The Honda ZR-VA has been approved for sale, which will give the Japanese brand an important third SUV to offer in the Australian market.
The variant section of the government approval document reads “1.5L, HEV”. This is understood to refer to the 1.5-liter turbocharged and 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines.
The documents do not include pictures, but Honda revealed ZR-V for the Japanese market in July as an improved, refined version of HR-V North America revealed last month.
This is a larger model HR-V “global” is sold in markets such as Australia and Europe, and therefore positions above it but below CR-VIt’s a developed in its new generation.
Honda Australia said in May a third SUV is coming “In the next 12 to 18 months or so.” It did not provide any exact time after that.
The launch of the ZR-V in Japan has been pushed from October to next spring (our fall) due to semiconductor shortages, with model details to be announced this month. .
This model was also introduced in China and set to on sale in Europe in 2023.
Unlike the HR-V, which only seats 4 in Australia due to local design codes, the ZR-V will offer 5 seats.
Based on civicopposed to JazzBased on the HR-V, the ZR-V also has a more powerful engine than its smaller SUV sibling.
Unlike the HR-V, which uses a 1.5-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder as the base engine, the ZR-V uses a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine.
Although outputs for the ZR-V have not been released, the engine is already available on the Civic with 131kW/240Nm, mated to a continuously variable transmission.
E: HEV hybrid combines a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with two electric motors. Again, outputs haven’t been released for the ZR-V, but the Civic’s 2.0-litre hybrid option produces 135kW and 315Nm while the new version produces 135kW and 315Nm. Fit generates 152kW and 335Nm.
Both powertrains are offered with a choice of front- or all-wheel drive in Japan.
Like the US HR-V, the ZR-V should be about 4567mm long, 1839mm wide, 1610mm to 1621mm tall and ride on a 2654mm wheelbase.
This puts the new crossover between the 4.35m-long HR-V available at local showrooms and the upcoming sixth-generation CR-V which is nearly 4.7m long.
It also makes it about 100mm longer and 14mm wider than Toyota Corolla Cross on a 14mm longer wheelbase.
Compared to the US HR-V, the Japanese ZR-V has a smoother front bumper and doesn’t have the large glossy black air intakes like its American brother.
The grille shape is largely the same, but filled with a series of black vertical slats instead of a honeycomb grid.
Along the sides, the ZR-V has wheel arch guards in the same color as the body and side skirts instead of the HR-V’s glossy black treatment.
On the rear body, the color has been changed again to glossy black for the bumper. Unlike the US HR-V, which has hidden exhaust tips, the ZR-V has chrome finishes surrounded by a silver imitation wheel panel detail.
Similar differences also appear inside the cabin. The ZR-V’s dashboard can have a color-coded top section for the seats, center console, doors, and armrests.
Up front the driver has a fully digital instrument display, while the US HR-V combines a 7.0-inch information display with a physical speedometer.
The hybrid ZR-V pictured here also swaps out the traditional gas-only HR-V’s shift lever in the US for a bunch of buttons and switches.
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The next generation CR-V
The introduction of the ZR-V will give Honda a new line of vehicles after it has spent the past few years cutting down on the number of models it offers.
It stopped Jazz, CityCivic sedan, Odyssey and NSXonly 4 models remain: Civic hatch, HR-V, CR-V and Accord.
In July, Honda said the new CR-V is “more than 12 months away”, while it has yet to give any indication of when we should expect. New Accord as our Thailand-sourced model operates on a different product lifecycle than the US-market version.
