New HRV - any thoughts?

[AmitG]

Has anyone looked at one or even bought one? If so I would be interested in your thoughts.

Thanks.

[Deerfoot]

I had a quick shufty around one whilst I was picking up some brake pads for my wife's Jazz.

I really liked it but I couldn't really see who the potential customers were for it. It's expensive too (the showroom car was around £19,000 I think). The heater control panel looked a little 'style over substance' and I can see it being covered in scratches in a short period of time.

It appeared to be a solid product build quality wise.

I'll definitely have a look closer at one when we sell the Jazz as my wife isn't a fan of the Civic's hatchback window arrangement.

[Sheepshanks]

My missus has had 2 Jazz's but when I saw the price of HR-V I got her a VW Tiguan instead.

[AmitG]

I had a look at one yesterday.

Things I liked:

• Looks really good, especially in light colours (white and silver).
• Masses - and I mean masses - of interior space. Honda claim the exterior is smaller than a Juke but the interior is bigger than a Qashqai, and it feels true. Ludicrous amounts of rear legroom. Massive boot. You get the magic seats like in the Jazz. And the front passenger seat folds down for long loads.
• I like the glass-covered climate control unit. It will probably get covered in fingerprints but it looks really nice IMHO. A nice touch.
• Comes with a CD player so us Luddites can listen to music. A lot of cars in this segment no longer have CD players.
• Can take a spare wheel.
• Feels well built. You get the impression that it'll run forever on minimal maintenance. It has that classic Honda vibe.

Things I didn't like:

• Rear is a bit boring style wise. The rear lights are too big IMHO.
• Instrument cluster looks a bit cheap, as though it is from a car of 2 generations ago.
• The only auto option is a 1.5 litre N/A petrol. It looks OK performance wise but nothing to write home about.
• No hybrid or 4WD versions. Apparently the UK will not get them.
• It does seem expensive for what it is. The top model - with LED headlights and pano roof - weighs in at something like 27k including metallic paint and a spare wheel.

I am thinking of taking a test drive, but 27k is an awful lot of money for the posh version.

[Deerfoot]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2015-Honda-HR-V-1-5-i-VT...

Not new but as good as.

I can't see them being a big seller due to the price (Honda UK have form on this, the 8th gen Accord was a good car but sales in the UK were crippled by Honda UK pricing it too high, I know the strength of the yen contributed to this too). It's a shame.

I saw a white one today on the A303 and it did look tidy.

[Sheepshanks]

AmitG said:

• It does seem expensive for what it is. The top model - with LED headlights and pano roof - weighs in at something like 27k including metallic paint and a spare wheel.

I am thinking of taking a test drive, but 27k is an awful lot of money for the posh version.

Yep. For £25K we got a Tiguan Match 4Motion DSG. Although the VW emissions announcement a couple of weeks after purchase was a bit nasty.

There's some issue with the spare - they weren't available (maybe sorted now) but there's no proper way to secure it in boot, IIRC it's simply not designed to have one.

If you haven't seen it already, have a gander here: http://clubjazz.org/forum/index.php?board=145.0

[AmitG]

Thanks for the clubjazz link - that looks like a really good forum.

I confess to being a bit baffled by the price, particularly of the EX version. To put it in perspective, for an extra 2 grand, you can have a Lexus NX!

I will find out about dealer discounts, but I am not hopeful, since Honda dealers tend not to discount much (in my experience).

[Deerfoot]

Drive the deal list the HR-V so it might be worth asking them for a quote....

[mikey77]

As I'm vaguely looking to downsize a bit I poked around one in the showroom while waiting for the Accord being serviced.
I thought it had a lot less useful room inside than a Jazz and the roof (I'm 6ft 1in) was down on my head. I also got the impression it was nowhere near as well finished as the Jazz - inside the tailgate the paint was a disgrace. For what it's worth, I think the Jazz for the French market is made in China, which put me off a bit until now.
In France the HRV is €26,000. I can't imagine why anyone would buy one at that price and I certainly haven't seen one on the road so far.
I came away thinking that if it was the sort of thing I wanted I would do what all the French seem to do - buy a Dacia Duster (made in Romania for France) for €10,000 less.

