Revived HR-V is prettier but dull

THE FACTS

IT’S nearly 10 years since Honda scrapped its HR-V – certainly enough time to forget what the initials stood for.

My first stab at this supermini-SUV’s moniker was Honda Recreational Vehicle. Then I remembered... with a bit of a wry smile, I must add.

It stands for Hi-rider Revolutionary Vehicle – which was slightly overegging the pudding back in 1999 when it first rolled off the production line .

Because the crossover revolution had already been started years before by the Toyota RAV4t.

Still, the Honda did its bit to help people fall in love with the idea of a car with the high-riding seating position of an SUV, but without the goingacross-mud bit.

Now, of course, the crossover market is on fire and every manufacturer wants to be in it.

So back comes the HR-V. The original, binned in 2006, had the flowing lines of a box of matches. It actually looked quite distinctive.

The new one, however, could come Honda HR-V EX Four door crossover from any manufacturer, but its coupelike profile isn’t ugly.

It has hidden rear door handles like the Civic, but then Honda wasn’t the first manufacturer to incorporate them into the rear pillar so you could barely see them.

It’s a lot bigger than the old model – nearly as big as a Nissan Qashqai. So its suprising that this HR-V is in fact based on the Jazz platform.

Unlike the original car, it only comes in two-wheel drive form. You’ve a choice of two engines: a 1.5-litre petrol and 1.6-litre diesel, which is what our test car is fitted with. Diesel also means six-speed manual gearbox only, whereas the petrol car also has the option of an automatic gearbox (a CVT unit).

The numbers are 118bhp, 0-62mph in 10.5sec and 70.6mpg on the combined cycle.

Figure on the 55mpg average that we managed on our real world test.

Prices kick off at £17,995

It’s not ugly, but it has nothing that makes it sparkle