2020 Honda HR-V vs Subaru XV

What's the difference?

If you’re after a small SUV that packs a lot of space in, then the Honda HR-V is the best option on the market. It can’t be beaten for overall practicality in a small footprint. 

But it’s really starting to fall behind its rivals for safety tech, engine goodness and it’s starting to feel old inside, too. Yes, the new screen has given it a welcome shot in the arm, but the HR-V needs more than a facelift to keep it relevant against the seemingly unending list of impressive newcomers in this class.

Well this is awkward. On one hand the XV Hybrid is excellent and on the other it’s… not.

It’s great to drive on and off the road, the fit and finish of the cabin are superb and the safety tech is outstanding. On the other, the value for money isn’t good when you consider that it’s almost the most expensive XV, but still doesn’t have sat nav, dual-zone climate control, nor the larger display.

And then there’s the fuel economy. Even if we had matched the 6.5L/100km Subaru says we should get, the saving is a mere 500ml for every 100km compared to a straight-petrol XV. The plug-in hybrid version of the XV, as sold in the United States, can get about 2.6L/100km. Now that type of hybrid XV would make far more sense.

The Honda HR-V is the most cleverly packaged small SUV you can buy. It’s amazing to consider how much space the engineers have managed to eek out of a car of this size.

The dimensions are 4360mm long (on a 2610mm wheelbase), 1790mm wide and 1605mm tall, which makes it sit at the upper end of the “Small SUV” segment alongside the likes of the Qashqai and ASX. But it beats those two, and plenty more, when it comes to cabin space. We’ll get to more detail in the next section, but just know this - it packs more in than you’d expect.

The exterior of the HR-V? Well, it’s starting to look a bit dated, and it’s no wonder after seven years on sale.

The game has certainly moved quickly in more recent times, with some rivals offering more outlandish and characterful designs - the Toyota C-HR and upcoming Yaris Cross, for instance, not to mention the likes of the Hyundai Kona and the all-new Nissan Juke.

But if you’re sold on the HR-V and the RS tickles your curiosity bone, that’s because it looks a bit different to the rest of the range.

The RS gets a body kit with piano black highlights around the wheel arches, lower front and rear bumpers, side skirts and mirror caps. The section below the ‘black chrome’ grille is a honeycomb texture, plus it has dark chrome front door handles, a dark chrome rear numberplate garnish, and it rides on the biggest wheels in the HR-V pack - 18-inch rims with Dunlop Enasave 225/50/18 rubber.

That Lagoon Blue paint. As mentioned above it’s only available on the hybrid and in the metal the colour is so stunning and different that right now from my desk I can see people rubber necking at it parked out the front of my house. The hue, combined with the ‘e-boxer’ badges, makes for an intriguing package, which, from where I sit, is generating a stack of interest. That was always Subaru’s intention, I guess.

Other hybrid-only design features include the frosted silver elements around the fog lights, the slim-line roof rails and, of course, those ‘e-boxer’ badges.

Those are the only styling differences between the Hybrid and the other XV family members.

Not having the chunky roof racks means the overall height is 20mm lower, at 1595mm, but the rest of the dimensions are the same as a regular XV, at 4465mm long and 1800mm wide.  

The XV is a small SUV, but larger than most of its rivals – it’s about 200mm longer than a Honda H-RV, and similar in size to a Kia Seltos or Nissan Qashqai. That said, its cargo capacity isn’t the best – but more on that in the Practicality section below.

We’re just talking about appearances here and the XV hybrid is cute and angry looking at the same time, with its Pokémon-like face.

Nothing has changed about the overall exterior styling since this new-gen XV was introduced in 2017. And that goes for the interior, too, which is a highlight of this SUV.

There’s no other small SUV in the price range with a cabin that feels this good – the craftsmanship is superb, the fit and finish is excellent and the materials (even the plastics) feel gorgeous. I never use the word gorgeous, but you won’t find a more comfortable and luxurious cabin this side of a Lexus.

That said, the small display screen lets things down, and so does the featureless hard plastic on the back of the centre console, which stares at the rear passengers.     

As mentioned above, the HR-V is a pragmatist’s car. If you’re the sort of person who digs the idea of a tiny house, you’re going to love the HR-V. 

That’s because it packages a lot of smarts into its little body. I’m referring to, mainly, the 60:40 rear Magic Seats. They are almost like witchcraft, allowing you to lift up the seat bases in that split or altogether, while the seat backrests can also be lowered completely flat, allowing a massive storage space if you have longer items to cart with you.

