Currently reading: New Honda HR-V: interior previewed ahead of 18 February unveil

New HR-V e:HEV will ditch pure petrol and diesel power for an exclusively electrified offering

Honda has released a few hints at the interior of the upcoming new Honda HR-V ahead of its reveal next week, revealing a cabin redesign for the model. 

The third-generation Honda HR-V will be revealed on 18 February as an electrified crossover to rival the Ford Puma and Nissan Juke.

Now officially called the HR-V e:HEV, the SUV will be sold exclusively with a hybrid powertrain from launch in line with Honda's strategy to electrify its entire European line-up by 2022. 

Technical details remain unconfirmed, but the HR-V will likely use a variation of the larger Honda CR-V Hybrid's powertrain – which mates a 2.0-litre Atkinson-cycle petrol engine with a pair of electric motors and a new fixed-gear transmission – or the smaller Honda Jazz supermini's similar 1.5-litre set-up.

It's possible that, like the electrified CR-V, the HR-V will be available with a choice of front- or four-wheel-drive configurations. Honda claims it will pair "high efficiency with refined, fun-to-drive performance".

Preview images gives little away in terms of the model's design but gives a better look at details we've previously seen in spy shots, namely the heavily raked roofline, rear spoiler and slim rear light bar differing from today's model.  

Although the views of the cabin in the latest shots aren't extensive, we can see that the HR-V will now offer a touchscreen protruding upwards from the dash rather than sitting flush, with reduced shortcut buttons but what should be a more modern interface. The screen is flanked by air vents, while Wireless Apple CarPlay can also be seen in action. 

Official details of the new HR-V come soon afer Honda confirmed the second-generation HR-V had been taken out of production ahead of the introduction of tighter RDE2 emissions regulations on 1 January. 

On sale since 2013, the outgoing Honda HR-V (2015-2020) had been available with a choice of either a 1.5-litre petrol engine or a 1.6-litre diesel, both of which will not be offered in Honda's line-up from next year onwards.

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Felix Page

Felix Page
Title: Deputy editor

Felix is Autocar's deputy editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today's most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years. 

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The Apprentice 18 January 2021
Hmm.. the hybrid system in the CR-V whilst very nice to drive, very refined was during the few days I had one disappointing. MPG, emissions and power output lag others like Toyota. I was most disappointed as Honda engineers can truly innovate and the design has a lot of potential, the numbers should be better than they are.

It might fare better in the smaller HR-V and that model is less likely to be a fleet choice so emissions/tax probably matter less, but we will see.

artill 18 January 2021

Is the next HRV going to be purely Hybrid, or is that all that will be available here, with other cheaper versions sold around the world?

Peter Cavellini 18 January 2021

An Egg is an Egg, no matter how you prepare it, it's still an Egg, well, it must be jolly hard to something new, better, different than the other brands, I hope they do well with it.