What's New
Following an extensive refresh last year, the 2020 Honda HR-V carries over with minimal changes. This means that the new Sport and Touring trims are still around, and that the Honda Sensing suite of active safety features is still standard on EX models and above.
Choosing Your Honda HR-V
The HR-V is available in five trims: LX, Sport, EX, EX-L, and Touring. Pricing starts at $21,915 including destination for the base LX and reaches $29,985 for the Touring.
Engine Choices
All Honda HR-V models are powered by a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine. Its 141 horsepower and 127 pound-feet of torque are fed through a continuously variable transmission.
Front-wheel drive is standard on all but the Touring, but all-wheel drive, which is what the range-topping trim comes standard with, is available for $1,500.
The HR-V earns an EPA-estimated 28 miles per gallon city, 34 mpg highway, and 30 combined with FWD, or 27/31/29 mpg (city/highway/combined) with AWD.
Passenger and Cargo Capacity
The five-seat HR-V has varying cargo capacity, depending on the model. Front-wheel-drive variants offer 24.3 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seat, or 58.8 with it folded down. These figures drop to 23.2/57.6 cubic feet on AWD LX and Sport models, or to 23.2/55.9 cubic feet on AWD EX, EX-L, and Touring models.
Safety Features
Every Honda HR-V has a multi-angle rearview camera, but only the EX and above get standard active safety features. The top three trims come equipped with automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, forward collision warning, and automatic high beams.
Despite this fact, it still carries a five-star overall safety rating from the NHTSA and a Top Safety Pick designation from the IIHS.
Connectivity
The standard HR-V infotainment system is only 5 inches with Bluetooth but without smartphone integration, but this is only the case on the base model, thankfully. The rest of the lineup features a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Pandora compatibility.
EX and EX-L models further add satellite radio and HD radio, while only the Touring gets navigation with voice recognition and digital traffic reports.
There’s no getting away from the fact LX models are sparsely equipped. However, they do ride on 17-inch alloy wheels and have LED daytime running lights. There’s remote entry to the cabin, which contains air conditioning, cruise control, and power windows.
The extra $1,700 over LX trim is more than justified on Sport models, which are the first to receive the larger touchscreen. There’s leather on the steering wheel and shift knob, sport pedals, 18-inch alloy wheels, roof rails, fog lights, and gloss black detailing.
EX models have a particularly impressive set of specifications compared to Sport trim, despite losing the leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob. The foremost of the upgrades is Honda Sensing, but that's far from all it adds.
The front seats are heated, there’s a one-touch power moonroof, full climate control, and a push-button start. Rear privacy glass joins smart entry with walk-away door locking on the standard feature list.
The L in EX-L stands for leather, as this trim adds leather upholstery and a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob over the EX. An auto-dimming rearview mirror also comes standard.
The Touring is the only HR-V available exclusively as an AWD model, riding on machine-finished alloys with gloss gray inserts. There’s navigation with voice recognition, and eight-way power adjustment for the driver’s seat. The headlights and fog lights are now LED, as well.
Compare HR-V Trims Side-By-Side
The absence of Honda Sensing on LX and Sport models means the 2020 Honda HR-V EX is the first trim that offers enough safety features to reassure buyers of a family crossover. The EX-L offers little beyond leather, and the Touring struggles to justify a premium of almost $5,000 over the EX.