Poychat is the project leader of the WR-V.
KUALA LUMPUR: The 2,500 bookings in hand before its official debut is testament to the new Honda WR-V’s allure.
It’s a good start for Honda’s smallest SUV, whose pricing is as consumer-friendly as it gets. It’s a model the Japanese automaker hopes will become “a people’s SUV”. At least in the non-national segment.
To recap, the WR-V debuted in Malaysia on July 13 to tap into the growing popularity of SUVs. Four variants are offered priced at between RM89,900 and RM107,900.
Honda Malaysia has dropped the 7-seat BR-V in favour of the 5-seat WR-V as the bigger SUV has been deemed not competitive enough against rivals in its class.
Honda Malaysia decided to reshuffle its product line-up to one it considers to be the most efficient and that captures maximum customer demand as well as being able to be supported by local production capability.
Honda Malaysia already has the HR-V and CR-V to fill in the compact and mid-SUV range of its lineups. The company saw an opportunity to introduce a small SUV that is currently vacant, a product to complete its SUV lineup and serve as a gateway model to the brand. Hence, the WR-V.
Honda is the only one so far among the non-national makes with a subcompact SUV, and it will invariably grab some sales away from the Perodua Ativa, its closest competitor on the local front. The WR-V is a similar size to the Ativa, being 7cm wider, but is shorter in length and wheelbase as well as lower.
On the eve of the WR-V launch, the people who mattered in the WR-V project were put in the spotlight as they fielded questions on the small little car that could give Honda Malaysia a sales fillip.
Speaking to the media were Honda WR-V large project leader Poychat Ua-arayaporn and her assistant Nattawut Sasitorn. They were joined by Honda Malaysia vice president and sales, dealer development and business intelligence head Sunita Prabhakaran and Honda Malaysia executive co-ordinator Yujiro Sugino.
Poychat said the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), common among various Honda models, is tuned specifically for the WR-V.
The WR-V uses a CVT with different final gear ratio compared to the City to complement the vehicle’s high-riding stance, bigger size and bigger tyres that require a greater driving force, she said.
“The City uses 4.992, while the WR-V uses 5.436. This is to ensure the WR-V is able to provide responsive acceleration and a natural feeling.”
Nattawut chimed in: “With step-shift control built into the CVT, it not only offers a stronger acceleration but also a stronger deceleration response.”
In situations such as when overtaking another car, the linear rise in engine rpm accompanied by a step-up shift behaviour in the CVT makes for a sporty and satisfying driving feel, he said.
Conversely, the early step-down shift control when braking hard enhances the deceleration performance, he added.
The WR-V is based on what is referred to as short-type BR-V platform. Both models share the same front half to B-pillar, while the section after the B-pillar is all new, said Poychat.
To a question on why the WR-V did not come with Honda’s Ultra Seats for versatile storage configuration, Poychat said this was in the interest of keeping the vehicle as light as possible and for fuel efficiency.
The WR-V has a fuel tank with a rear centre layout, which meant that Ultra Seats was not feasible as it required a centre tank layout that must be reinforced, which in turn adds weight to the vehicle.
She also pointed out that while the Malaysian WR-V is mechanically the same as the Thai version, the Malaysian one gets auto headlights to comply with local regulations.
As to complaints that the front seats are a tad small and lack thigh support for bigger-size drivers, Poychat said the seats were designed on balance to optimise safety and facilitate ease of operating the accelerator and brake pedals without hindrance.
The leather in the leather-fabric combo upholstery (V and RS grades) can contribute to the perception of smallness, said Nattawut.
Leather tend to provide a little less volume unlike fabric seats (S and E grades), which offer more volume and hence better thigh support, he said.
The WR-V surprisingly doesn’t come with a tonneau cover. This is a deliberate move by Honda to maximise vertical storage space. Besides, prior user feedback did not indicate a need for it, said Poychat, adding that it could be introduced if there is a big enough demand for it in future.
While Honda is expected to introduce more hybrids in its product line-up as it slowly transitions to an electric future, it’s not going to happen at the WR-V level, said Sugino.
The six-speed manual transmission WR-V, which is sold in Indonesia, would also not be offered in Malaysia, he added.
“We think our current CVT offering is suitable for our target market.”
On whether the WR-V would cannibalise sales of such models as the HR-V or City, Honda Malaysia’s Sunita said it would not as the small SUV is “targeted at a totally different market which is into lifestyle.”
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Keyword: Sensing a Honda SUV