The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Balanced proportions
- Clean cabin design
- Room for four adults
- Calm ride
- User-friendly infotainment
Dislikes
- Dull acceleration
- Lacks cargo versatility
- A gas-guzzler for the size
Buying tip
features & specs
The 2024 Honda HR-V demonstrates that budget-oriented family life still has a lot to offer.
What kind of car is the 2024 Honda HR-V? What does it compare to?
The 2024 Honda HR-V is a great example of the small crossover. It straddles the style differences between SUV and hatchback, while prioritizing affordability. Competitors include the Hyundai Venue, Volkswagen Taos, and Subaru Crosstrek.
Is the 2024 Honda HR-V a good crossover?
We award the HR-V strong ratings for its styling, comfort, and features, while good handling improves its performance score. The underwhelming fuel economy ratings bring down the overall score, however, for a TCC Rating of 6.5 out of 10. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What’s new for the 2024 Honda HR-V?
Nothing aside from a $500 price increase. The HR-V was fully redesigned and entered its second generation for 2023, with a profile and roofline that say hatchback more confidently than SUV.
The cabin was designed with family use as the priority, in everything from the cargo floor to the upholstery. This marks a change from the active lifestyle mindset that drove earlier HR-V models, and the Element before that. With an uncluttered instrument display and seats that are only slightly elevated above a typical car, the HR-V goes for simplicity, resulting in one of the most spacious crossovers in terms of usable headroom and leg-room. Cargo capacity accommodates a big grocery trip without folding down the seats, and the door openings are wide enough to unbuckle your toddler without being a contortionist.
The HR-V is dragged down by lack of productive communication between the 158-hp 2.0-liter inline-4 engine and the CVT, particularly if you often drive through hills. However, handling, ride, and braking are well sorted. The HR-V feels Civic-like on curvy roads, assuming it can maintain momentum. On the highway, the HR-V is quiet and calm, which is a considerable improvement over the bouncier ride of the previous generation.
For this generation, the latest version of the Honda Sensing active-safety suite comes standard, with features like automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, active lane control, and adaptive cruise control.
How much does the 2024 Honda HR-V cost?
Despite a small price increase for 2024, the Honda HR-V remains a relative bargain. It starts at $25,395, including a $1,295 destination charge (which increased by $50 this year). AWD adds $1,500 across the lineup, which consists of LX, Sport, and the top $29,495 EX-L trim.
Where is the 2024 Honda HR-V made?
In Celaya, Mexico.
2024 Honda HR-V Styling
The HR-V avoids making waves but delivers simple charm.
Is the Honda HR-V a good-looking car?
Yes, with small details that flaunt the HR-V’s charm despite proportions and a profile that blend into the masses of small crossovers. That earns a step above the norm for the exterior, while the cabin scores a bonus point for its uncluttered look. That gives the HR-V a total of an 7 out of 10.
The HR-V evolves from its awkward, creased look in favor of a cleaner, visually lower design, thanks to a long hood and car-like proportions. It employs design elements from throughout the Honda stable, like rear lighting shared with the CR-V and a roofline like Acura’s latest MDX.
Each version executes the details a little differently. Sport models get a blacked-out look and black 18-inch wheels. The base LX and top EX-L models wear gunmetal-finish 17-inch wheels plus a honeycomb-like grille texture. Some details are borrowed from the Honda E, the HR-V’s distant cousin overseas, such as the rounded tailgate.
The interior design shines just as much for what it’s omitting. Thanks to smart design and engineering, you won’t find unnecessarily complicated interfaces, chunky front pillars, or a lot of reflective, bright surfaces (those with migraines, rejoice). It shares elements with the current Civic, such as a metallic beltline that continues the honeycomb grille motif. The dash itself is low, enabling plenty of outward vision. An infotainment screen stands above with simple climate controls below. The most complex design feature is the bridge-like center console that carries over from the previous HR-V, which allows drive mode controls, the shifter’s mounting point, and small-item storage beneath.
2024 Honda HR-V Performance
The HR-V’s acceleration and speed are modest, but its spirited handling make the commute less dull.
The HR-V isn’t fast or quick, but exceptional tuning makes for good handling, ride, and braking, as well as a good overall sensory experience. We subtract a point for the powertrain but add two points for the ride and handling to a 6 out of 10.
Is the Honda HR-V 4WD?
