Test drive Honda HR-V 5 doors 2001-2006 SUV
Honda HR-V- Active Drive
Somehow it happened that the SUVs are considered almost the most expensive class of cars. Regardless of the size and degree of steepness of the all -wheel drive jeep, in the minds of our compatriots it is quoted at least at the level of the notorious six hundredth. In principle, this approach is normal - SUVs, as the most difficult type of car, are really more expensive than mass models of passenger cars of a small and middle class. Full -size and luxury models are especially noticeable in this sense - their cost is calculated in tens of thousands of dollars. But this does not mean at all that for the acquisition of a new all -wheel drive car, which your envious neighbors, as well as the tax inspector, will probably identify huge amounts as a jeep. As in any other class, there are also relatively inexpensive models among SUVs. One of them is Honda HR -V on our dough ...Formally, restyling was the reason for the test: the car presented on the market in 1999 received a slightly updated face and interior. New bumpers, fog, as standard equipment for all versions, a more combed salon - in general, changes are insignificant for us, but important for customers. But when we found out the price of this car, honestly, looked at him with different eyes. After all, Honda HR -V is one of the most affordable SUVs in our market. With the retail cost of this Japanese from $ 13.030, even Korean models cannot compete with him - the most affordable among them, Hyundai Santa Fe, is more costly more expensive! Other such models, in the sense of such high -quality, fashionable and modern SUVs with all -wheel drive and at such a price, are simply not more - unless the new Niva, proudly bearing the Chevrolet label on itself, will be able to lubricate customers with an even more attractive price tag.
However, even if the Honda HR-V price tag was less attractive, the car itself would hardly suffer due to a lack of customers. After all, this is still Honda, and still a popular parquet model. And there are not enough high -quality and beautiful compact SUVs in our market - most manufacturers prefer to deal with more expensive and profitable models for sale. Even less three -door SUVs are offered, only much more expensive Toyota Rav4 and a professional Suzuki Gran Vitara SUV. But many of them, even at a significantly higher cost, are the simplest basic versions, that is, with the smallest engines, with a minimum package of equipment. Honda HR -V, even for such a minimum price, already has airbags of safety, all -wheel drive, and various systems affecting safety - anti -lock, system distribution system, etc.
Honda HR -V is a very comfortable and soft car. First of all, due to the fact that it has a very soft, not at all off-road suspension. No, her margin of safety is quite sufficient for raids in rough terrain, but in normal modes she does not tire with excessive vibrations. Management is also on top, although comparing with passenger models, especially Honda, this SUV is difficult. The rear hard bridge does not allow you to achieve perfect balance. Although, on the other hand, in the presence of a dependent rear suspension with a Panar traction, this car seems to not be considered a parkingate, because One of the characteristic features of these passenger SUVs is precisely the presence of independent pendants in front and behind. But the absence of any locks of differentials and a number of low transmissions, as well as low clearance, still does not allow HR-V the ability to classify as a general-purpose SUV. To be a serious off -road on this car, to be honest, it’s just scary - the road clearance of this model is small, and the overhangs, the rear and especially the front, on the contrary, are very outstanding, which is fraught with consequences. What? Yes, not very scary: breakdowns of bumper or just cracks in them. It seems to be not fatal, but it is still unpleasant every time after sorties to nature to repair a body kit on the so -called jeep - this is perhaps too much. Moreover, the trip can end even more sad: immediately behind the front plastic bumper is the engine, a low proton of which is very accessible for sticking stones and borders.
In general, on a crossed area, despite the off-road appearance, on HR-V should be gently moved out, as they say, measure seven times. However, if you go wisely, then you can drive on such a SUV almost everywhere. Deep loose sand, blurry primer, snow virgin lands - all this for HR -V is just seeds, which, with the right style of driving, will never force this car to stop. But after Toyota Land Cruiser or Nissan Patrol GR, you should not meddle - these cars are intended for completely different, and their possibilities are incomparably higher. As well as the margin of strength. Their dependent pendants-bridges allow you to ride along the rut, without being afraid to tear out the lever or bend the craving. It is best to avoid HR-V. A small journey to the beach and back, traveling to the forest for mushrooms, a trip to the country is, perhaps, that's all. The maximum is a small journey through ravines that will not bring pleasure to you or your car. With geometric cross -country ability, HR -V seems to be in order - long -speed pendants, a low center of gravity. But the lack of reduced gear makes such trips extremely destructive for the car. In order not to damage anything, you need to go very slowly, but in this mode you can’t pass by diagonal hanging - such obstacles must be passed on the move. And so it turns out: you gas, poison the clutch, torment the car, and the sense of zero. Any field will easily go around you, and even pull it out, if anything, can ...
But on the asphalt, HR-V will be able to show itself in all its glory: a 1.6-liter motor and asphalt tinctures of pendants allow to achieve controllability at the level of golf class models. The rolls in the turns are minimal, the steering wheel is sharp, the brakes are very tenacious. By and large, it will be difficult to feel the difference between this SUV and representatives of golf class, who, for the most part, also have a half-dependent rear suspension in the form of a beam, it is at the level of nuances. Just in HR -V you sit a little higher, and therefore you feel all the transverse vibrations stronger - pure physics. Again, the all -wheel drive transmission works softly, and most importantly - yourself: you do not need to constantly connect/turn off the front axle, automation will do it for you. An increased road clearance, with all its advantages, also does not affect the level of comfort at all. In its architecture, HR-V resembles an ordinary passenger car, not a cabinet-like SUV. And this means that the landing in it will not be vertically-melodious, but a comfortable reclining, as in a car. But if a protruding well hatch suddenly painted on your lane, you, unlike the driver of the aforementioned cars, will not have to slow down or look for the opportunity to go to another strip. An enlarged road clearance allows you to not only pass such surprises between the wheels, but also feel free to climb the curb. And by the way, you have to do this very often - now there is nowhere to park, then the standing car prevents the parking lot from leaving, then the traffic jam is formed on the road. When you go in a passenger car, you just come to terms with this: you sit and wait until the road is free.
The SUV is good that with a minimum off-road balaast (locks of differentials or increased fuel consumption), he gives a huge advantage over ordinary cars, at least in the winter you will not have to think in the evening: whether you can leave the snowdrift in the morning or you will have to ask someone pull out.
Text: Pavel Kozlovsky
