Mike Humble:

For almost forty years, I have had an affiliation with Honda cars. Going back to the mid `80s, when I was just a pup, I knew most of the sales executives in most of the new car dealerships in the town of Darlington where I spent most of my growing up. I was an avid collector of car brochures and I didn’t care which brand or model either. One such showroom I regularly used to park my racing bike outside was the long gone premises of Mill Garages Honda on Chesnut Street, just off the main drag in and out of town – Northgate which in days of yore used to be the A1. John Wilkinson was the General Manager along with his two trusty salesmen Lester Plaskitt and Ian Sale. Like most of the other local showroom sales staff, they could see my passion for all things automotive and rather than be asked to leave the dealership inches ahead of a well polished Oxford brogue, they were generally kind, informative and quenched my thirst for knowledge of all things automotive.

Back in those days Honda were known more for selling motorbikes and mopeds than cars, they had no UK manufacturing facilities until a few years later meaning that every Honda imported into the UK was a sold order and waiting lists could be long. Their second hand values were as high as BMW and it was found from an independent market survey that was taken, customer loyalty was second only to Rolls Royce. They had a name for engineering excellence, Formula 1, reliability and build quality. So far as Japanese cars mattered, my opinion of Honda was right at the top of the tree along with Toyota for building high quality and reliable cars. Other friends who were car potty at school dreamt of the likes of the Sierra XR4i or Opel Manta GTE. Whereby I yearned for a twin cam 16i-16 Civic CRX, an Accord 2.0i-16 or exotica such as the SAAB 900 Turbo.

Honda built some truly great motors in the eighties. There was the weird looking three door Accord Aerodeck, the sporty Prelude and who could forget the mad little TN-Acty van – made famous for being the vehicle of choice for Sooty, Sweep and Matthew. Bringing things more recent, I thought Honda lost their way a little bit when they launched the ‘spaceship’ Civic in the mid 2000’s. Build quality owing to the use of recycled plastic and other materials never matched models before, and whereby I loved my old company 2.2iCDTi SE Civic for its performance, the interior creaked and groaned like moving an old wardrobe up a flight of stairs. Over the past few years however, Honda has been getting back to basics in terms of very thorough and very effective engineering.

JAZZ e:HEV Sport – 7/10

Not a true rip-snorting sports model, but it has bags of charm and is very cleverly engineered – effortless, smooth yet enjoyable to drive.

Now, this first became apparent when spending some time with the latest Civic Type R. This really is a driving sensation to be experienced and believed, laughing in the face of the current trend of Hybrids and EV’s. I have also been getting to grips with other new Honda products – all of them Hybrid’s and all of them pretty impressive on the whole. The new Jazz for example, it may not be the prettiest face out there but the Sport model manages to look that little bit…. erm… Jazzier thanks to some very smart looking diamond cut alloy wheels, a different front bumper and other niceties including a nifty three spoke sports steering wheel with bright coloured stitching to the leather rim. Despite its small dimensions, it has a level of interior space to rival a TARDIS, a fairly good ride, tidy handling and what impressed me most – a true feeling of deep rooted build quality.

Being a non plug in hybrid, range on battery power alone is nothing to shout about and neither is it sporting in terms of ripping your face off performance. It is though, very willing, very charismatic, amazingly spacious and practical – and, if you drive with a little bit of consideration, pleasingly economical to boot. Highlights of mention are those really clever ‘magic’ rear seats that not only fold down, but the cushion lifts to vertical and locks into place – ideal for saving that store delivery charge and collecting the new tumble dryer yourself. Overall, the new Jazz should coax some younger drivers into the fold too – it deserves to do so.

New Jazz prices start from £26,395*

HR-V e:HEV – 9/10

Extremely comfortable, good looking, satisfying quality and well equipped. Everyone seemed to like it too – a premium feeling car – impressive.

Next came the new HR-V that impressed everyone who saw or rode in it. Once again, you can feel the huge improvements over the old model in terms of quality. Not only that, but especially in the deep pearlescent red colour that the test vehicle came in, the new HR-V is a good looking car. Seat comfort in my opinion was one of the best I have experienced with a run from Sussex to South Wales being undertaken in one hit with no stopping with me hopping out at the other end as if I’d just popped to the shops. Just like the Jazz, the HRV has a really good level of practicality and ease of operation and the ‘Intelligent Multi Mode Drive’ or iMMD for short cleverly switches between electric or petrol power almost seamlessly and without you knowing. It uses the engine to work as a generator thus powering two electric motors from a 1.5 engine. Though sadly, it’s the only engine option in the range. 