The HR-V comes standard with front-wheel drive, but for $1,500 more the optional all-wheel-drive system uses hydraulics to operate a clutch and shift about half the torque to the rear wheels as needed.
How fast is the Honda HR-V?
At a hefty 3,333 pounds, the top HR-V weighs about as much as a base CR-V. The HR-V’s powertrain is adequate but never seems frisky.
Following decades of Honda’s non-turbocharged inline-4 engines, the 158-hp 2.0-liter is smooth yet loud when pushed for acceleration. The engine and the CVT aren’t a great match, since the CVT tries to maintain the lowest possible revs, which makes the engine strain and leaves it waiting for a “downshift.” This can be alleviated by pushing harder on the throttle, or by shifting from “D” to “S.”
The HR-V’s core underpinnings are loaned out from the Civic and CR-V, resulting in refined road manners despite a somewhat high stance. The rear floating subframe and the independent multi-link suspension come from the CR-V, as well, though the steering stability was tuned specifically for the HR-V, perfect for confidence through turns and over rough surfaces.
The HR-V doesn’t have an off-road mode, though it has a descent control mode for low-speed crawling down a steep trail, and Snow mode tweaks the stability and torque distribution.
2024 Honda HR-V Comfort & Quality
The HR-V trades some cargo space in favor of cabin space.
The HR-V edges into cabin sizes like the Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rogue, and other compact crossovers. Comfy front seats and roomy rear seats each earn a point, as does the quiet ride, resulting in an 8 out of 10.
The HR-V’s cabin no longer features the flip-upright Magic Seat setup, but it has a big cargo area and a comfortable rear row. The seat design optimizes posture and support, and combined with the wide door cuts, helps make the HR-V feel more spacious than its subcompact footprint suggests. The HR-V is quiet, too, thanks to an acoustic windshield and generous sound insulation in the doors, floor, dash, and trunk lining.
There’s no power tailgate option, though the handle is perfectly placed for easy grabbing. There’s 24.4 cubic feet of space and the 60/40-split rear row folds almost fully flat, opening up a total of 55.1 cubic ft. A low, long load floor and wide hatch opening make the space easy to use.
2024 Honda HR-V Safety
The 2024 Honda HR-V earns a Top Safety Pick+ from the IIHS.
How safe is the Honda HR-V?
The NHTSA hasn’t tested the HR-V since its redesign, but the IIHS awards the 2023 model a Top Safety Pick+ rating. Combined with the generous list of standard safety equipment, that earns a 7 here.
The HR-V features 10 standard airbags, active lane control, automatic emergency braking, and adaptive cruise control. A road-departure mitigation system fine-tunes braking and steering to prevent or minimize a loss of control. These features are included with the single-camera Honda Sensing system.
The only active-safety tech omitted on entry-level models are blind-spot monitors and low-speed braking control (standard in EX-L versions).
2024 Honda HR-V Features
The HR-V offers tremendous value.
The 2024 Honda HR-V has more of a focus on value than ever. For the low base price, long list of standard features, and great infotainment tech, it earns an 8 out of 10.
All HR-V models include power windows, automatic climate control, alloy wheels, and a 7.0-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility. Models with the 9.0-inch display support wireless smartphone integration.
Which Honda HR-V should I buy?
The entry-level LX looks like the best value. We don’t know of a rival crossover that seems so refined yet costs just barely over $25,000. Unless the look of the Sport strikes your fancy, you may consider skipping its heated seats and sunroof in favor of the top EX-L with its extra features and bigger infotainment display.
How much is a fully loaded Honda HR-V?
The top-level EX-L version costs $30,195 when upgraded with all-wheel drive. It gets nicer trim and wheels, dual-zone automatic climate control, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, leather upholstery, LED ambient lighting, and a larger 9.0-inch infotainment display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
2024 Honda HR-V Fuel Economy
The HR-V should be more efficient than it is.
Is the Honda HR-V good on gas?
No, which is surprising. With all-wheel drive, the HR-V is rated at 25 mpg city, 30 highway, 27 combined, while front-wheel-drive models get 26/32/28 mpg.
It’s not only thirstier than rivals, it’s also 2 mpg lower than Honda’s larger CR-V. It’s just a 3 out of 10 on our scale.
Those planning to maximize HR-V efficiency can stick with Econ mode, which softens throttle and shifting behavior somewhat, and runs the climate control more efficiently.
