HR-V: Honda's Small SUV

A rough styling rule-of-thumb is that the smaller the car, the more difficult it is to make it beautiful.  Small cars can be cute or even attractive, of course, and this post's subject falls into that aesthetic range.  But it has one serious flaw and a few minor ones, in my opinion.

That car is the Honda HR-V that appeared in the USA as a 2016 model.  As explained here, there was a previous version that was not imported here.   The link also notes that it shares components with the Honda Fit.  HR-Vs are slightly longer than Fits, their wheelbase being 102.8 inches (2610 mm) versus 99.6 inches (2530 mm).

The HR-V was given a modest facelift for 2019 that tidies up some front-end fussiness.

Gallery

A 2015 Honda Fit, the basis for the 2016 Hr-V.  Although it features many angles in its sculpting, they present a cluttered, yet coherent theme.

The 2016 Honda HR-V might be based on the Fit according to Wikipedia, but that is not apparent when comparing this image with the previous one.  The major flaw I mentioned has to do with the side character line that bends upward to converge with the upper side window framing curve.  These meet in the form of a triangle, the vertical element of which is the rear door handle, a touch borrowed from the Alfa Romeo 156.  That feature was dictated by the sweep of the curve: the resulting sculpting overlaid where a door handle would normally be.

This rear quarter view shows the door handle as well a questionable touch on the rear design.  That is the "smile" sculpting that sweeps below the license plate area.  The ends of this do partly relate to the tail light assembly designs and the curve does provide contrast with most of the other elements which are either horizontal or angular.  To my mind, the flaw is that the "smile" extends too far down.

A more conventional alternative to the bold up-sweep of the side sculpting would have it terminate along the top of the tail light assembly rather than abaft of the side windows.  That would give the rather stubby SUV design more visual length.  As it stands, it serves to enhance the stubbiness.  On the other hand, that sculpting and its setting are distinctive, and this might be considered a marketing plus in that the HR-V does not quite look like the rest of the crowd.

The 2019 Honda HR-V.  What was facelifted was the car's face.  The upper part of the ensemble including the headlight assemblies and the bold chrome bar have been greatly simplified from the clutter seen the earlier version.  Honda styling, like Toyota's, has been jarringly fussy in recent years, so I hope this facelift is a sign of returning sanity.