2016 Honda HR-V EX-L Navi AWD

When it was introduced in the late 90s, the original Honda CR-V was an innovative car-based SUV that promised to combine an SUV’s all-weather capabilities and high seating position with a car’s fuel economy. It was a formula that was wildly successful, and which spawned rivals like the Toyota RAV-4, Hyundai Tucson, and- depending on who you ask- the Mercedes-Benz GLK350 a decade later. Since then, the CR-V has been redesigned four times. With each redesign, the little SUV has grown slightly bigger, to the point that there was now a gap in Honda’s product line for a small, practical little SUV just about the size of that first-generation CR-V.

Enter: the 2016 Honda HR-V EX-L Navi AWD

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Based on the excellent Honda Fit and fitted with Honda’s Real Time AWD system, the 2016 Honda HR-V we tested was more than capable of handling my generally suburban commute- and gave no indication that it would slip up once “real winter” sets in here in Chicago. The HR-V’s clean, intuitive interior design and 5-star safety rating should also help the little SUV find buyers- but what about the sub-CR-V size? Is the HR-V just too small to be practical?

2016 Honda HR-V | Just Right

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  Not too big, not too small. Just right …

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In a word: No. In more words, the 2016 Honda HR-V may not take up any more garage space than its Chevy Trax or Fiat 500X competition, but it’s worlds ahead of both in terms of practicality.

“Worlds ahead,” I hear you ask. “Really?”

Yes, really. Whereas the Fiat cute-ute could barely fit a folded-up umbrella stroller, the 2016 Honda HR-V swallowed up the much larger City GT stroller, a diaper bag, my daughter’s pink folding chair (shown), and the new Sit n’ Stand 2-kid stroller we just bought. At the same time. Meanwhile, the Chevy Trax is just nowhere- without room for even the tiniest of folding strollers, the Trax is totally useless as a family car.

In addition to real, actually usable cargo space, the HR-V is comfortable enough for two midwestern American adults (read: large adults) a toddler in a massive baby seat, and a twelve-year-old to happily tool around in all day. Trying the same trick in either of the previously mentioned vehicles will make everyone claustrophobic quickly.

Where does that leave us with the 2016 Honda HR-V? I think it leaves us with a small SUV that isn’t too small, isn’t too big, and fits nicely in an urban garage while giving back just a bit under the 29 combined MPG rating during the week I had it- which brings me to the very clever way the new HR-V “grades” your driving.

2016 Honda HR-V | Gamification of Green

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At idle, the ring around the speedo is either blue or white- but that changes to green when you’re driving economically, or a reddish-purple when it decides you’re burning too much gas. It was annoying at first, but after I started thinking about “getting green” as a game, it started to get entertaining and my avg. MPG did creep upwards. It wasn’t a party, but it was more entertaining than “Elmo’s Got the Moves” for the thirtieth time, anyway.

So, that said, I think the 2016 Honda HR-V is a strong contender in the tiny SUV market. And, frankly, the only one I’ve driven (so far) that I’d even consider as a daily driver for a (relatively) young, growing family.

2016 Honda HR-V Subcompact SUV Rated At 31 MPG Combined

2016 Honda HR-V

We now have EPA fuel-economy for the 2016 Honda HR-V crossover, which is based on the Fit subcompact.

With the sole option of a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, Honda's smallest-ever crossover is rated at 31 mpg combined (28 mpg city, 35 mpg highway) when ordered with front-wheel drive and the CVT automatic transmission.

All-wheel drive models get 29 mpg combined (27 mpg city, 32 mpg highway).

There's also a six-speed manual option for front-wheel drive models, which achieves a rated 28 mpg combined (25 mpg city, 34 mpg highway).

2016 Honda HR-V

The newly-released fuel economy ratings, first spotted by Autoblog, put the HR-V near the top of the burgeoning tiny-crossover class.

In the combined ratings the CVT-equipped HR-V proves more efficient than the recently-introduced 2015 Chevrolet Trax, which is rated at 29 mpg combined (26 mpg city, 34 mpg highway) with front-wheel drive and its sole powertrain option--a 1.4-liter turbocharged four and six-speed automatic.

With all-wheel drive, the Trax gets 27 mpg combined (24 mpg city, 31 mpg highway).

The HR-V also beats the 2015 Buick Encore, which gets slightly lower mpg than the Trax despite sharing a platform and powertrain with the Chevy.

The same goes for the Nissan Juke--arguably the progenitor of this segment.

There are too many Juke permutations to list here, but the most efficient model is the standard front-wheel drive version with the six-speed manual, which gets 30 mpg combined (28 mpg city, 34 mpg highway).

2016 Honda HR-V

The HR-V's 1.8-liter engine produces 138 horsepower and 127 pound-feet of torque. The basic platform is shared with the Fit, giving Honda a smaller model to slot below the CR-V in its lineup.

It will be built alongside the Fit in Celaya, Mexico, and arrive in showrooms later this year.

When it does, it will meet an onslaught of similarly-sized crossovers.

That includes the 2015 Jeep Renegade, 2016 Fiat 500X, and 2016 Mazda CX-3. It'll be interesting to see how the HR-V stacks up when official gas-mileage ratings for those models are published.

2016 Fiat 500X Leaked Before Debut

Ahead of its Paris debut, the 2016 Fiat 500X has broken cover thanks to a leak from the Quattroporte forums, allowing a direct comparison between it and stablemate, the Jeep Renegade. Can the 500X give Fiat the depth The Fiat 500 marked the return of the Italian brand to America, and Chrysler’s savior will finally be adding a much-needed crossover to its lineup with the 2016 Fiat 500X.

Under Fiat and Sergio Marchionne’s leadership, the legendary Jeep brand is undergoing an expansion that draws heavily on Italian engineering expertise. In fact, the all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade will be built in Italy before being imported to America, and it will share its platform with 500X. Like the Renegade, it will offer a 160 horsepower 1.4 liter turbocharged engine for the U.S. market, and a 1.6 liter diesel option for the European market, its primary aim. Front-wheel drive will be standard and all-wheel drive will be optional, though I doubt the 500X will be as hardy off road as Jeep claims the Renegade will be.

The 500X shares the same features as the rest of the 500 family, maintaining the hatchback-like look over the crossover body. I’ll give Fiat and Jeep designers credit, as they’ve done a great job carving out two distinct looks for two different brands using the same platform. While we’ve only got this one photograph to go on, the 500X looks almost nothing like the Jeep Renegade.

We’ll get a full look at the 2016 Fiat 500X when it debuts at the Paris Auto Show on October 2nd.

via Motor Authority