I’m talking about 1462 litres (VDA) when the rear seats are folded down, or a still excellent-for-the-class 437L (VDA) with the rear seats in the upright, most reclined position. That figure is to the parcel shelf level, though the standard cargo cover is actually a folding mesh divider. You can option an accessory hard tonneau cover for the cargo area if you need it.

The boot easily fit all three CarsGuide suitcases (124L, 95L and 36L) with the seats in place, and there was actually room to spare. Speaking of spare, under the boot floor is a space saver spare wheel. 

Really, the HR-V’s boot and back seat is why you buy this car. It’s superbly practical and really spacious as well. In the back row, with the driver’s seat set for my position (I’m 182cm or 6’0”), I had enough space to sit for hours. There’s ample knee room, toe room and shoulder space, and while headroom is good those who are taller will need to watch their head getting in or out of the car, as the roofline rakes down quite a bit.

Rear amenities comprise dual map pockets and there are door pockets which are a weird shape, making it hard to fit a bottle in. There is no centre armrest or cup holders, but there’s a bottle holder in front of the middle rear seat, which is also where you’ll find a 12-volt outlet - but sadly, no USB ports, as many competitors now offer.

The materials are really nice, with soft finishes on the doors and padded elbow sections - all of which make the rear seat of the HR-V feel a bit more special than most rivals.

Up front the design of the dash has stood the test of time okay, though even with the new media screen it isn’t as modern as many rivals. The screen itself is positioned at a bit of a strange angle, which meant that driving at night saw a reflection on the windscreen up near the rearview mirror.

The screen itself isn’t the best quality, either. There’s a weird fuzziness to the display, and it’s not as high resolution as, say, a VW T-Cross’s screen. It looks a bit blurry, as you might be able to see from the images. 

The menus on-screen are reasonably easy to learn, but annoyingly there is no volume knob for quick adjustments. Further, you can’t change the audio settings (bass, treble, EQ etc) when you have a smartphone connected via USB. It has to be done when you’re not plugged in, which means you might set the wrong parameters for what you end up listening to.

That’s annoying. And you know what else was annoying? That our test car's screen didn't flick in to Android Auto mode when we connected an Android phone. We tried multiple times, yet couldn't get it to work.

So while the addition of the new screen does bring the HR-V up to date in terms of phone mirroring tech, you could actually probably do better by choosing an aftermarket head unit and having it installed. If you bought a pre-owned HR-V and did that, you’d save some big cash, too. 

Otherwise the cabin is pretty good up front, with door pockets suitable for bottle holders, central multilevel cup holders (that can be turned into bottle holders if you need), plus a small covered centre console bin. There’s no space in front of the gear selector for your phone or wallet, but there’s a shelf below the selector - which is a bit out of sight and out of mind - that would be suitable for a handbag. 

That’s also where the USB ports are - one for the screen (thankfully, because the old screen had a USB port that made for a messy cable situation), the other for recharging devices. There’s a 12-volt outlet there too.

The pixelated monochrome digital driver’s display doesn’t have a digital speedo, and it’s just another element that dates the cabin of the HR-V. But if you can overlook those little things, it’s a very practical car.

To sum things up, room for people is good but the cargo capacity is not. That means I can sit behind my driving position, even though I’m 191cm tall, with about 15cm to spare between my knees and the seatback. Headroom  is fine for me, too.

Boot space, however, is 345 litres, which sounds like it could be a lot but when you consider the Honda HR-V has a 437-litre cargo capacity and the Kia Seltos has 433 litres of luggage space, it’s clear the XV’s boot isn’t very big.

Cabin storage isn’t so bad, though, with a big centre console bin, two cup holders up front and two more in the rear fold-down armrest, plus bottle holders in the doors. The hidey hole in front of the shifter is showing its age because my phone was too large to fit into it sideways, but there are other little nooks to store your things in.

Parents should know that the XV Hybrid doesn’t have directional air vents for those in the back seats, but the dark-tinted rear windows were a welcome feature whenever we had our five-year-old back there.

The hybrid has three USB ports – two for charging in the centre console bin and one for media under the dashboard. Need a 12V outlet? There are two.

The XV Hybrid lists for $35,580, which makes it the second-most expensive XV in the line-up, sitting just under the top-of-range $36,530 2.0i-S. The thing is, the Hybrid doesn’t come with nearly as much equipment as the 2.0i-S, and that’s why it loses value-for-money marks in this review.

Standard features range from the disappointing - like the 6.5-inch touch screen, single-zone climate control and halogen headlights -  to the impressive; adaptive cruise control, rear privacy glass and proximity unlocking. The Hybrid also scores the same advanced safety tech as the 2.0i-S, which I’ll go into more detail about in the Safety section below.

