The fact that a car shares its name with another model does not immediately mean that they are identical. Honda will soon prove that with the HR-V. The brand is bringing the HR-V to the United States, but there it is completely different from the model known here.
With the HR-V launched on the international and therefore European market last year, the crossover broke considerably with its predecessor. The new model has more DNA of an SUV in it and has a completely different look with its slightly sloping roofline and high nose. However, one HR-V is not the other. For example, Honda sells two electric versions of the car in China with slightly different design, but with the American version, Honda goes a step further.
Honda HR-V (Europe)
Honda releases two design sketches with which it announces the arrival of the HR-V to the American market. You certainly don’t have to be an HR-V specialist to see that the car will look completely different there than the HR-V that Honda sells in Europe and Asia. Not a single piece of sheet metal seems interchangeable. The American HR-V gets an almost Ford Kuga-like front with headlights placed relatively high above the grille. Although certain design elements on these teaser sketches have undoubtedly been exaggerated, it is clear that the bumper work with its black parts and relatively large cooling openings should give the HR-V a sportier look.
But there are more differences. The windows are different in shape. The American HR-V gets conventional door handles in the rear doors instead of hidden copies in the C-pillar, and the USDM HR-V also bears no resemblance to its international brother at the rear. For the time being, we assume that the American HR-V shares its technical basis with the European model, although the American consumer can probably choose from more than one powertrain. The American HR-V will probably make its public debut in the first half of this year.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl