The only things carried over are the name and hidden rear door handles. This new one looks nothing like its predecessor everything from the body shape to the model wordmark is fresh. That won’t be achieved by same-same looking evolutionary design, certainly not in the fast moving SUV game, and the HR-V delivers in this respect. But the rules of the sport are well established now, and the new third-generation HR-V won’t be altering anything – instead, its mission is to put the nameplate at the top of the pack, again. We called the outgoing HR-V a game changer in our first local drive in 2015, and change the game it did. That change is coming very, very soon to Malaysia, and so we headed to Thailand for a preview drive of the new HR-V, which was launched there with a single e:HEV hybrid powertrain in November 2021.
The qualities that made the HR-V so popular are still relevant today, but it certainly isn’t a fresh face anymore and change is needed. The newer and cheaper Proton X50 outsells it and the Corolla Cross is gaining momentum. The HR-V’s status as the default compact SUV is no more. Recently, the big T made a big assault on HR-V territory with the Corolla Cross. National makes Perodua and Proton both now have compact SUVs in their range, and Toyota – for long, a laggard in this growing sector – now has a range of SUVs on offer, from the Perodua-manufactured Rush to the Lexus-level Harrier. Like the Myvi of upper middle class areas.īut no one stays at the top of the game unchallenged forever. It’s not uncommon to see shopping mall parking lots and suburban taman porches filled with rows of HR-Vs. It became the defining compact SUV, a brand new product line for HM that went on to find over 111,000 homes. To say that the HR-V has been a success for Honda Malaysia is an understatement. In its early days here, the HR-V fought for sales with cars from a class above, C-segment SUVs such as the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage (these two brands and nameplates were still in their prime in Malaysia then) and the Mazda CX-5. Technically a B-segment SUV, its natural rivals here would have been the Ford EcoSport and Peugeot 2008, but against those two, Honda’s brand power would be enough to win it, before factoring that the HR-V was a far superior car. It was an instant hit, an entry that was everything to everyone, as much as a crowd pleaser as an SUV can get. It wasn’t the first compact SUV in the market when it reached our shores in 2015, but the RU-series HR-V could well be one of the most significant SUVs ever launched in our country.
No confusion when we’re talking about the impact the HR-V made on the Malaysian market, though. UPDATE: The 2022 Honda HR-V is now open for booking in Malaysia.
From here, all mentions of ‘previous HR-V’ or ‘the original’ refer to this one. The SUV we’re familiar with is actually the second ‘Hi-rider Revolutionary Vehicle’ to use the name – the first being the boxy two-door oddball from the early 2000s – but to most, the one that was launched by Honda Malaysia in 2015 is ‘the first HR-V’. Seven years have passed since the Honda HR-V landed in Malaysia.
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