[nobby8628]

HondaUK are a disgrace and the parent company should disband it immediately. rejects from MG Rover are still in abundance there and we all know what happened there.

Do not be put off by Honda's being built all over the world ... they have spent the past several years doing this globalisation effort and the usual Honda quality will be enforced.

The HR-V is a nice looking car but agree that if the pricing is wrong it simply wont sell ... bound to be dealer deals going on. SHAME on HUK

[TheGuru]

That pricing is disgraceful, the top of the range model here in Australia is $35k driveaway, including all the driver aids (lane change warning etc), panoramic sunroof, leather etc. Usually the other way round.

I think it's one of the best looking small SUV's around, and surprising good to drive, the handling is well sorted but it is a bit underpowered with the 1.8 petrol. AWD versions would be nice. Certainly has all the tech you could need. Only real issue was rear headroom.

[Deerfoot]

TheGuru said:

.....but it is a bit underpowered with the 1.8 petrol.

Which isn`t even available here..... Is that the 140 bhp 1.8 from the Civic?

[Sheepshanks]

Deerfoot said:

Which isn`t even available here..... Is that the 140 bhp 1.8 from the Civic?

Yep. And auto as standard (which I think any kind of SUV needs otherwise they become like trucks). Metallic no extra cost either.

Honda must think it's hilarious when someone in the UK buys one of their cars.

[Deerfoot]

Sheepshanks said:

Honda must think it's hilarious when someone in the UK buys one of their cars.

The last time I visited my local dealers (mid-morning on a Saturday to pick up some brake pads from the parts desk) there were three bored looking salesmen in staring out of the window. I was the only customer there.....

I`ve only seen two HR-Vs on the roads so far.

[Sheepshanks]

Deerfoot said:

The last time I visited my local dealers (mid-morning on a Saturday to pick up some brake pads from the parts desk) there were three bored looking salesmen in staring out of the window. I was the only customer there.....

We went to a "VIP Event" and we were the only customers there. It was a bit embarrassing. I've no idea how the new glass palace dealership that replaced the well regard independent survives. I can only guess the reason Honda's prices are so high is they have to give several £K margin to the dealer to keep the place going. Apparently Honda geared the network up to get back to doing 100K cars a year but they're doing half that.

Deerfoot said:

I`ve only seen two HR-Vs on the roads so far.

I haven't seen one. And there's a lot of Jazz's in our area but I haven't noticed any of the latest Jazz either.

[AmitG]

^^^ Same here.

Every time I have been to a Honda dealer they have been basically deserted, even on a Saturday.

I also got the "VIP event" stuff, along with phone calls exhorting me to go along and secure the deal of a lifetime...which turned out to be 500 quid off a Civic.

Interesting article here

http://www.motortrader.com/motor-trader-news/mt-in...

Interested to hear opinions on this. It appears to paint a rosy picture - but it ends up sounding like a rather selective account. He boasts that Type-R is sold out, but it was a niche model, so it doesn't strike me as a huge sales achievement. He also boasts that HRV is sold out; given that since launch I have seen precisely 1 on the road, I can only conclude that they ordered minimal stock. Globally I am sure it is doing well, but globally they aren't asking silly prices for a mediocre spec.

He boasts that they have maintained volume on the Civic...which, translated, probably means that nobody was buying them before and nobody is buying them now. The brokers are offering 6 grand off a decent spec Civic.

I decided not to test drive the HRV in the end. The dealer said that there were no discounts to be had, and I couldn't pay 26 grand for that car even if I liked it. For that money you can have a Toyota RAV4 hybrid! Come on Honda - are you serious?

The Jazz is nice, but again the top end EX model is 18 grand, and has a weedy engine. For that money you can have a Toyota Avensis with a non-weedy engine. There are loads of EX demonstrators available with low miles for about 15 grand, but they are all yellow, and I am going to struggle with that colour

[Car Fan]

AmitG said:

Interesting article here

http://www.motortrader.com/motor-trader-news/mt-in...

Interested to hear opinions on this. It appears to paint a rosy picture - but it ends up sounding like a rather selective account. He boasts that Type-R is sold out, but it was a niche model, so it doesn't strike me as a huge sales achievement. He also boasts that HRV is sold out; given that since launch I have seen precisely 1 on the road, I can only conclude that they ordered minimal stock. Globally I am sure it is doing well, but globally they aren't asking silly prices for a mediocre spec.

Interesting article. I think your summary of it being a selective account is accurate, though.

Honda seem lost in the UK market, and the ridiculous pricing policy doesn't help (I consider this to be the reason for the demise of models such as the Accord in the UK).

Also, they are good cars but what is their USP? AFAIK they are still top of the reliability surveys, but seeing as the majority of new car buyers seem to want to change every 2-3 years via leasing/finance I'd suggest that it doesn't count for much, as the people buying the cars new aren't concerned about long term reliability. Tied into this is the fact that the current engine range seems rather 'low-tech'; N/A petrol engines and 5 speed torque-converter autos are tried and tested technology but result in cars that are off the pace in terms of CO2 emissions and performance compared to rivals.

[TheGuru]

AmitG said:

The Jazz is nice, but again the top end EX model is 18 grand, and has a weedy engine. For that money you can have a Toyota Avensis with a non-weedy engine. There are loads of EX demonstrators available with low miles for about 15 grand, but they are all yellow, and I am going to struggle with that colour

14K in other countries, and that's for the 1.5 Mugen version

I know Honda makes some cars in the UK - is it anything to do with protecting that?

[Sheepshanks]

AmitG said:

He also boasts that HRV is sold out; given that since launch I have seen precisely 1 on the road, I can only conclude that they ordered minimal stock. Globally I am sure it is doing well, but globally they aren't asking silly prices for a mediocre spec.

I decided not to test drive the HRV in the end. The dealer said that there were no discounts to be had, and I couldn't pay 26 grand for that car even if I liked it. For that money you can have a Toyota RAV4 hybrid! Come on Honda - are you serious?

HR-V was out in some parts of the world almost a year before Europe so it’s had quite a head-start elsewhere. I suppose, from a business POV, they might as well limit demand in UK by charging a high price if they can’t get them. You do wonder why Honda doesn’t make more available to higher priced markets though.

AmitG said:

The Jazz is nice, but again the top end EX model is 18 grand, and has a weedy engine. For that money you can have a Toyota Avensis with a non-weedy engine.

We’ve got two of the Mk2 EX’s in the family, but again, they were a year late with the mk3 and then they dropped the glass roof off the Jazz EX – it’s not even an option. That was the main reason for buying an EX on the mk2. I note the MD says the average buyer is 65 – I’ve read before it was 62 so they seem to be going the wrong way. Reading the Jazz forums people who’ve got mk3 generally aren’t very happy with them - the tech is iffy (most older people hate that stuff) and Honda's on-going insistence of not providing a spare wheel drives that demographic mad.


Interesting comments in the article about PCPs – when we got the last Jazz they “forced” us to take a PCP at 0% APR and no fees by offering an extra £500 discount. I was buying the car for someone else so was annoyed to have mess around with finance stuff.

[TheGuru]

Sheepshanks said:

I note the MD says the average buyer is 65 – I’ve read before it was 62 so they seem to be going the wrong way. Reading the Jazz forums people who’ve got mk3 generally aren’t very happy with them - the tech is iffy (most older people hate that stuff) and Honda's on-going insistence of not providing a spare wheel drives that demographic mad.

Clearly Honda management are out of touch, their main target market for the Fit/Jazz is first car buyers, funky metro-dwellers, young females etc.

Edited by TheGuru on Thursday 25th February 14:45