While we’re eagerly awaiting the new Honda HR-V‘s arrival in Malaysia, over in Indonesia, the B-segment crossover has already been spotted at a commercial shoot, indicating an impending launch. YouTuber Indra Fathan posted a video on his Instagram profile of the undisguised car in regular and RS versions.
So far, so normal, as the third-generation model looks almost identical to the one sold in Thailand, right down to the RS’ bodykit. There’s one difference, however – the RS sports twin visible tailpipes, whereas the hybrid-only Thai model gets a single exhaust tucked away under the bumper.
This is a clear indicator of the fitment of a 1.5 litre VTEC Turbo engine, as the Civic, CR-V and Accord models with the same mill also come with twin pipes. This isn’t the first time the small HR-V gets big VTEC Turbo power, as the engine also powered the outgoing European-market Sport and Japanese-market Vezel Touring variants. The mill is expected to be the upgraded version that powers the new Civic, producing 182 PS at 6,000 rpm and 240 Nm of torque from 1,700 to 4,500 rpm; it will almost certainly be mated to a CVT.
The other model spied was a standard variant in Sand Khaki Pearl, photos of which were also posted on the LugNutz Auto Junkie Instagram page. This car also had a single hidden tailpipe but lacked the e:HEV badge, meaning that it is likely powered by a 1.5 litre naturally-aspirated i-VTEC engine – possibly the new 121 PS/145 Nm DOHC version also found in the City.
It’s likely that Malaysia will also be getting the VTEC Turbo engine, now that the old car’s R18Z 1.8 litre mill is being discontinued. A similar move was taken with the new Civic, which also ditched its 1.8 litre NA motor in favour of a fully turbocharged lineup.
This does mean that the new HR-V is expected to receive a significant price hike, just like how the base price of the Civic rose by more than RM16,000 with the launch of the new model last month. As reference, the HR-V currently starts at RM104,000, so could that rise to RM120,000?
Also expected for the Malaysian market is the e:HEV, given that Honda Malaysia is committed to expanding its hybrid lineup. In Thailand, the car is powered by a 131 PS/253 Nm electric motor, itself juiced by a 105 PS/127 Nm 1.5 litre Atkinson-cycle engine. Honda claims a fuel consumption figure of 25.6 km per litre.
As for the 1.5 litre naturally-aspirated mill, it is highly unlikely that we will be getting this engine for the HR-V, as it is probably a little underpowered for Malaysian tastes. The previous-generation model was also available with a 1.5 litre NA engine, but we got a full 1.8 litre lineup instead.
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A turbo setup would make sense as the HRV has grown in size and not everyone wants a hybrid.
Why we can’t get the same version here ffs
Thailand’s hybrid phev has been found to be underpowered and to cause disturbing noise when accelerating. The obvious merit is a desirable fuel consumption having satisfied the Thai consumers. From the Thai perspective.
woahhhh.. HR-V with 1.5 Turbo engine would be a really great competitor to the Corolla Cross and X50.
e-HEV is underpower and generate a lot of noise as per the review on youtube. Hopefully we will get the 1.5 Turbo one.
Hrv only compares with x50. Corolla cross is c-segment
1.5turbo HR-V with 180hp is going to eat proton x50 alive.
i am now thinking to choose between civic or this hr-v ( too handsome)
although if cx-5 2023 or cr-v 2023 is available, i will buy without a thought.
suv is the car for people that is above 40
To be honest, not with a CVT it won’t. This’ll be a bit of a read for those who are interested because it’s not as simplistic as numbers on the spec sheet:
It’s time people consider the fact that if you take 5 different cars with the same horsepower; they will have varying real-world performance – and sometimes the variance is very noticeable. It’s a bit more complex than just the horsepower numbers quoted by manufacturers.
It’s not just because of weight, but also how much engine horsepower actually makes it to the wheels. The engineering success of brands like (just naming alphabetically, no bias) Audi, BMW, VW in this department transfers a good amount of the engine’s horsepower to the wheels – which is the actual power you can use. Mind you, these numbers can be as low as 60% of the number you see on the paper if there’s a lot of accessory, drivetrain, and transmission power loss.
The other thing to consider is this: All manufacturers only quote “peak horsepower” which is achieved at the top of the rev range while the rest of the range is usually tuned for efficiency and to meet emissions regulations – which means you may not get a lot of grunt throughout the rev range. Once again, this is where the engineering wizards come into play to churn more usable power throughout the rev range and only a handful of manufacturers do this well and across their product range. Simply put, you may have 2 cars with a spec-sheet horsepower of 200hp, but 1 car could have higher outputs throughout the entire rev range towards the peak number vs. the other.
Every so often you will hear motoring journalists say “This car feels like it’s got more than 130hp/150hp/200hp etc.” yet sometimes, you will also hear them say “On paper this car has 200hp…but it doesn’t feel like it”. A large part of it is due to how the power is being delivered throughout the rev range.
Circling back to the context of the HRV (and even the Civic); based on my observation so far – nothing with a CVT is ever actually tuned for performance (M’sian market or not). So, despite its sporty intentions with the red badges, I’m fairly certain the engineering underpinnings are very much tuned for efficiency. Sure, 180hp is no slouch even if it’s just on paper – but don’t be surprised when it’s outclassed by other cars with similar outputs.