Other standard features include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, shifting paddles, X-Mode drive setting, rear-view camera, six-speaker stereo, digital radio, CD player, premium cloth upholstery, roof rails and rain-sensing wipers.

Only the hybrid comes in the Lagoon Blue colour our car wore, and it’s a no-cost option. Good.

How does the XV Hybrid compare with rivals on price? Well, apart from the Toyota C-HR Koba hybrid, there aren’t any other small hybrid SUV rivals. But ask yourself: why are you buying the XV Hybrid? If it’s for ‘green efficiency’ then you really need to skip to the section on fuel economy, because the amount of fuel you’ll save could shock you, and not in a good way.

If it’s for the all-wheel-drive system then you should know that all XVs have all-wheel drive.

Frankly the biggest rival, apart from the C-HR, comes from within – the XV 2.0i Premium, which is $33,420 and is better equipped and boasts excellent fuel economy. A small SUV comparison wouldn’t be complete without the segment’s benchmark – the Kia Seltos, and its Sport + grade with AWD lists for $35,490.

No news here. It’s still the same 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with 105kW of power (at 6500rpm) and 172Nm of torque (at 4300rpm). Those figures are low for the class.

The motor pairs to a continuously variable transmission (CVT) automatic, and it’s front-wheel drive (FWD/2WD). Other markets get a six-speed manual transmission, and there are all-wheel drive (AWD) models out there in the world, but they’ve never been available here.

Nor has a hybrid model, despite it being offered around the globe. There’s no plug-in hybrid or electric model in this generation, though.

The XV Hybrid has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine under the bonnet (making 110kW and 196Nm) and built into the transmission is an electric motor (making 12.3kW and 66Nm). The batteries are under the boot floor and they’re charged through energy captured during braking, which is then turned into electricity.

The transmission is an automatic called a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). I’m not a fan of CVTs because they tend to take all the oomph out of acceleration, but Subaru’s version is one of the best and the addition of the electric motor gives nice little nudges while driving that the straight-petrol XV doesn’t offer.

The HR-V line-up’s fuel usage ranges between 6.6L/100km and 6.9L/100km depending on the variant. The official combined cycle fuel consumption for the Honda HR-V RS model is pegged at 6.7 litres per 100 kilometres. 

On test, I saw a return of 7.4L/100km, which is consistent with the long-term Honda HR-V RS I had for six months. That’s decent.

The fuel tank capacity is 50 litres, which is pretty large for a car of this size. Theoretical range for a full tank is 675km based on my real-world fuel consumption experience.

Hybrids are all about saving fuel, but the XV Hybrid doesn’t use a lot less petrol than the regular XV, which makes you wonder what the point of it is. According to Subaru the XV Hybrid should use 6.5L/100km after a combination of open and urban roads, while under the same driving conditions the regular petrol version does almost as well at 7L/100km.

My own testing showed higher consumption. After 401.5km of motorways, urban commutes, city traffic, suburban runs, country twisty fun roads and even dirt and gravel tracks, I filled up with 37.51 litres, which comes to 9.3L/100km. The fuel tank in the hybrid is 48 litres and the trip computer told me I had a range of 90km left. The straight petrol XV has a 63-litre tank.

So, even if you use Subaru’s figures you’re saving 500ml per 100km, which comes to about 70c per 100km if 91 RON is about $1.40. Factor in the fact that the XV Hybrid costs $3970 more than the XV 2.0i-L and you’d have to drive more than 550,000km to make that difference in money back. Again, you have to ask, what is the point?

I’ve tested Toyota’s C-HR Hybrid and while it is only two-wheel drive the combined fuel economy is 4.3L/100km.

Subaru’s XV Hybrid needs to be way more fuel efficient for it to be a worthwhile hybrid vehicle.  

So you’re buying the RS model as it’s supposed to be more fun. It looks the part, and the RS badges and 18-inch wheels sell the idea of it being a bit more of a hot model than the rest of the HR-V range.

Sadly, for the most part it’s a case of smoke and mirrors. 

The 1.8-litre engine and CVT aren’t the most enjoyable pairing, and the powertrain - while offering enough grunt for a car of this size, which weighs in at a relatively light 1294kg in RS spec - is really quite dull.

You can put the transmission into ‘S’ for ‘sport’ mode, and that’ll mean it will rev a little harder and hold its momentum at higher revs. But really, it’s not that sporty. You could also take matters into your own hands by using the paddle shifters, but even that’s not a ‘real’ gear change experience as the CVT can slur between ‘shifts’.

At urban speeds around town, the powertrain is fine. Just fine - not fun. On the open road it remains the same. There’s enough power to overtake slower moving traffic, though it’s hardly enticing you to push the limits.

