Honda HR-V (RV) review: comfortable, spacious, and honestly a little slow
3.7/5motorssouq Editorial Team
Consider the HR-V if you want CR-V-like comfort and rear-seat manners in a smaller footprint for easier Manama parking, and you are not chasing performance. The 173 hp naturally aspirated four is adequate rather than good, and a test drive up the causeway on-ramp at full throttle will tell you everything you need to know before signing.
Pros
- Genuinely usable rear-seat legroom, unlike the previous generation
- Soft, well-controlled ride over Bahrain's speed bumps
- Road noise suppression better than the small-crossover average
- Upright driving position is easy to place in tight Manama traffic
Cons
- 173 hp naturally aspirated engine feels genuinely slow overtaking on the causeway
- Lost the previous generation's compact, easy-park footprint
- CVT cannot compensate for the missing low-end torque of a turbo rival
The HR-V nameplate has meant two different cars in the Gulf. The previous generation was a jacked-up Jazz with a small footprint that made it popular for tight Manama parking. The current, third-generation car shares its platform with the Civic instead, which brings genuine rear-seat legroom and a boot that no longer feels like an afterthought — at the cost of the compact dimensions that used to be the whole point.
The honest performance conversation
The 2.0-litre naturally aspirated four making 173 hp is the car's clearest weakness. Merging onto the highway from a standstill, or overtaking on the causeway with the air conditioning working against 45°C, both require planning ahead in a way the turbocharged Civic and CR-V simply do not. The CVT does what it can, but there is no substitute for missing torque.
Where the HR-V redeems itself is everywhere that is not acceleration: the ride is soft and well controlled over Bahrain's speed bumps, road noise is suppressed better than the segment average, and the driving position is more upright and easier to place in traffic than a Civic's.
Who it actually suits
This is a car for someone who wants a Honda badge and a comfortable, easy-to-park crossover shape, and genuinely does not care about outright pace — a second car for a Manama household, or a first car for a new driver who benefits from the extra visibility over a sedan. For anyone cross-shopping on 0–100 km/h times, the CR-V or Civic will be a happier purchase for similar money.