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Special edition offers few new reasons to buy Honda’s small SUV

What is it?

You know the Honda HR-V: it’s the small SUV from Honda that’s quietly and competently been on sale for a couple of years. It’s been doing what most Hondas of recent years have done: offering plenty of practicality, frugality and anonymity, all for a higher price than rivals.

Honda has found a way to make the HR-V even more anonymous: making every single surface of the car inside and out black to create this new Black Edition. Even the Black Edition badge on the tailgate is painted black.

The changes are minor, but most of note is the leather interior and optional 18in alloys, as well as some more fancy black trim. You can get the Black Edition in petrol or diesel flavour, with the 1.6 diesel tested here.

Honda hr v black edition rear

What's it like?

The leather seats in the HR-V Black Edition’s cabin might be a welcome touch of luxury, but they sit in a cabin that’s otherwise quite drab, lacking any real flair or intrigue.

The Honda HR-V feels a spacious car inside and does a very good impression of a car from the class above for practicality. But its supermini giveaways – and specifically, the fact it’s based on a Honda Jazz - are the three things you interact with most: the steering wheel, gear lever and pedals, which all feel rather weedy.

The rear suspension of the HR-V is the limiting factor in ensuring the car rides well. The front does makes a decent fist of absorbing bumps, but the rear does not - it crashes over bumps in the road, making it feel like you’re towing a small trailer. Those optional 18in alloys do little to help.

It gets a gold star for economy, though. It’s easy to achieve well over 50mpg, which makes for an impressive range from the 50-litre tank. That economy isn’t achieved at the expense of performance, either, with the HR-V pulling strongly from low revs to make the car nippy around town in particular.

Honda hr v black edition dashboard

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Should I buy one?

In a decade or so, when the used buying guides are being written about the current glut of small SUVs, the Honda HR-V will make for a good recommendation, and this new Black Edition version perhaps even more so.

Being spacious, economical, solidly built and reliable (well, not to count chickens, but this is a Honda and it's one based on a Honda Jazz) will count for a lot, as will the extra kit and desirability, such as bigger alloys and a full leather interior.

But back in 2017, the HR-V Black Edition feels old before its time and lacks even the tiniest bit of dynamic sparkle.

It’s just so anonymous in every way, and turning every surface black only adds to that sense of anonymity. Come back in 2027, Honda HR-V Black Edition, and we’ll talk then. 

Honda HR-V 1.6 i-DTEC Black Edition

Where Suffolk; On sale Now; Price £26,820; Engine 1597cc, turbocharged diesel; Power 118bhp at 4000rpm; Torque 221lb ft at 2000rpm; Gearbox 6-spd manual; Kerbweight 1324kg; Top speed 119mph; 0-62mph 10.2sec; Fuel economy 68.9mpg; CO2 rating 108g/km; Rivals Toyota C-HR, Skoda Yeti 

Honda hr v black edition badging

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Mark Tisshaw

mark-tisshaw-autocar
Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.

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superstevie 27 September 2017

I just don't like this car.

I just don't like this car. It looks awful, the interior has no style, and the price is ridiculously high.

xxxx 27 September 2017

Ahh the cheek of that price

Looked at one last year and totally dismissed it on price. An average 1.6 petrol NA that was priced like it was a premium product with an up to date 1.5t engine.  

Best comparasion would be against a Mazda CX-3 rather than a Yeti (obviously)

 

scrap 27 September 2017

An urban diesel car will make

An urban diesel car will make a 'good recommendation' as a used buy in 10 years' time? Autocar, you need to stop reading industry press releases and open your eyes - private buyers are abandoning diesel for good reason.