Honda HR-V review

There are three spec levels when it comes to the new HR-V – Elegance, Advance and Advance Style trims. Elegance will set you back £26,960, Advance is another £2k or so at £29,210 and the Advance Style version costs £31,660. Honda’s tried to peg the prices a little way below the only other purely hybrid car in the class (the Toyota C-HR, of course). But perhaps you’re looking to lease an HR-V monthly, in which case you can expect to pay anywhere between £475 a month for the Elegance model and up to £575 a month for the Advance Style. 

All three trim levels come loaded with nice safety features as standard (airbags, collision avoidance, lane keep assist and all that). There’s also adaptive cruise control, electric heated mirrors, heated front seats, smartphone integration and auto headlights. Advance and Advance Style add dual-zone climate control and a heated steering wheel, while the top spec car gets wireless phone charging, a fancier sound system and some orange accents around the cabin. Mmm.

The only free colour is a weird brown (Honda calls it Sand Khaki), which is a cheeky way to get you to spend more on paint. Having to fork out £550 to ‘upgrade’ to black or white feels like you’re being held hostage. There are also a few packs you can buy that add little trim bells and whistles, so if you want to spend £600 on lights in the footwells and “doorstep garnishes”, knock yourself out.