Model range
Three choices. Elegance from £39,495, Sport £41,095 & range topping Advance which cost from £42,895.
Engine
All versions are powered by an e:Hev powertrain that combines a 2-litre petrol engine with two electric motors which power the front wheels.The petrol engine is primarily used to power one of the two electric motors via a small battery pack, with the second electric motor working alongside smoothing out & increasing performance. The engine produces 181bhp & 315Nm of torque.
Outside
The ZR-V is more rounded than the larger CR-V displaying an almost Porsche Macan front – end, with high wraparound LED headlights & on our test car a narrow oval black grille. The rear too looks very German with high LED light clusters astride the Honda logo.
Inside
The cabin is finished in black & grey with some lovely soft touch finishes on the centre binnacle & dashboard top. The air vents are hidden within a neat honeycombed strip that flows across the dash with the touchscreen sat in the centre. You get separate climate controls & on our range topper a wireless charging pad. There’s a 12v socket & twin cup holders between the front seats. Behind these are the gear switches & drive modes, choose from Eco, Sport or Snow. The steering wheel controls feature the usual infotainment controls on one side & driving aids on the other including autonomous drive mode.Twin USB’s are neatly tucked away low down next to the front seats, with two more in the centre rear.
The infotainments a little fiddly, but time will improve upon this.The graphics are clear & you get decent response times when you select a function.The cabin is spacious, with good head & legroom & there’s definitely enough room in the back for three.
Boot
It’s good size with 380 litres on offer with the rear seats up expanding to 1,291 litres with them folded down. Our boot floor also featured Honda’s plastic floor cover an excellent addition. There’s no load lip so its easy to get things in or out. The rear seats split 60:40.
Specs
Our Advanced model features SatNav, dual-zone climate, 18″ wheels, LED headlights, wireless phone charging, a Bose sound system, panoramic sunroof, leather seats & a head-up display. All versions get Honda’s suite of safety Honda SENSING. This includes Lane Keeping Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Adaptive Driving Beam & Active Cornering Lights. All models also come with a reversing camera, a 9” Digital infotainment screen, plus Honda CONNECT with Apple CarPlay & Android Auto.
Economy & emissions
Combined is 48.7mpg with C02 emissions of 132g/km
Driving
Let’s start with urban driving which we did for several days. The ZR-V is surprisingly quick off the mark taking just 7.6 seconds to hit 62mph & going on to a top speed of 108mph. This is partly due to the way the engines been designed. If you go to the Honda website you’ll see Max Verstappen demonstrate how to enjoy the ZR-V but here you’ll just have to settle for me.
Driving at low speeds, the ZR-V’s e:Hev powertrain is excellent, with instant torque from the off. You’ll notice a battery range dial located on the driver info & this is always full enough to allow you to make almost all of your low speed driving without using the petrol engine. ZR-V also has light steering & loads of glass which means great visibility, plus the suspension is set up perfectly for the urban crawl & poor road surfaces. Factor in the reversing camera & it’s a cinch to park as well.
We had to attend a launch in Cumbria which meant a 220 mile motorway round trip, a chance to see how the ZR-V performed on a longer journey. First up, all versions come with Adaptive Cruise Control, with our range topping Advance also offering Autonomous Driving. These both work well.
As we drove through Storm Debbie in high winds & sideways rain the car feels solid on the carriageways. The engine’s direct drive keeps things ticking over once you reach a steady pace, but if you ask the engine to work a bit when overtaking, especially on an incline, it starts to groan a little as the e-motor asks the revs to rise & refinement drops.
Honda has designed the engine to increase its speed incrementally, so the overall effect is that you’re driving in a low range gear which slowly gets up to speed. Efficiency therefore also suffers. For example in town we were seeing a regular 50mpg, but on our journey north & back, this fell to 38mpg.
To get as much range as possible, Honda claims a full tank will take you as far as 621 miles, we kept the car in Eco mode. Sport mode does up the ante slightly with spritelier acceleration & although you also get Snow mode, the ZR-V’s not a proper off roader. It did handle very wet roads with aplomb though, as plenty of vehicles had aquaplaned on the M6 on our way north.
Pros
Solidly built, well equipped & very spacious. Great to drive in town & all versions feature good tech & safety.
Cons
Not as good on the motorway as it is in town. Push hard & the engine struggles to perform & fuel economy drops. As a self charging hybrid the BIK is high.
Conclusion
We love Honda’s latest Civic & the ZR-V offers customers an SUV that’s nearly as good but not quite. It’s a brilliant urban motor with loads of space on board for a family of five. Equipment levels are high & Honda’s attention to detail in the cabin is impressive. There’s nothing wrong with Honda CONNECT nor Honda SENSING either. It’s only when you push the engine hard does it struggle, especially up steep hills or overtaking on the motorway. And in the corporate sector, where a similar sized SUV plug-in attracts just 8% BIK, it’s high 31% Benefit in Kind is a turn off.
Getting better 3.75/5
