How safe is the new Honda HR-V Hybrid?

Honda recently launched the 2023 HR-V in the US market, where the B-segment SUV aims to enjoy a slice of Toyota Corolla Cross's success. We, too are expecting the third-gen HR-V to arrive in the local market sometime this year in 1.5L VTEC Turbo and e:HEV variants. We didn't receive any update after seeing a spy shot of the car in February.

Recently the new HR-V underwent a safety test by Euro NCAP, and we got all excited to see how well the car performed. Why? Because there is a strong chance of Honda Malaysia including the new HR-V in the lineup pretty soon.

The HR-V e:HEV variant is only available in Europe, and here is how it performed at the Euro NCAP safety drill.

Adult protection	82%
Child occupant protection	75%
Vulnerable road users protection	72%
Safety assist	78%
Total score	31.3 points

Here’s how the Honda Sensing suite of advanced driver-assist features performed during the test -

AEB Car-to-Car	5.7 out of 6 points
Lane Support test	3.5 out of 4 points
Speed Assistance	2.5 out of 3 points

 

Meaning that the HR-V Hybrid secured a 4-star safety rating at the Euro NCAP safety test.

What restricted the Honda crossover from securing a five-star rating?

The car performed well throughout the Euro NCAP crash test. However, the restraint performance for children seated in the rear seat was less than ideal. Thus, resulting in a drop in the safety score from 5 to 4-star.

Another major cause of the reduction in rating was the Occupant Status Monitoring system, which lacked driver monitoring features.

Update on new Honda HR-V local arrival

As mentioned above, Honda’s B-Segment SUV is expected to arrive sometime this year in the local market with the same European-spec e:HEV hybrid powertrain setup. The said system includes a naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre mill and two e-motors. However, seeing Honda Malaysia’s current line-up layout, there is a chance of the hybrid mill being restricted to the range-topping RS variant.

Are you excited to see the new HR-V Hybrid in Malaysia? Let us know in the comments.

Also Read: New Honda City Hatchback V-Sensing variant: How different it is from the others