Honda HR-V 2025 facelift launched in Australia – mild redesign, upgraded Honda Sensing; soon available in ASEAN?

Revealed in Japan in March, Honda HR-V upgrade The facelifted B-segment SUV will soon be heading Down Under with the same flashy updates that first appeared on the Vezel in its home market.

These changes include a mildly redesigned front end, which looks a bit more streamlined (no more bulging lower “mouth”) and features a wider grille, somewhat resembling a smaller grille. Lift (called WR-V in Japan), equipped with a silver bar connecting the headlights. There are also new taillights with a thin red bar, giving the car a sleeker look.

Also features projector LED headlights, with Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) function offered on the Civic in other markets (Unfortunately, not here.) This feature will block some parts of the headlights if the Honda Sensing camera detects a vehicle approaching in the opposite direction to avoid blinding other road users.

Speaking of Honda Sensing, the driver assistance suite has been upgraded with the addition of Traffic Jam Assist, which offers Level 2 semi-autonomous driving capabilities (including steering assist, which was previously unavailable) at low speeds. Improvements have also been made to the vehicle’s automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, and lane keeping assist.

Honda Australia hasn’t provided any interior images, but based on what we’ve seen on the Vezel, we can expect the HR-V’s ‘wraparound’ centre console to be replaced by a more conventional unit with an additional storage compartment below the climate control buttons. For the first time in Australia, the car will be offered with Honda Connect apps and services, with a free subscription for the first five years.

There will be three variants on offer, including a new mid-range e:HEV X that sits below the range-topping e:HEV L. Both are powered by the same 131 PS/253 Nm electric motor, plus a 105 PS/127 Nm 1.5-litre DOHC i-VTEC petrol engine as a generator. No mechanical changes have been mentioned, but the JDM Vezel gets new software that improves throttle response and significantly reduces the frequency of engine starts and stops; this is expected to be added to the HR-V overseas as well.

The other model at the bottom of the range is the Vi X petrol variant. It gets a 121 PS/145 Nm 1.5-litre naturally aspirated i-VTEC four-cylinder engine mated to a CVT, and this engine will remain the same this time around, with no turbo models in the pipeline. Last but not least, the facelifted HR-V gets two new colours – Slate Grey and Flora Green, replacing the outgoing Meteorite Grey.

Now that the updated HR-V is finally headed to export markets, its debut in ASEAN should be quite soon, with Thailand almost certainly getting the first car. However, we can rule out the possibility of it coming to Malaysia this year – Honda Malaysia has previously said that it will only Launched two new models in 2024; first is City Hatchback Upgrade In May, the second episode will be The Civic has also been revised..

COLLECTION: Honda Vezel 2025 facelift

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