Motorway refinement when cruising on a smooth surface brings almost limousine levels of refinement, fuel economy is really good and performance is sprightly too. Sadly though, the copybook gets blotted a little bit by a lot of loud engine noise during hard acceleration. The steering is a bit numb and lifeless but you can feel the improved rigidity of the bodyshell (some 15% stiffer over the old model) paying dividends when you really corner with gusto – not a single squeak, creak or rattle in the cabin. The HR-V really is a well made and well thought out vehicle. Other highlights include it being well equipped, especially with passenger safety related items and really effective high power LED headlamps but the boot is really quite small and it isn’t cheap  – that said though, their owners love them!

HR-V Prices start from £30,695*

The all new ZR-V Hybrid – 7/10

Great in some areas but just a little bit disappointing in others. Good looking though with many being surprised to find it was a Honda. A few tweaks here and there and it should do well.

ZR-V is the newest model in Honda’s hybrid line-up and sits on the Civic platform. Placed between the HR-V and CR-V, the ZR-V looks pretty handsome from most angles. Depending on how you view it, there are elements of Audi Q5, Porsche Macan and as with its other brand siblings, there is a definite feeling of solidity and quality. I was particularly impressed with the dashboard layout and despite being different, the general accent of the layout is the same as other current Honda cars. It really does feel like a premium car and you get the impression they were benchmarking German stuff in terms of touch, smell and choice of materials. I was expecting a lot from this new model but found certain things at odds compared to other Honda’s. The practicality isn’t on a par with the smaller Jazz or HR-V, again, the boot is on the small side and tyre noise at motorway speeds on some surfaces is really noticeable.

Road manners on the other hand are very good. There’s plenty of grip, quick steering and strong assuring brakes to give the driver lashings of confidence. For most of the time the ZR-V is an entertaining car to hoon around in should the mood take you and the 2.0 hybrid power unit gives good strong performance, and the regenerative braking doesn’t grab or overly make you feel uncomfortable when in operation as per some rivals. I did notice though a rather poorly finished spot weld where the window frame is fitted to the drivers door skin and the lack of any internal roof mounted grab handles. Why the handles have been omitted is a mystery, it may hamper ease of entry for older drivers. Also, the wind noise at high speed is very high, especially from the door mirrors but overall the ZR-V is a good looking car that has real driver appeal. It just didn’t quite impress me as much as I’d hoped it would – its a bit pricey too!

ZR-V prices start from £39,495

New CR-V Plug-In Hybrid – 7/10

The new model is now a very large and rather expensive car – but isn’t a class leader. If it’s comfort you’re after though, the CR-V is right up there with the very best – when cruising it’s as relaxing as taking a candlelit bath!

One of my all time favourite modern Honda is the CR-V. A car that seems to grow and grow with every new version launched. The model I ran for a week is Honda’s first crack at a plug-in hybrid which uses the same 2.0 petrol unit as the ZR-V of which they claim will run for up to 50 miles on pure electric power. In a rare example compared to many makers’ claims, I actually got pretty damn close on a return run to Portsmouth getting 45 miles on battery propulsion. One thing that is VERY evident even the briefest of drives is just how incredibly comfortable this new model really is. The front seats are some of the very best I have experienced in over 30 years of driving and rear seat comfort is top drawer stuff too. Leg, elbow and headroom front and back is bob on for what is now a very big car – but why is there no seven seat option?

The test car was top of the range and very well equipped featuring almost every bell and whistle you’d ever need but I found the head-up display feature to be very cheap and out of date looking. Also, the build quality, though being generally quite good, doesn’t match the lesser Honda’s – the centre console feels a bit cheap and moves around a bit if you lean your left leg a little firmly against it. Other oddities are the daft artificial engine noises that are pumped through the speakers when you select sport mode – totally unnecessary in my opinion and the infotainment screen has a rather poor resolution when reversing which is at odds with its high price tag. Also, the car can be a little bit too noisy at high speed, especially with tyre noise but its poise isn’t knocked off kilter by crosswinds or overtaking trucks.

The CR-V is a very expensive car too, some head on Japanese rivals are £7000 cheaper but a great deal of its misgivings can be forgiven when you feel just how smooth and comfortable it is to drive. If you own a previous generation CR-V you will love this new version to bits, its roomy, stylish, practical and very well equipped. If you are new to a Honda, you may need to think hard as there are a lot of cheaper rivals out there offering that little bit more choice in terms of power units and seat configurations.

CR-V prices start from £45,895*

For more information of the Honda range CLICK HERE

*Please note, prices correct as of November 2023