The Honda Z Runabout Vehicle has been on sale in Japan for close to a year and now the ZR-V has officially landed in Europe. What is it? Essentially, it’s the HR-V sold in North America where the model is larger than the namesake vehicle offered on the Old Continent. In other words, the Euro-spec ZR-V fills a gap we didn’t know existed between the HR-V and the CR-V. One can never have too many crossovers, right?
The ZR-V can be best described as the Civic of crossovers and is offered in Europe exclusively with a 2.0-liter hybrid powertrain you can’t have on the US-spec HR-V for some reason. This electrified four-pot version is also sold at home in the Land of the Rising Sun and offers a combined output of 181 horsepower and 315 Newton meters (232 pound-feet) of torque.
Details regarding performance have yet to be released, but Honda promises “powerful acceleration comparable to a V6 3.0-liter engine” thanks to the ICE working in conjunction with a pair of electric motors for a hybrid setup borrowed from the Civic e:HEV. Output is channeled to the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT). In Japan, you can get the electrified ZR-V with all-wheel drive.
It should be mentioned the ZR-V is 4570 millimeters (180 inches) long and 1840 mm (72.4 in) wide, thus making it closer in size to the outgoing CR-V rather than the next-generation model unveiled today in European specification. With the rear seats folded, it offers a cargo capacity of 1,291 liters (45.6 cubic feet).
Unveiled today at the European Media Event in Offenbach, Germany, the ZR-V is slated to go on sale this fall and take on the Nissan Qashqai and other mainstream compact crossovers.
