First Drive: Honda ZR-V Bets on Performance Over Gimmicks

Honda, the Japanese car giant, has brought its first hybrid SUV from Japan into the fiercely competitive car market in India to build its brand and showcase the new technology.

The new Honda ZR-V e:HEV is a Sports Hybrid, which means it prioritizes performance and fuel efficiency in equal parts. We test drove the imported five-seater from Japan briefly to experience what it promises at the Buddh International Circuit. It is Honda’s premium SUV to woo the millennials.

The Exterior

The Honda ZR-V’s sleek, and the crossover-like design with rounded-off and clean surfaces draws you attention instantly. It has slim LED headlights with L-shaped daytime running lamps (DRLs), a black grille with vertical slats and a bumper that houses functional air vents on either side. It sits on stylish 18-inch diamond cut alloy wheels with a dual-tone finish, body-coloured cladding around the wheel arches and a tapering roofline at the rear.

All wheels get disc brakes. The car has got a clear-lens tail-lamps with LED elements, a roof-mounted spoiler element, and lower down in the bumper are dual exhausts. Overall, the styling of ZR-V is subtle and not striking. The Honda ZR-V measures 4,567mm in length, 1,840mm in width, 1,621mm in height, and has a wheelbase of 2,655mm.

The Interiors

Inside, it gives you practical, comfortable and well-finished look. The attractive dashboard is a bit low-set but it enables a great view. The cabin is ergonomically designed, and you get used to all the controls. The fit and finish, the build quality and lots of soft-touch elements on the dashboard, doors, and center console make it rich. Leather-wrapped front seats are well-padded, very comfortable though without seat ventilation, offering good support to the back and under thigh and the bolstering on the sides also keeps you in place when cornering hard.

The fully digital instrument cluster is customizable, which shows all kinds of driving data, the charge status and a flow chart of the powertrain. The car gets a 10.25-inch digital cluster, a 9-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a 12-speaker Bose audio system, dual-zone climate control, leatherette upholstery, an 8-way powered driver’s seat with memory, a 4-way powered front passenger seat, a wireless charger, an electric tailgate with gesture control, an electric parking brake and ambient lighting.

However, it does not get a panoramic sunroof and heated, ventilated and massaging front seats are missing, all of which could have been offered given its price.

Storage spaces are also well thought out, with easy sized glove box and door bins, plus additional space under the center armrest and in the center console. The rear is also spacious and comfortable, with good seats, dedicated AC vents, Type-C charging ports, a fold-down armrest with cup holders, and three-point seatbelts and adjustable headrests for all three passengers.

The boot space is big with the rear seats folded down in a 60:40 split, you can fit 1,313 litres of cargo.

The Drive Experience

Since the test drive was limited to the limited track time at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, I could not get the drive experience on regular roads and highway.

The Honda ZR-V is powered by the e:HEV Sports Hybrid system, combining a 2.0-liter direct injection Atkinson-cycle engine and the advanced dual-motor hybrid system with e-CVT, offering a combined maximum power of 181 BHP @ 5,000-6,000 rpm and maximum torque of 315 Nm @ 0-2,000 rpm. The system drives the front wheels only although an all-wheel-drive version of the ZR-V is available in the international market.

This new SUV has a claimed 0-100kph time of 7.9 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 172kph.

Honda has used two electric motors for this hybrid system along with the petrol engine and a high-voltage battery that is placed in the boot. One motor works as a generator connected to the engine, and the other works as a traction motor driving the wheels. With this unique system, Honda has completely done away with the transmission. The system works more like a series hybrid system, but switches to a series-parallel system in certain driving conditions. The wheels are mainly driven by the traction motor. The traction motor gets power from two sources - the battery pack in the boot and the generator connected to the petrol engine. If the battery is depleted or more power is needed, the IC engine covers the deficit by charging the battery or supplying power to the traction motor via the generator motor.

Once you press the start/stop button, you can feel the smooth and zippy driving the strong hybrid powertrain and significantly, the vehicle makes all 315Nm of torque from standstill. Thus, it feels quick right from start, and you do not miss the power, whose delivery is also smooth and linear, and the car responds to part-throttle inputs. Undoubtedly, the powertrain is also very refined, with barely any engine, road or tyre noise filtering through.

At low speeds with light throttle inputs, the ZR-V stays in pure EV mode as long as the battery has enough charge. Once you press the accelerator harder, and the engine comes on, and the SUV moves to the hybrid drive mode. During this mode, the electric motor still powers the wheels, and the engine acts as a generator to keep the battery topped up. There is also the engine drive mode, which is specifically used at high speeds wherein the engine powers the wheels, while the electric motor assists. The vehicle comes with three drive modes such as Eco, Normal and Sport and these do not impact the output or how the powertrain works, but just the response. Honda claims the ZR-V will achieve an impressive 22.80kpl.

Should I Buy One?

The carmaker is not looking for volumes in the Indian market even as the first two batches allotted to India have been sold out. Though it is priced a bit higher at Rs 47.99 lakh being a full import, the Honda ZR-V is a niche product. And being a practical, comfortable SUV for long journeys and daily commute with a smooth, seamless hybrid powertrain that is quick and efficient, we need to watch the market response.