The 2023 Honda HR-V Grows Up and Raises Questions

• The 2023 Honda HR-V grows 9.4 inches in length while moving to its third generation.

• The new HR-V stuffs a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated I4 under the hood, making 158 hp and 138 lb-ft of torque.

• Honda says the 2023 HR-V will start at $24,895, which is more expensive than the outgoing model but still more affordable than the current Honda CR-V.

Honda’s HR-V has had an interesting path to its third generation. Kicking off in 1998, the small crossover made its way to markets outside of the US. Honda revised this idea and brought the Fit-based second-generation HR-V stateside to help feed the demand for smaller crossovers and flesh out the company’s high-riding portfolio. Dwarfed by Honda’s more popular CR-V, it looks like Honda is hoping the grown-up HR-V will help sway even more people to the Honda dealership and into the third-generation HR-V.

Powering this Honda is a 2.0-liter, naturally aspirated I4. This shouldn’t be a huge surprise, considering Honda pivoted the HR-V away from the Fit platform and onto the larger Civic base. This engine sends 158 hp and 138 lb-ft of torque through a continuously variable transmission and to the front wheel, or to all four by way of the all-wheel-drive system. This is a step up from the 141 hp and 127 lb-ft of torque from the second-generation HR-V’s 1.8-liter engine. It’s also more powerful than the 2.0-liter engine found in the larger CR-V, though CR-V buyers can opt for the turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder.

The bigger engine is moving a predictably larger vehicle. While you can almost predict a vehicle is going to grow throughout the generations, the HR-V’s growth spurt is significant. The 2023 Honda HR-V is 9.4 inches longer than the 2022 model, which makes its total length 179.8 inches. That’s just over two inches shorter than the current CR-V, which boasts 182.1 inches in total length. While we can expect the new CR-V will also grow for its upcoming next-generation model, it might see the pressure of a similarly sized crossover in the lineup. The new HR-V is still shorter than the current Honda Civic sedan, which spans 184 inches in length.

Joining the larger and more powerful HR-V is a dose of modern tech. Sitting in the interior is a standard 7.0-inch touchscreen that controls a media system that comes standard with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. While this isn’t a change from the outgoing model’s screen size, Honda is offering an optional 9.0-inch screen to give you additional touchscreen space. Honda’s suite of active safety features is also standard equipment, which means this comes with a collision mitigation braking system, lane-keep assist, and adaptive cruise control standard. Honda also adds its Traffic Jam Assist system to the new HR-V to help those that have to commute in annoying traffic.

If you’re wondering why Honda grew the HR-V, possibly it's due to the Fit’s departure from the US market, as well as the CR-V’s commanding sales lead. In the past three months, Honda has sold 71,131 CR-V crossovers to only 31,692 HR-V crossovers, according to Wards Intelligence data. Moving the HR-V to the Civic platform probably forced Honda’s hand at stretching the HR-V, but the sales numbers suggest it probably wasn’t a hard decision.

Honda says the 2023 HR-V will start at $24,895, which includes the $1,200 destination charge. That’s obviously up from the 2022 model’s $23,115, but the increased size and performance should be worth the extra money. Of course, the budget-friendly HR-V is also more affordable than the similarly sized 2022 CR-V, which starts at $28,045. If you want to see this new HR-V in person, these should start trickling to dealers this month.

Do you think the new Honda HR-V will steal some sales from the more expensive CR-V? Let us know your thoughts below.