The 2019 Honda HR-V gets a refresh for 2019, three years after its U.S. introduction. Honda has also added two new trims, the Touring and the Sport, which our tester was. And along with the new visual cues, Honda now equips all HR-V models with Honda Sensing, which they descrive thus:
For the first time, HR-V now features the Honda Sensing® suite of advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies – including but not limited to Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS™), Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Lane Keeping Assist (LKAS) – standard on EX and above trims, making Honda Sensing® available on every model Honda sells.
The visual modifications are subtle and involve tweaks to lighting, bumpers and the grille on the HR-V. Sport models gets blacked-out trim, while the all-wheel-drive-only Touring gets the LED headlight/foglight treatment and dark chrome.
A 2019 HR-V LX FWD starts at $21,515, whereas an AWD tester like our Sport will set you back $24,615.
All trims receive the same 1.8-liter, 4-cylinder engine, transferring 141 horsepower to the drive wheels via a CVT transmission.
I didn’t think too much about this one until I saw it on the floor of the New York International Auto Show–totally smashed after its crash testing.
The Honda release explains that the little HR-V received a Good rating from the IIHS as well as five stars from NHTSA. So, I wonder, how would our old 2000 Civic Si have fared in the same testing? (This is why my wife now drives a newer Civic Si.)
Yeah, that’s today’s reality. Cars crash, and technology has been steadily tilting the odds in our favor.
The point of this? If you or a loved one wants a small SUV, nice to see that they can survive a blow.
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