Bucket Seat: Honda HR-V

Honda is relatively the unsung hero of the car market, the quiet one which sits in the corner, minds its own business but gets along quite well. And while it might be odd for us, they're quite happy with how that's going for them and I have to agree, they doing quite well for themselves without causing much stir. Their cars are probably one of the most reliable ones on the market with excellent quality and great engines, I've had the opportunity to drive a few of their models last year and this year I got to sample the all new HR-V for a week. The hatch come crossover type car is one of the smaller models in the range but I was surprised with the amount of stuff you get in the car. It's about the same size as the Jazz, maybe just a bit bigger but my time with the car was seemingly satisfying, just like the brand, no whoo-haa, just brilliant at what its suppose to do. 

DESIGN

The HR-V's design follows design cues from the older Civic hatch with the round sculpted front and that solid grille with the Honda badge in the middle. The revised model which I had comes with LED day time running lights on the bottom part of the front headlights which enhances the car slightly. The raised ride height of the HR-V does help one differentiate it from a standard hatch back but there are other elements to it that add to this like the smaller windows and higher doors on the side profile. The back actually looks quite night, I love the way they've tied the sloping roof with the rear, to give it that sporty SUV look, then rear lights still have to grow on me, I feel like they didn't have to go with the extra portion at the bottom but thats just me. Overall from the outside, the HR-V is a stylish looking car and the colour I had it in is Brilliant Sporty Blue Metallic had a nice look to it, was nice and bright in sunlight but also blended well into the dark and not seem too over powering. 

PERFORMANCE

I had the 1.5 Comfort CVT model and while many will wonder how a small engine with an automatic gearbox will cope on a car of this size and with good reason too but I can report back to say it handled quite well. Fair enough you would get engine strain and it dropping gears on extreme circumstances when overtaking or going up a hill but other than that, whether it be urban driving or on the highway I felt it coped quite well. The engine is a SOHC i-VTEC 16V inline 4 cylinder which produces 88kW and 145NM of torque. Its an engine we're already used to as its also in the new Honda Jazz. With the increased ride height, driving the HR-V is a dream, very easy to control and doesn't have much body roll to it. It's not a car that's meant to be driven fast, more for the school run arounds and to and from the office and for that, it's perfect. 

COMFORT

The HR-V is a very spacious car, even though the is higher than normal, Honda didn't raise the seating positions as high so you're left with a lot of head room in the car. The cockpit design is interested with a raised certain console almost the same height as your arm rest so it gives off like a fighter jet feel to it. Everything is digital so it looks really cool at night. It has single zone climate control with variable fanspeed, heated seats which I found interesting in a car of this segment and everything else is virtually the same as the Jazz which I really like. The touch screen infotainment system is easy to use and navigate, I still don't know what the HDMI port is for though. Interesting to note is that the HR-V comes with an electronic hand brake. Moving into the back, it can seat three people with relative is, and the seats fold down to extend the luggage space from the boot. 

VERDICT

Like I said from the start, Honda are the quiet kids on the market that offer great value for money cars, some might interpret that to mean they're boring but trust me, its no where near that. Their reliability speaks for it self and the quality of the products they churn out is nothing short of exemplary. The HR-V being heavily based on one of their best sellers the Jazz could only spell great things for the model, while some might not be entirely happy with the 1.5L engine, there is a 1.8L offering which I would be pretty keen to get behind the wheel of to see how much difference the bigger engine makes. But overall, for what its intended purposes are for, the 1.5 is just right. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	1.5 SOHC i-VTEC 16V
Gear Box	5 Speed CVT
Torque	145Nm
Top Speed	179kph
Economy	6.3 L/100km
Price	R288,700

Bucket Seat: Honda Jazz

When car manufacturers take a current model that they have on the market and slap the word "Sport" to the end of it, it more often than not means that they put some bigger rims, added some sporty cosmetic changes to the body, maybe some racing stripes, brushed aluminium and fake carbon fiber bits but the engine remained the same, so what is the point then? Instead of "Sport" they should say "looks sporty". Now with disappointments like this on the market, you can only understand the excitement when I learned that the Honda Jazz Sport I was getting on test actually had it's engine tweaked and to top it off, it also had bigger rims and sporty looks, with fake carbon fiber bits! I know it sounds like I'm being sarcastic but I'm genuinely not, you see while I like driving big cars, these small hatchbacks with tight turning circles and punchy engines are quite fun to drive, hence my tie with the Jazz Sport was very much cherished.

DESIGN

The Honda Jazz Sport was launched concurrently with its bigger brother, the Civic Type-R, while the difference between the two performance hatchbacks is vast, the Jazz Sport does have its own array of talents that still make it a charm. The car itself is still a basically a Honda Jazz, while it is considered a hatch, the shape makes it look like a mini MPV, but credit to the Honda design team who really did a great job on taking a car that looks like a typical soccer moms car and making it look aggressive. From the blacked  out 16" multi-spoke rims, the lowered front end splitter with fogs, LED front head lamps, to the sporty rear diffuser and wing, this car seriously looks the business and with the read I had it in, gave it that devilish appeal. Even on the inside it looked great! It came with aluminium racing pedals, racing style seats, carbon fiber themed dash with red outlines and paddle shifts for the CVT automatic gearbox. Overall the car certainly looks the part, befitting of the sport badge and name.

PERFORMANCE

The Jazz Sport effectively is replacing the "Dynamic" derivative from the line up, with it using the same 1.5L engine from the Elegance, but while that model's engine only produces 88kW and 145Nm of torque, the Sport's engine has been tuned up to spit out 97kW and 155Nm of torque. Trust me, while these numbers may seem small, it certainly adds a lot of punch to a car of this size. Honda really have something special with this i-VTEC DOHC, 16V engine which they dub "Earth Dreams Technology", since the power it delivers, is also very light on fuel and great for the environment with the g/km CO2 emissions being 133. The only downside to the car is the gearbox, the 7 speed CVT automatic gearbox may help in achieving that low fuel economy but it holds back so much potential. One can't help feel how much better this car would have been in a 6 speed stick shift, in fact when driving this car, one itches for it. I tried the paddle shifts out in sport gear but still, it just suppresses that engine. 

COMFORT

Don't be fooled by its size, the Jazz Sport is super comfortable, for both the drive and his occupants. It all comes down to the compact size of the engine which increases cabin space, as well as the efficient rear suspension layout which doesn't require large wheel wells which normally compromises space for the rear seats. The Magic seats as Honda called them is an innovative seat mechanism which can be configured in a number of ways to accommodate a variety of tall and long objects. Rear seats split in 60/40 offering both seating and extended cargo space. The boot size is 359 litres with the rear seats up and a whopping 889 litres with the seats down. The car comes with climate control air-conditioning with a dedicated control panel for ease of use. The cars interior styling takes a lot of its design from the Type R and it's evident in its sporty look.

TECHNOLOGY

The large 7" touch screen infotainment screen is easy to use and controls the radio, bluetooth phone controls, and auxiliary inputs which range from iPod/USB to HDMI. The car sound system comes with 6 speakers and is not that shabby. The multifunction steering wheel is also well equipped and gives most of the controls at the drivers finger tips so he isn't easily distracted while driving. The car also comes with PDC's and rear reverse camera which displays on the 7" touch screen display. All windows are electronically controlled and the car has folding side mirrors. The car also benefits from Honda's smart keyless system with a push start button that glows red.

VERDICT

I really liked this car, and my time spent with it was heaps of fun. The price is a bit to stomach though, granted car prices are high all round, one has to look at the pedigree from the brand to justify the price. And Honda is a name that has not only been around for so long but one that has proven to be reliable, safe and holds a good resale value. This Sport version is a charmer of note though, while the gearbox may disappoint the purist, for many the auto gearbox would be  perfect option for their use. It really is an energy pack small hatch, I won't go as far as calling it a hot hatch because that may upset a few folk but it certainly delivers both on styling, comfort and excitement. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	1.5 liter, i-VTEC 16V
Gear Box	7 Speed CVT gearbox with paddle shift
Power	97kW
Torque	155Nm
Top Speed	180km/h
Economy	5.6 L/100km
Price	R310,000