This is Honda’s new hybrid-only HR-V crossover

If the new Nissan Qashqai just doesn’t do it for you, try this on for size. It’s Honda’s new HR-V – a Qashqai rival that, for this third-generation, is going hybrid only as part of its maker’s commitment to electrify all of its “mainstream” models by 2022.  

And doesn’t it look tidy? A much simpler, cleaner design than the old HR-V (or the new Nissan, for that matter). Big tick.

Details remain scant, probably because it doesn’t actually land in Europe until the end of this year. So we don’t know exactly what engines will power it (the Jazz uses a 1.5-litre petrol hybrid, and the CR-V a 2.0-litre. HR-V could go either way), nor exactly how big it is or how much it’ll cost.

However Honda does promise the new HR-V will have “class-leading interior space” and keep the old car’s clever “Magic Seats” that allow you to flip-up the seat bases to more easily transport tall objects.

Looks like the new car also keeps a set of physical climate controls – Honda has so far rightly resisted the temptation to integrate these into the touchscreen in any of its cars – but gets a new “air diffusion system” that aims to create “a curtain of fresh air beside and above passengers”.

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