Many people have seen the Honda HR-V 2022 in Malaysia during Raya week thanks to the countries in our region that have fully adopted Raya mode this year. This means a lot of Singaporeans have driven their brand new 2022 HR-Vs to Malaysia to visit their family here.
When will Malaysians be able to play with the new HR-V? The new Honda HR-V will arrive in Malaysia sometime in the second half of 2022, but perhaps not in time for Hari Raya Haji.
HR-V is a very important model of Honda Malaysia, pioneering in the luxury SUV segment against which rivals such as Proton X50, X70 and Toyota Corolla Cross are currently competing. Honda Malaysia will most likely hit the market here as a locally assembled vehicle like the outgoing model.
Which version of the Honda HR-V 2022 will we get?
First of all, we can rule out the Honda HR-V in the US market as it is only known as the HR-V there. Globally, this special SUV will be called Honda ZR-VA and it is placed between the HR-V and the CR-V.
This version of the “HR-V” is a larger vehicle and is based on the Civic instead of the City, aimed at customers who find the CR-V to be too big for their needs.
This is the HR-V model we’ll be getting, that’s what Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia get. But notice that there are two different ‘faces’. To the left is the ‘regular’ side, with sporty horizontal bars. The car on the right is the ‘RS’ face, which looks sportier.
Indonesia has both sides – the E and E SE variants with the normally aspirated 1.5 liter engine are present as usual. The sportier ‘RS’ face is reserved for the model with the 1.5-litre turbocharged engine. In Thailand, the RS face is offered, but there is no turbo engine – the RS face is paired with an e:HEV hybrid engine there. Thailand also has a hybrid version with a normal face.
We think it’s possible that Honda Malaysia could just offer a sportier ‘RS’ face in Malaysia with a wider choice of engines. After all, City hybrid models have RS here, so the HR-V could be the same. And it would be strange if the turbocharged sports car didn’t get the RS look. So we can review both the HR-V RS Turbo and the HR-V RS e:HEV that will go on sale here.
But of course this is pure speculation, we’ll see. If only one variant receives the RS prospect, it will likely be a hybrid, like other Honda models. Which face do you prefer – normal face or RS face? We think the RS side will be more suitable for Malaysian style lovers.
Is the HR-V 2022 now a bigger SUV?
Honda HR-V currently sold in Malaysia has the following dimensions – 4,346 mm long x 1,790 mm wide x 1,605 mm high, 2,610 mm wheelbase.
HR-V 2022 has the following dimensions – 4,385 mm long x 1,790 mm wide x 1,590 mm high, with a wheelbase of 2,610 mm.
Unexpected surprise, the new car has the same wheelbase as the upcoming car. It was developed mainly in the outer length, while remaining the same in width.
You can see from the side view above that the front and rear overhangs of the new HR-V are slightly longer than those of the old model.
What engine will Honda HR-V 2022 have in Malaysia?
Globally, the Honda HR-V 2022 is offered with three engine choices. The base engine is a normally aspirated 1.5 liter engine. For those who want more power, there is a turbocharged 1.5-liter engine. And then there’s the e:HEV Hybrid for those who are a little more tech-savvy in their cars.
1.5 liter 4-cylinder NA engine
– 121 PS at 6,600 rpm
– 145 Nm at 4,300 rpm
– CVT . continuously variable transmission
1.5-liter turbo four-cylinder engine
– 177 PS at 6,000 rpm
– 240 Nm at 1,700-4,500 rpm
– CVT . continuously variable transmission
1.5 liter four-cylinder e: HEV . hybrid system
– Atkinson cycle
– 105 hp, 127 Nm from the engine
– The total power of the whole system is 131 horsepower, 253 Nm
In the e:HEV hybrid system, the 1.5-liter engine works with two electric motors. The e:HEV system most of the time uses the engine as a generator using one of the electric motors, which also acts as a starter. The second electric motor is larger – it is used to drive the front wheels most of the time. At high speeds where the system calculates that the direct-drive four-cylinder engine will be more efficient, the locking clutch will engage and the engine will drive the wheels instead of the engine.
It’s unlikely we’ll get the 1.5-litre normally aspirated engine here. The upcoming HR-V uses a 1.8-liter engine for non-hybrid products – reducing the engine size for a normally aspirated engine in an SUV body is an issue of concern to customers here (HR- V 1.5 NA weighs 1,250 kg compared to City hatch 1,151 kg). So we think the HR-V 2022 could be a turbo or a hybrid only offered in Malaysia.
How much will the Honda HR-V 2022 cost?
This is a difficult one to estimate. Below is the price of the upcoming HR-V currently on sale in Malaysia.
2022 Honda HR-V 1.8 E – RM104,000.21
2022 Honda HR-V 1.8 SE – RM 105,363.85
2022 Honda HR-V 1.8 V – RM113,421.92
2022 Honda HR-V 1.5 Hybrid – RM113,954.82
2022 Honda HR-V 1.8 RS – RM118,581.81
However, you need to keep in mind these prices are for the current SST exemptions, which are due to end June 30, 2022. We need to go back a bit to 2019 to see prices with SST, as the new HR-V will most likely be priced with SST included. We can see that SST represents about 4-5% of the price tag.
2019 Honda HR-V 1.8 E – RM 108,800
2019 Honda HR-V 1.8 V – RM 118,800
2019 Honda HR-V 1.5 Hybrid – RM120,800
2019 Honda HR-V RS – RM 124,800
The price of the new HR-V may be slightly higher due to the higher position of the offered engine, if we only have turbo and hybrid engines, ignoring the normally aspirated 1.5 engine.
If you look at the price of the new City Hatchback, the e:HEV RS costs RM107,783.09 while the most expensive petrol model is only RM91,708.51. E: City Sedan’s HEV RS is priced at RM105,950.45 compared to RM90,212.36 for the 1.5 V. That’s a pretty substantial premium for a hybrid system – around RM15k or about 17% of the premium price.
This is because the new hybrids use Honda’s new i-MMD system, which is more expensive than the previous i-DCD system because it’s more advanced. You are driving an electric car with an ICE generator.
If we take the RM118,800 of the 2019 HR-V 1.8 V with the SST price tag as a base and add it 17%, the latest HR-V model of the e-series: HEV RS can be had for RM138k. That would still be cheaper than the CR-V’s final starting price of RM151k, so it’s a realistic possibility.
Are you eagerly waiting for the new Honda HR-V to launch? If it’s you, have you booked the agency yet? Leave a comment and let us know if the salesperson has any suggestions for pricing and specs!
GALLERY: 2022 Honda HR-V e: HEV RS (Thailand market)
GALLERY: 2022 Honda HR-V e: HEV EL (Thailand market)
