The Honda HR-V is set to be refreshed soon in an attempt to fend itself against a growing influx of rivals. CarAdvice reports that the B-segment crossover will gain a few updates in Australia, before a more comprehensive facelift arrives Down Under early next year.

Confirmation of such a move came from Honda Australia director Stephen Collins, although details on what exactly the revisions will bring are unknown at this point in time. The publication suggests that the HR-V could receive a new infotainment system with satellite navigation, replacing the current smartphone-based system – as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

But Honda could just as likely make the City-Brake Active System and its Advanced Driver Assist System (ADAS) – which included Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning and High-Beam Support System – as standard across the range, given that all variants of the Toyota C-HR and the Mazda CX-3 sold in Australia now carry similar features.

“HR-V has been very consistent. On average we do about 1,000 [units] per month – sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less. [Toyota] C-HR has recently come in, and we’ve still been pretty consistent at that level. So we think it provides a good package.

“We’ve been very happy, despite lots of new entrants coming in. There’s more coming, of course, so we need to keep it fresh and we need to keep working on that,” he said. “We’ve got an upgrade coming in the not-too-distant future, and the normal cycle would be that maybe next year we would have a minor cycle change – styling and so forth, which fits into the normal life-cycle,” Collins said.

Next year’s facelift will likely include the same sort of visual updates introduced on the City and Jazz this year, including full-LED headlights (the current car features optional LEDs only on low beam), a revised grille and reprofiled front and rear bumpers. There could also be minor trim changes on the inside.

As with those cars, however, the range of powertrains and drivetrains should remain identical. Like Malaysia, Australia currently has the HR-V in a sole 1.8 litre i-VTEC form with a CVT and four-wheel drive, although other markets do get options like a smaller 1.5 litre engine, a six-speed manual gearbox and all-wheel drive. Japan also gets a Hybrid version using the i-DCD Sport Hybrid system.

Regarding the manual ‘box, Collins said, “If we had the option we would probably do it. I don’t think it makes an impact on the volume we achieve, but clearly a lot of the competitors have a manual price point, and they sell a small number. If that option was available to us, we would probably take it.

Collins added that Honda sees fit to keep the HR-V lineup as is, given the strength of its offering in Australia. “We’re pretty happy – in fact, we’re more than pretty happy, we’re very happy with HR-V. The vast majority of that segment is two-wheel drive, the vast majority is petrol. The customers – from an engine perspective, we get good feedback. It provides good performance, good economy.

“You can always add heaps of grades and other engines and this type of stuff, but we’re going to stick to what’s core – and what’s core in the segment and is working really well for us is two-wheel drive, petrol engines, with a relatively simple grade line-up. We’ve got no plan to change our strategy on where we place that car,” he said.