Honda ZR-V shows itself to Europe as South Africa looks on

Despite being the source of much confusion over its name tipped to feature on what eventually became the new WR-V, Honda has taken the wraps off of the European version of the ZR-V that debuted internationally in China in May last year.

Bafflingly called the HR-V in North America in spite of being completely unrelated from the real HR-V sold in South Africa, Europe and Australia, the ZR-V arrives on the Old Continent as the segment filler between the HR-V and the newly launched CR-V.

From US HR-V to EU ZR-V

Dimensionally unchanged from the Chinese and Japanese models, and offering up to 1 291-litres of boot space with the rear folded flat, the five-seat ZR-V’s exterior differences from the US-model are subtle and require a keen eye to spot.

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Unlike the vertical slate grille embossed onto the Japanese model, the European ZR-V receives the same honeycomb pattern as the Chinese version, but eschews the Stateside HR-V’s yellow indicators for clear lens while also doing away with the wheel arch reflectors.

At the rear, Honda has fitted a flush chrome faux diffuser and dual exhaust outlets as opposed to the single available on the HR-V.

No lever inside

Inside, and similarly to the European CR-V differing from the North American version, the ZR-V drops the HR-V’s gear lever for a push-button arrangement used in China and on a number of models from Honda’s upscale division, Acura.

Little else has changed in the moving of continents though, as available items comprise the nine-inch touchscreen infotainment system, physical buttons and dials for the dual-zone climate control, the seven-inch digital instrument cluster, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus Honda’s latest Sensing array of safety and driver assistance systems.

Hybrid only

Up front, the ZR-V loses the American HR-V’s normally aspirated 2.0-litre petrol engine and the Chinese version’s 1.5-litre turbo for an electrified version of the former.

Carrying the e:HEV moniker, the setup involves a pair of electric motors being paired to the large displacement petrol, which produces 135 kW in the comparative Civic and 150 kW in the US-market CR-V. In fact, the final power figures were not revealed.

Paired to an e-CVT driving the front wheels only, the unit is expected to be the sole option for the ZR-V in spite of the CR-V being offered the option of a plug-in hybrid that mates the same combustion engine with a lithium-ion battery pack and single electric motor.

Not yet for South Africa

Going on-sale in Europe later this year, the ZR-V has already been confirmed for Australia from later this year, but at present, remains to be approved for South Africa.

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