2023 Honda ZR-V VTi-LX review

Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, and it appears Honda knows it.

For decades, Honda’s player in the hugely popular mid-size SUV segment has been the CR-V but it’s now too big. In fact, the soon-to-arrive fifth-generation CR-V has grown so much that it’s gone up a weight division and is now classed as a large SUV. Which opens the door for the entirely new SUV nameplate you see here…

The ZR-V (known as HR-V in America) is Honda’s fresh mid-size player and we already know it has loads of appeal. When we drove the full range last month at the national media launch, we were impressed by its reasonable pricing, sorted dynamics and its unique size, which is smaller than most of the contenders in the mid-size class yet still larger and roomier than popular small SUVs like the Toyota Corolla Cross.

For this review, though, we’re zeroing in on the flagship VTi-LX which is both the most luxurious ZR-V you can currently buy and the most expensive trim level.

So does the ZR-V’s appeal still hold as strong at the pricier end of its model range? Let find out.

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JUMP AHEAD

• How much is it, and what do you get?
• How do rivals compare on value?
• Interior comfort, space and storage
• What is it like to drive?
• How is it on fuel?
• How safe is it?
• Warranty and running costs
• VERDICT
• Specifications

How much is it, and what do you get?

There are three petrol ZR-Vs to choose from starting at $40,200 drive-away for the VTi X.

At the other end of the petrol spectrum is the VTi-LX tested here for $48,500 drive-away. The only way to spend more on a ZR-V is to go for the e:HEV LX hybrid.

The price seems high when you can get yourself into some larger mid-sized rivals like the Nissan X-Trail, which is our current class benchmark, for similar money, but if you look at the rest of the Honda range and its no-haggle agency pricing, it holds up bizarrely well against the Civic and smaller HR-V.

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A couple of interesting items popped up in the spec list.

The rear seat heating is a nice touch and like its compatriot Toyota (or some Toyotas anyway), Honda offers an air purification function in the climate control.

Honda’s Connect functionality is offered with a five-year subscription but it doesn’t seem to do a heck of a lot. It’s more generous than Toyota’s 12-month offering on the RAV4.

Another nice touch is not having to pay extra for colours. The Premium Garnet of this test car is pretty vivid in real life, though, so consider yourself warned!

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How do rivals compare on value?

This part of the market is pretty busy and dominated by Toyota with the RAV4.

For the same $48,500 as the ZR-V VTi-LX you can have a very middle-of-the-road RAV4 GXL hybrid or a naturally-aspirated 2.0-litre for a few grand less. It’s bigger, not as much fun to drive (especially the 2.0-litre) and not nearly as loaded with gear. It’s a good car but not only do you pay more, you wait a lot more due to Toyota's heavily backed-up delivery pipeline.

A Mazda CX-5 Touring Active is about the same price on the road but has more power and more driven wheels. It’s a close match for the Honda’s chassis, has a pretty classy interior (if a bit dark) and is probably the closest rival for the ZR-V. Except the Touring Active spec isn’t a match for the ore richly equipped Honda VTi-LX.

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The Nissan X-Trail Ti-L is reasonably close to this ZR-V’s spec – and has a few extra little surprise-and-delight features as well.

It’s quite a bit bigger and costs $49,990 before on-road costs – so quite a few bucks more – but it’s a lot of car and our current medium SUV king.

I grew very fond of the X-Trail during the three months I had one as a long-termer but one thing to be aware of is the Nissan has relatively high servicing costs.

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Interior comfort, space and storage

Let’s start with the least impressive bit of the ZR-V: boot space.

Now, it’s not terrible, so if this is the worst I could dream up about the ZR-V’s cabin, we’re already in good shape. At 380 litres, it’s a long, long way down on the segment’s hitherto tiddler, the CX-5 which has 442 litres. It’s a sizeable 200 litres behind the RAV4 and 235 behind the Tiguan.

While this gives you an indication of how the ZR-V only just squeaks into the mid-size market, the rest of the cabin is much bigger than its modest footprint suggests The back seat is as good, if not better than the Mazda, with plenty of headroom for me at 180cm as well as good leg and knee room.

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Even our resident beanpole John Law found the cabin spacious. I didn’t find the lack of toe room under the front seats as bothersome but worth checking if you’ve got teenagers to carry around regularly.

