features of the hrv i’d check out my full review i already posted so the first thing that separates the hrv in my opinion from everything else is its handling

So the steering in here one has a quick ratio the on-center feel isn’t too darty yet it remains tight and reacts predictably just like kids committing battery on their friends body roll is present but almost never concerning so it doesn’t change direction as rapidly as something like a subaru crosstrek but it offers more communication in the steering and it feels

More precise and natural i think it’s a toss-up between this and the mazda cx-30 in terms of which one is more fun and that is saying a lot plus this has fully independent suspension whether you go front wheel drive or all-wheel drive so you can throw this on a back road that’s rough yeah it won’t be the most forgiving in the class but it stays poised confident

And it’s just overall best described as playful it kind of reminds me of an older civic in that way and my next reason kind of attaches to the previous one and it’s a little bit more vague but it’s that this is a very approachable easy going car to drive so it does this through a couple things one pretty good visibility especially out of the front the windshield

Feels very close to you so you kind of get a sense of where everything is and then when you combine that with the communicative direct steering and the linear albeit gutless engine it’s a very easy enjoyable experience around town and i’ll get into that powertrain more here soon so the next big pro and this is probably my favorite thing is how premium it is and

Really i’m gonna attach to this one a wow factor so if you compare this to a lot of it vehicles in this segment that are you know around 30 31 000 they’re not going to look as premium on the inside and the outside as this i think the cx-30 maybe has an edge on the interior but this just looks upscale to me now of course styling is subjective so let me know your

Thoughts in the comments section but really i was quite impressed seeing this in person for the first time and it’s complemented by these standard led headlights with daytime running lights standard led tail lights alloy wheels and then upscale looking controls on the interior with a nice semi-digital gauge cluster on all trims despite the modern appeal it does

Have a tactile analog feeling throughout and they even incorporate an older style honda speedometer nice little touch you have a cabin that surrounds you in soft touch materials even where your knees rest it’s really nice for taller people and the tech on the interior not only looks good but also is easy to interact with you’ll have an infotainment system with

Physical buttons incorporated honda keeps at least the volume dial for the top trim and the tune dial if you go with the lower trim models which are all priced pretty competitively granted you can’t get some features like heated steering wheel or power rear gate but i would hands down take the great quality of this interior over added features like that you’ll have

Hvac controls with very clicky satisfying dials and buttons and the details like the steering wheel buttons which are surrounded with a gloss black plastic that makes it look nice but are matte finished themselves allows for them to age better it feels solid and has near cx30 levels of material quality but where the mazda falters in practicality the hrv steps up

And that’s my next reason i’m six foot three and i fit in the front and back just fine which is good for a car with this footprint the cargo space is great especially with the rear seats folded and the interior storage cubbies are nicely executed i do wish it had at least one cup holder capable of wrestling my 40-ounce hydro flask and it is odd for them to exclude

A rear center armrest and rear vents on all trims while this is not a disadvantage compared to others i do miss the insane space to exterior size ratio of the old car along with the magic seats but at least it retains a level of simplicity like the previous model and that leads me to my last reason they have a proven powertrain underneath the hood so instead of

Going with something like their 1.5 liter turbo honda chose to go with the old k20 yeah it’s not the most efficient engine anymore albeit i did beat the epa ratings easily on the highway and it’s not the best sounding and when it’s paired to the cvt at 10 seconds 0 to 60 is your reality but both the engine and transmission have proven themselves to be pretty reliable

Obviously the car itself is all new so i can’t talk too much about predicted dependability here but since this is based on the same platform that underpin the 10th gen civic and the engine and transmission is i mean it’s basically a carryover from that car i can make a few assumptions when that car first released it had a lot of like little finicky issues infotainment

System problems some powertrain bugs but as the generation carried on a lot of those issues died out the worst the old civic suffered from was bad ac initially along with some steering issues too after 2018 some miscellaneous woes persisted like with the brakes as did a few reports of oil dilution with the 1.5 turbo which is why i’m partially glad that they chose the

2-liter as the soul engine overall this gen of hrv appears to have what it takes to be a good long-term investment now let’s talk some of the negatives road noise it’s not inherently offensive but it does remind me again of older honda products this time just in the less good way which contradicts the feeling of the upscale interior although that interior also has one

Big fault and that’s the seats they just feel stiff they have this weird seat bottom that has like multiple levels to it and it just never let me get all that comfortable it’s still more than tolerable and i’m sure people can get used to it but there are better design seats in the class plus these do not have lumbar adjustment even on the top trim salsa has a more

Firm ride than the corolla crosser crosstrex so if you want the most posh driving car in the class the hrv may be not aired additionally there’s not an option for a bose or jbl rivaling sound system and as i said earlier it does lack the availability of some luxury features you will find on other loaded counterparts and the last thing is the powertrain performance

From a stop it takes a little while to get into that power band so it really does make for a sluggish experience i’m also hoping that honda will at least add the option of another powertrain in the future to help alleviate this whether it’s the 1.5 turbo or hopefully a hybrid once you get up to speed it gets the job done just fine like the subaru crosstrek with

The 2-liter it’ll work for most of the type of buyers that are getting into vehicles like the hrv but if you live in mountains or you’re regularly hauling a lot of gear i think you might be disappointed for most people interested in a sub-compact or small suv the hrv checks the boxes that it needs to it’s spacious but then it adds in a fun personality an analog

Inviting yet premium interior without a whole lot of drawbacks so even though i would still consider the mazda cx-30 or a manual crosstrek my personal favorites in the segment if someone were to walk up to me and ask for a sub-compact recommendation this would be my gut reaction because it has its priorities in check when it comes to the usual audience thanks for

Watching if you enjoyed this video please leave a like and help me with my ongoing battle against the youtube algorithm if you want to see more consider subscribing and hitting the bell for notifications and thank you to my very loyal patrons i’ll catch you in the next one there’s a cat back there everybody’s sleeping i’m just going to let them chill maybe i’ll say hi later um okay

Transcribed from video
5 Reasons to Buy a 2023 Honda HR-V By Realistick