Honda has updated its Mk2 Honda HR-V, one of our favourite B-segment crossovers. New for the 2019 model year are a colour called Midnight Blue Beam metallic and a fresh design of 17-inch alloy wheel for range-topping models, but you'll more easily notice the 'Solid Wing Face' graphic on the Honda's nose, or its revised front bumper with bigger air intakes, or its new LED DRL signature, or the smoked rear light clusters. More sound-deadening around the cabin and comfier front chairs headline the interior upgrades, while some models will benefit from Active Noise Cancellation for the first time. Best news is that the HR-V 2019MY will launch with a 1.5-litre, 130hp i-VTEC petrol engine for deliveries in October... but it will soon be followed up by a 1.6-litre i-DTEC unit, as seen in the Civic, and - brilliantly - the 1.5-litre i-VTEC Turbo engine, which delivers 182hp in other applications. So a hot, or at least decently warm, HR-V sounds like it should be on the way; expect it and the i-DTEC variants to appear in spring 2019.

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13 Aug 2018