The back seat itself is well-shaped and more than likely comfortable for long trips. So it’s just as well there are two USB-C ports to charge devices, an armrest, cup holders and air vents. And, as I’ve already mentioned, heating. That’s pretty good going.

Moving to the front and you’ve got a really classy design. A hexagonal theme runs across the dash and it’s largely button-free. The physical climate controls are genuinely lovely to look at and use and the screen, while “just” 9.0 inches, is the right size for the cabin.

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The high-set console has a useful EV-style cut-out underneath where you can stash extra phones or notebooks.

But the gear selector is oddly tall, which is especially strange as the hybrid just has buttons to do the same job. You also get a pair of cup holders, a console bin and bottle holders in the doors.

It’s a really nice cabin in a segment that only has a couple of classy entrants.

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What is it like to drive?

Honda has done an amazing job of whittling down its engine line-up and the ZR-V has the now very familiar 1.5-litre turbo petrol four-cylinder found in the similarly priced Civic.

Power outputs are good rather than impressive, and that dreaded acronym – CVT – makes yet another appearance on a Honda. Except this one is quite good, with a positive uptake from standstill whether in Sport or Normal drive modes.

The thing that even a bad continuously variable transmission is good at – making the most of the available torque as long as there isn’t too much of it – means that the ZR-V gets along quite nicely without the lawnmower effect from which the RAV4 suffers.

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The ZR-V’s ride is a little knobbly on less-than-stellar surfaces, which naturally abound in Sydney and its surrounds.

It improves with pace, however, which makes for a relaxed highway cruiser. The Yokohama Advan tyres are pretty quiet too.

The tyres also deliver pretty good grip in corners and this is where I really gelled with the ZR-V. It’s quite an athletic machine, which makes the slightly cheeky Maserati-aping grille a bit less so.

I wasn’t expecting to want to put some energy through the front tyres on a pleasant Thursday evening drive on my regular test loop, but the ZR-V is able enough to make that kind of thing fun.

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You can string corners together with positive brakes and light but direct steering, ably supported by the transmission making sure all available power and torque reaches the road.

I tried the paddle shifters but only on a really challenging part of road, when Sport mode was not quite up to the job.

Body control is excellent and again makes up for the sometimes-edgy ride. It never feels like it’s going to lean over and feels lower than it is. In fact, the ZR-V feels like a well-sorted, high-riding hatchback, which is something helped by its relatively light 1439kg kerb weight.

It’s also very comfortable for front and rear passengers, with good supportive seats that hold you in place better than they appear they might. And at all times it’s quiet and composed, in town or on the open road.

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How is it on fuel?

Fuel consumption of the VTi-LX is slightly higher than the entry-level variant but it fared well during its time with us, at least against the ADR figure.

On the long highway run, it really leaned out which brought the suburban-only fuel figure of 8.9L/100km down into the high sevens, which is pretty good going. It also accepts standard unleaded, another solid win for a turbo-engined car.

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How safe is it?

As the ZR-V is box-fresh it doesn’t yet have an ANCAP safety rating as of early August 2023.

The eleven airbag count should get it over the line with front centre airbag and knee airbag inclusions but, frustratingly, reverse-cross traffic alert and blind-spot monitoring are only available on the top-spec VTi-LX and the hybrid. That’s not cricket.

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Warranty and running costs

Honda offers a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty with a five-year capped-price servicing regime.

The Honda ZR-V requires a service every 12 months or 10,000km. Each scheduled service costs $199 for a total of $995 over a five-year ownership period. This compares favourably to the Toyota RAV4 ($260/service), though Toyota’s popular SUV has longer 15,000km service intervals.

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VERDICT

The Honda ZR-V is the Japanese brand's most convincing new model in ages.

It's great to drive, roomy, is reasonably stylish and its smaller-than-average size will appeal to buyers looking to bridge the gap between small SUVs like a Toyota Corolla Cross and bigger, established medium players like the Nissan X-Trail.

If you’re going to reinvent your own back catalogue, this is how you do it.

As for whether the VTi LX still stacks up in isolation? Absolutely. In fact, it's probably the pick of the range. It gains worthwhile equipment and quality improvements over the base model and is some $6400 less expensive than the ZR-V hybrid.

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