Honda ZR-V

As cars go, the Honda ZR-V is a rather important one for Honda.

After seeing a gap in its range, mainly created by the new Honda CR-V (due later this year) growing substantially to compete with cars like the Hyundai Santa Fe, the Japanese brand decided it needed to act. Mainly because that gap meant customers were instead opting for the likes of the Kia Sportage and Nissan Qashqai.

“Our dealers are very excited by this car,” Honda’s UK product boss, Andrew Winfield, told Autocar. “We expect to see a lot of conquest sales.”

You can see why. Look beyond the odd naming strategy – the ZR-V sits atop the Honda HR-V but below the CR-V – and this is basically a Honda Civic SUV. At 4568mm long, it’s near enough the same size as the hatchback, just a bit taller.

The ZR-V – first UK deliveries of which begin in September – also shares much of its technical make-up with the Civic. In Europe, Honda is offering it exclusively with the same hybrid powertrain.

The naturally aspirated 2.0-litre four-cylinder Atkinson-cycle petrol engine produces 141bhp, but it mainly serves to spin a generator and either power the 181bhp electric motor or buffer the energy in the 1.05kWh battery. Most of the time, the engine doesn’t drive the wheels directly, but at a motorway cruise, a clutch in the transaxle can close to connect the engine to the front wheels through an overdrive gear.

Because the engine isn’t physically connected to the wheels most of the time, the software can make it do whatever it wants, so at lighter loads, the engine could be doing anything. It could be off, it could be pretending it’s connected to either a CVT or an eight-speed automatic gearbox, or it could be holding a set number of revs to charge the battery.

That’s all familiar from the latest Civic. Where the ZR-V is different is inside, but only a little. Much of it is Civic as well. The dashboard has the same design, featuring a horizontal strip of air vents, and the clicky buttons for the climate control are as welcome as ever. The 9.0in touchscreen for the infotainment isn’t the crispest and its sat-nav system isn’t especially clear, but the shortcut buttons and wireless smartphone mirroring mean it’s largely pleasant to use.

Generally, the materials have had a gentle uplift compared with the Civic, with more soft-touch stuff on the doors and a more sculpted centre console with storage underneath. (Unlike with the Civic, there won’t be a manual version of the ZR-V sold anywhere in the world, so no space needs to be reserved for a shift linkage.)

The ZR-V also has metal paddles (used in this case for swapping brake regeneration levels), which is a first in a Honda since the iconic NSX. Now that’s some pub trivia

Yet, despite the nice interior, one thing does stick out as odd: the driving position. It’s the same as in the Civic, just slightly higher. The Civic sits you low, with your legs outstretched, in a comfortable seat with a good amount of adjustment. That’s great for a hatchback, but a lot of people buy SUVs for the slightly more upright seating position, so it feels a bit as if the ZR-V is trying to please the people who prefer a hatchback anyway. This could be a big strength for some buyers, but also a negative for others.

The rear cabin space is generous, with good leg room and head room and a very shallow centre tunnel. The same grade of materials as in the front is used in the rear, and there are two USB ports and air-con vents, so the rear passengers won’t feel like they have ended up in the cheap seats.

The boot, by contrast, is rather small for the class. The ZR-V’s 390-litre capacity is down quite significantly on the hybrid versions of the Kia Sportage (587 litres) and Nissan Qashqai (504), and even the Civic (410). It’s practical enough, with a flat floor and a panel that can flip up to form a divider, but it ought to do better. The capacity drops to 380 litres in the top-spec Advance trip, due to the Bose sound system