Honda ZR-V e:HEV L review

Tell me I’m wrong, but the gloss black, vertical-slat front grille of the Honda ZR-V bears an uncanny resemblance to Maserati.

Love it.

The ZR-V, which is positioned between the HR-V and CR-V, arrived in Australia in 2023 with one petrol-powered Vi X variant.

The hybrid e:HEV — meaning “electric” hybrid electric vehicle — which I have here, joined the range in June 2026 as part of a mid-cycle “refresh”.

It has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an electronic continuously variable automatic transmission (eCVT) combining two electric motors with three operating modes to produce total outputs of 135kW/315Nm.

It doesn’t need to be plugged in — and takes 91 RON.

Of course, the ZR-V is a medium SUV, so it’s competing against the Toyota RAV4, BYD Sealion 7, Hyundai Tuscson, Mazda CX-5 and Kia Sportage — in that order — in its segment (under $65,000).

Drive-away pricing

The ZR-V is available in four grades and comes in a selection of five colours at no additional cost.

+ Vi X: $39,900

+ e:HEV X: $43,400

+ e:HEV L: $45,900

+ e:HEV LX: $51,900

What’s it like?

Beautifully finished, from the honeycomb air vents to the sinfully sumptuous “leatherette” and fabric seats.

Models for destined for Australia (and Japan) are built at Honda’s Yorii plant in Saitama, just outside Tokyo.

Everything feels premium, with tactile controls for obvious things like temperature, air flow and volume.

All ZR-V variants come with a three-year Honda Connect subscription, which includes digital key, automatic collision detection and music streaming, plus Google Play.

Inside, there’s a 9-inch touchscreen that’s easy to use and a 10.2-inch LED driver information colour display that lets you keep an eye on, among other things, music, phone, fuel consumption and navigation.

Even the basic eight-speaker audio is pretty good (only the LX gets 12-speaker Bose sound).

Boot space is 876/1312 litres with rear seats up/down and there’s a powered tailgate.

Braked towing capacity — if you need it — is 750kg.

The drive?

Unflappable. Even on winding roads in the Hills.

It’s front-wheel drive, body control is excellent and, all-round, a very polished ride, with good acceleration and comfortable suspension — but road noise is more than I expect. Could it be the Bridgestone Alenza tyres?

The first things I notice is the steering — because it doesn’t unnerve me. It’s responsive, sharp and direct; not too light. Just right.

Seat adjustment in the L spec is manual, which is no big deal.

But I do miss wireless smartphone charging and a surround-view camera, both in the LX spec — though you do get both data and charging USB-Cs upfront.

Wireless iPhone connectivity is seamless — but it drops out the first few times I restart the car, then works, no problems.

Unusually, there’s a shift-by wire push-button gear selector on the centre console instead of a traditional shift, with the R recessed and equipped with a quirky pull-back mechanism —that takes a half a second to figure out — to prevent you mindlessly pressing down on it instead of Drive (D).

The car starts in EV (you can see the green EV light up on the instrument panel — or you can get the power transfer display up on the touchscreen if you want to be obsessive about it) and seamlessly transitions between hybrid and petrol, unless you lean heavily on the accelerator, then you can hear the engine kick in.

There are three drive modes: Eco, Normal and Sport. But I don’t notice much difference between them.

Visibility is good, parking is easy — and I’d happily drive the ZR-V every day.

My fuel consumption over a week of city and highway driving is spot on spec: 5.0 litres/100km. For purely city and suburban driving, Honda claims 2.5L/100km.

Is it safe?

What a muddle.

The ZR-V has a four-star ANCAP safety rating — just missing out on the five-star threshold in both crash and safety tests — based on Euro NCAP assessment in December 2023, scoring 79 per cent for adult-occupant protection, 88 per cent for child-occupant protection, 81 per cent for vulnerable road-user protection and 68 per cent for safety assist.

Confusingly, ANCAP notes local vehicles are “structurally different” to their European siblings. This includes a different front bumper beam which,apparently, affected performance in some test impact locations. Additionally, ANCAP says European vehicles are built with an additional beam in rear doors, which is omitted from Australian-sold vehicles, adding while “no observable effect on test performance was identified, Honda is yet to provide information as to why the additional beam has been excluded”.

The rating applies till 2031 — but the testing criteria have already been superseded by updated ANCAP protocols that came into effect this year and run till 2028.

Regardless, there’s a lot of built-in safety, starting with 11 airbags that include a centre airbag and a full suite of Honda Sensing safety and driver assistance technologies as standard across all models.

Why two motors?

The two-motor hybrid-electric system is with a traction motor and a generator motor — mounted side by side. The generator motor is directly connected to the engine. The traction motor is directly connected to the driveshaft, and regenerates electricity during deceleration.

What’s in a hybrid?

Automakers use different hybrid-electric systems.

In general, there are three types of hybrid systems:

+ Series hybrid, in which the engine generates electricity and the electric motor drives the vehicle

+ Parallel hybrid, in which the engine primarily drives the vehicle while the motor assists

+ Series-parallel hybrid, in which both the engine and motor act together to drive the vehicle

Think of the e:HEV as a series-parallel hybrid. In broad terms, it switches between three operating modes:

+ EV drive: During start-up and city driving, it works like a series hybrid, with the motor driving the wheels powered by electricity from the battery. Since the engine is off, the vehicle runs like an EV, without using petrol.

+ Hybrid drive: The petrol engine turns the generator motor, which supplies electricity to the traction motor that drives the wheels.

+ Engine drive: At highway speeds, it works like a parallel hybrid, with the engine primarily driving the vehicle.

Warranty and servicing

The ZR-V comes with Honda’s five-year unlimited kilometre warranty, five years of roadside assistance and five years of capped price servicing (every 12 months/10,000km), costing $199 each time. The hybrid battery module has an eight-year warranty.