The steering, though. It’s the funnest part of the recipe. Honda has fitted the HR-V RS with a variable ratio steering rack, which just makes it react a bit quicker and feel more darty when you change direction.

The steering itself isn’t overly involving in terms of feel through the wheel, but it is quick to react and reasonably good to push through corners. There’s reasonably good grip from the Dunlop tyres, and it’s a pretty well balanced car in the bends, too.

The suspension is unchanged between the ‘regular’ HR-Vs and the RS model, though those big alloy wheels and low profile tyres can make the ride feel a little bit jiggly and bumpy, particularly at the front axle over bumps. 

When the surface is smooth below, the ride is perfectly acceptable. It’s just when you hit a harsh section or a sharp edge that things get a bit unpleasant. And there’s noticeable road noise intrusion on coarse chip sections of road as well - not deafening, but certainly not as hushed as when on concrete freeways.

I said in the video above that I think the XV is one of the best-handling small SUVs for the money and it’s true, even on twisty country roads the vehicle feels planted, with great body control. That’s thanks to well-sorted suspension and the boxer engine design, which lowers the centre of mass, making the car less ‘wobbly’ and more secure in the corners.

If it was just about driving, the XV Hybrid would be my pick out of the entire model range. That’s because I find the  basics petrol version has lacklustre acceleration. The hybrid gets little shoves from the electric motor, making it better for moving quickly in traffic. Yep, while the electric motor is tiny and only supplies a small output, when it combines forces with the petrol the difference is noticeable compared to the petrol XV.

Like the petrol, the hybrid uses a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). The transmissions are the cause of the indequate acceleration I mentioned, but they seem to be perfectly suited to electric motors.

The entire XV line-up is all-wheel drive, and that includes the hybrid. This is not a four-wheel-drive system, which large off-road vehicles like the Toyota LandCruiser use, so I wouldn’t try to cross the Simpson Desert in an XV. Really the XV’s all-wheel drive is designed for on-road duties but occasional dirt and gravel tracks are fine, as long as you don’t get too wild. Still, it is truly one of the most sure-footed small SUVs for the price that I’ve driven, and the impressive 220mm of ground clearance will let you head down bumpy tracks that would tear the innards out of other small SUVs.

The X-mode function is activated by pressing a button and the throttle, transmission and drive to the wheels is managed automatically to maintain optimum traction.

Where the Hybrid is at a disadvantage against its fellow XV family members is in terms of towing. The braked towing capacity is 130kg less than a straight-petrol XV at 1270kg.  

Perhaps the best reason for buying the hybrid version of the XV is for its advanced safety tech. Only the XV Hybrid and the top-of-the-range 2.0i-S come with blind-spot monitoring, auto high beams, lane-changing assist, rear cross traffic alert and reverse AEB.

That’s in addition to what’s standard on all XVs, such as forward AEB, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assistance, lane-sway alert, lead vehicle start and brake-light recognition.

The XV Hybrid also comes with adaptive cruise control.

A note about the reverse AEB – it works, really well and stopped me from backing into a tree while filming the video above.

The Subaru XV was given a five-star ANCAP safety rating when it was tested in 2017.

For child seats, you’ll find three top-tether anchor points and two ISOFX mounts across the rear row.

Despite all this incredible safety equipment you don’t get a spare tyre on the XV Hybrid – not even a space saver, as you do on the other grades. Instead, you get a puncture-repair kit, which consists of a tyre-inflation device and a type of sealant. I’ve had punctures before while driving cars from other brands and the repair kit didn’t fix the leak. For this reason, the XV hybrid is losing marks here – you can’t beat a real spare tyre, especially in Australia where distances are vast, towns are remote, the climate is extreme and a breakdown could be a life and death situation.

The Honda HR-V has a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty plan, which is paired to a 10-year capped price servicing plan. 

The service intervals are set at 12 months/10,000km - so if you do a lot of driving you might have to end up getting the car serviced more than once a year. At least the service costs are low, pegged at an average of $310 per year over the first three years.

Unlike some rivals, Honda doesn’t yet offer a pre-purchase service plan - so you can’t simply roll in the ownership costs to your monthly car payment.

The brand also doesn’t offer free roadside assistance, as many others do. You can get it as part of the brand’s Premium Roadside Assist option that is included in the added-cost extended warranty plan (seven years/unlimited mileage).

The Subaru XV Hybrid is covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, while the battery for the electric motor is covered by an eight-year/160,000km warranty. There’s also a five-year/62,500km capped-price-servicing program. Servicing is recommended at 12 month/12,500km intervals, with the first capped at $350.25, the second at $588.31, the third at $354.83, the fourth at $784.77, and the fifth at $354.86 for a total of $2433.02 over the five years.