Honda HR-V could make its Indian premiere at the 2020 Auto Expo next February and is expected to be positioned against rivals like Hyundai Creta, Renault Duster
President of Honda Cars India, Gaku Nakanishi, confirmed in a recent interview that the Japanese auto major needs to work harder in the SUV segment to grab a good pie of market share amidst having a four-strong sedan lineup with the introduction of the Civic earlier this month. If Honda aims for big volume numbers, it could introduce a Creta rival SUV in the near future.
The HR-V SUV appears to fit the bill perfectly and it is expected to make domestic premiere at the 2020 Auto Expo. It has the potential to rival Hyundai Creta, Tata Harrier Nissan Kicks and even entry-level variants of the Jeep Compass. The HR-V has now been displayed at the 2019 Bangkok International Motor Show and is already on sale there for quite a while.
In some markets, the HR-V SUV is retailed with a 1.8 litre SOHC i-VTEC unit making 141 hp and 172 Nm as in the Civic and is mated to a CVT auto with paddle shifters as standard. The premium SUV is also available in a Sport variant which uses a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine seen in the global-spec Civic developing a maximum power output of 180 bhp. It is connected to either a six-speed manual transmission or a CVT automatic.
HR-V gets several cosmetic updates including black treatment on the front fascia, smoked out tail lamps, 18-inch black alloy wheels, black mirror caps and interior trim, etc. Performance upgrades include Honda Performance Damper and presence of Agile Handling Assist technology.
At the 2018 Guangzhou Auto Show last December, Honda introduced the Everus VE-1 which is derived from the Everus EV concept. It is an evolved form of standard HR-V with an electric drivetrain. The VE-1 features an electric motor delivering 163 PS and 280 Nm of peak torque.
The 53.6 kWh Lithium-ion battery pack helps in achieving a claimed electric range of 340 km on a single charge in the NEDC cycle. It also gets Normal, Battery Saver and Sport driving modes to eke out the best out of the battery depending on the driving conditions.