New Honda ZR-V 2023 review

The new Honda ZR-V crossover has arrived to take on the Nissan Qashqai and Kia Sportage

Verdict

The new Honda ZR-V hits the marks it needs to in order to make it an appealing family SUV. It’s spacious, well built and delivers very impressive real-world efficiency, playing to the strengths of its clever hybrid powertrain. All of these points mean it’s an easy car to recommend. But while the ZR-V is undoubtedly good in many areas, it’s not great in any one of them, because it lacks the flair and polish (not to mention the dynamic ability) that makes the brand’s latest Civic family hatch so impressive.

If you’re in the market for a mid-size SUV – which an awful lot of UK buyers are – Honda has just launched an intriguing new option to rival the top-selling Nissan Qashqai and Kia Sportage.

Honda claims its new ZR-V offers a compelling combination of an efficient hybrid engine, a spacious interior and excellent build quality in a simple but highly specified range of trims. The most popular of these is predicted to be the mid-level Sport model we’re driving here.

At the time of going to press, Honda UK had yet to confirm pricing for the newcomer, but we were told to expect the line-up to start at around £40,000.

All British-market ZR-Vs feature Honda’s e:Hev powertrain, which pairs a 2.0-litre petrol engine with two electric motors that power the front wheels. Configured in a generator-style layout, the petrol engine is largely used to power one of the two electric motors. The system can also charge a small battery pack, with that second electric motor smoothing out progress. It’s a complex system on paper, but in operation is simple and works well, offering the same instant torque delivery and smooth performance as an electric vehicle, only with a petrol engine whirring away in the background.

The powertrain’s output can be tricky to pin down because of the way the system works, but the 181bhp and 315Nm of torque produced by the main electric motor are the most relevant figures if you’re trying to gauge the ZR-V’s on-road performance. But more impressive is the 50mpg we recorded on test, even when pushing that clever petrol-electric hybrid powertrain. This was more than the 48.7mpg official claim.

The Sport model we’re testing here is well equipped, with all the key features you’d expect from a car in this class, such as built-in satellite navigation, dual-zone climate control, 18-inch wheels, LED headlights and wireless phone charging as standard. For high-end equipment such as a Bose sound system, panoramic sunroof, leather seats or a head-up display, you’ll need to plump for the pricier Advanced model.

As you might have noticed, the ZR-V looks a little more rotund than most of Honda’s contemporary models, something that indicates the newcomer’s focus on the American and Chinese markets. It looks more Buddha than bobcat.

The payoff is very impressive interior space and a fair but far from class-leading level of boot space; the 380 litres on offer with the rear seats in place expand to 1,291 litres with them down. Similar to its Civic sibling, the ZR-V offers a good level of space in the rear, with decent legroom. This could partly be why its boot size isn’t more competitive, but with wide-opening rear doors and easy-to-access Isofix child-seat points, the ZR-V should cope fairly well with the rigours of family life.

Up front, the Honda’s interior has sound fundamentals, with a driving position that straddles that of a traditional hatchback and an SUV, with excellent visibility plus a clear and easy-to-use infotainment system.

But when it comes to design and overall build quality, you can sense that the ZR-V has a less precise approach than some of its range-mates. Material quality isn’t brilliant in places, and some design choices, such as the odd centre console, don’t feel as well thought-out as some of the smaller storage and practicality solutions in other models in the Honda line-up.

When driving in town and at low speeds, the ZR-V’s e:Hev powertrain finds its sweet spot, with the electric motor offering instant torque, and a surprisingly high proportion of low-speed driving can be carried out without any reliance on the car’s petrol engine.

It’s also here that you’ll appreciate the Honda’s precise steering and good visibility. This is a pleasingly easy car to drive – and not by accident, but through a selection of very deliberate decisions made by Honda’s engineers and designers.

However, things start to get a little more compromised as speeds rise. While the relatively firm ride and heavy steering make the ZR-V feel secure and stable on motorways, and the engine’s ability to divert drive directly to the wheels independently of the main e-motor keeps things efficient at a steady pace, the powertrain needs to be worked fairly hard in order to keep up with fast-moving traffic. This affects both its efficiency and refinement.

Request even more performance for an overtake or on a steep uphill section and things can get a little hectic as the engine gets busy under the bonnet to give the e-motor as much performance as possible.

To help make the ZR-V more engaging to drive in such scenarios, Honda steps the engine speeds as you accelerate, simulating gears, even though the car’s eCVT set-up doesn’t actually offer this.

However, in practice this sensation feels a little weird, almost like you’re driving an off-roader that is stuck in low-range. While on this topic, it’s also worth mentioning that the ZR-V is definitely a crossover in body and soul, so there’s no all-wheel-drive option available and absolutely no emphasis on off-road driving.

For buyers looking for a reliable, spacious and easy-to-drive SUV that’s also efficient and well equipped, the ZR-V ticks all those boxes. Compared with its rivals, it offers an impressive combination of practical traits that, assuming Honda can pair them with attractive finance deals, should see the new car become one of the Japanese manufacturer’s best-selling models.

Yet if you’re looking for something with a bit more pizazz, the ZR-V falls a little flat, and with so many competitors in this incredibly close and hotly contested class, just being good sometimes isn’t enough.

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