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Images published on Facebook have uncovered the new Honda HR-V a week out from its official debut on February 18.
The images, posted on the profile Vanhoe Rage and reported to be Honda patent filings, are basic and don’t offer much detail beyond 3D-generated grayscale models.
What the new images also reveal about the HR-V is it will wear a heavily redesigned face, sporting a smoothed-off frontal area around a ‘multi-diamond’ style grille and restyled headlights.
Okay, but what about details?
Promising high efficiency with refined “fun-to-drive performance”, it’s reported in Europe this also means the new HR-V range will be powered solely by a dual-motor hybrid powertrain.
Further details, however, on Honda‘s third-generation HR-V are being withheld.
We can also see inside will feature a heavily redesigned centre stack that looks much cleaner and better arranged – reminiscent of Mazda designs – which also stands a screen above the dash.
There are also metal HVAC dials. Placement of Apple CarPlay behind an iPhone in frame suggests the new HR-V’s infotainment will prioritise connectivity.
Broadly speaking, the HR-V e:HEV will further bolster an Electric Vision strategy to have all European mainstream models electrified by 2022, joining other e:HEV variants in the CR-V and recently re-launched Jazz ranges overseas.
“The all-new Accord released in late 2019 was the first opportunity for Honda Australia to introduce a hybrid version of a new model,” a Honda spokesperson said, “and those plans will flow through to other vehicles in the line-up over time.”
Currently, the Accord’s 158kW/315Nm dual-motor hybrid powertrain is attached solely to the range-topping VTi-LX model, pegged at $50,490.
It begins at $25,990 before on roads.
Locally, the CR-V misses out on the 2.0-litre hybrid powertrain underpinning models in Europe, which was revealed to the public in late 2017 at the Shanghai motor show.
In 2020, Honda sold 8181 HR-Vs, making it the sixth most popular small SUV among 22 models.
