2022 Honda HR-V in Malaysia

There have been many 2022 Honda HR-V sightings in Malaysia over the Raya week thanks to countries in our region being in full on Raya mode this year. This means plenty of Singapore residents drove up their brand new 2022 HR-Vs up to Malaysia to visit their families here.

When will Malaysians be able to balik kampung with the new HR-V then? The new Honda HR-V will be coming to Malaysia in sometime in the second half of 2022, but perhaps not in time for Hari Raya Haji.

The HR-V is a very important model for Honda Malaysia, pioneering the entry-level SUV segment that rivals like the Proton X50 and X70 and Toyota Corolla Cross now compete in. Honda Malaysia will highly likely be launching it here as a locally assembled car just like the outgoing model.

Which version of the 2022 Honda HR-V will we get?

First of all, we can rule out the US market Honda HR-V as it is only known as the HR-V there. Globally, this particular SUV will be called the Honda ZR-V and it is positioned in between the HR-V and the CR-V.

This version of the “HR-V” is a larger vehicle and is based on the Civic instead of the City, aimed at customers who find the CR-V has grown too large for their needs.

This is the model of the HR-V that we will get, which is what Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia gets. But notice that there are two different ‘faces’. On the left is the ‘regular’ face, which sports horizontal bars. The car on the right is the ‘RS’ face, with a sportier look.

Indonesia gets both faces – the E and E SE variants with the normally aspirated 1.5 liter engine gets the regular face. The sportier ‘RS’ face is reserved for the model with the 1.5 litre turbo engine. In Thailand, the RS face is offered, but not with a turbo engine – the RS face is paired with the e:HEV hybrid engine there. Thailand also gets a version of the hybrid with the normal face.

We think there is a chance Honda Malaysia could only offer the sportier ‘RS’ face in Malaysia with multiple engine choices. After all, the hybrid City models get the RS face here, so it could be the same for the HR-V. And it would be weird for the sporty turbo model not to get the RS look as well. So we could be looking at both a HR-V RS Turbo and a HR-V RS e:HEV going on sale here.

But this is of course pure speculation, we’ll see. If there will only be one variant that gets the RS outlook, it will likely be the hybrid, as per the other Honda models. Which face do you prefer – the normal face or the RS face? We reckon the RS face would be more in line with Malaysian tastebuds.

Is the 2022 HR-V now a bigger SUV?

The current Honda HR-V on sale in Malaysia has the following dimensions – 4,346 mm length x 1,790 mm width x 1,605 mm height, with a 2,610 mm wheelbase.

The 2022 HR-V measures the following – 4,385 mm length x 1,790 mm width x 1,590 mm height, with a 2,610 mm wheelbase.

Surprise surprise, the new car has the same wheelbase as the outgoing car. It’s grown mostly in terms of exterior length, while maintaining the same width.

You can see from the comparison of the side profile above that the front and rear overhangs of the new HR-V are a bit longer than the outgoing model.

What engine will the 2022 Honda HR-V get in Malaysia?

Globally, the 2022 Honda HR-V is offered with three engine choices. The base engine is a normally aspirated 1.5 litre engine. For those who want more power, there is a turbocharged 1.5 litre engine. And then there is the e:HEV Hybrid for those who are into a bit more technology in their car.

1.5 litre four cylinder NA engine
– 121 PS at 6,600 rpm
– 145 Nm at 4,300 rpm
– CVT transmission

1.5 litre four cylinder Turbo engine
– 177 PS at 6,000 rpm
– 240 Nm at 1,700-4,500 rpm
– CVT transmission

1.5 litre four cylinder e:HEV hybrid system
– Atkinson cycle
– 105 hp, 127 Nm from engine
– 131 hp, 253 Nm total system output

In the e:HEV hybrid system, the 1.5 litre engine works with two electric motors. The e:HEV system uses the engine most of the time as a generator using one of the electric motors, which also acts as a starter. The second electric motor is larger – it is used to drive the front wheels most of the time. At high speeds where the system calculates that it is more efficient for the four cylinder engine to drive the wheels directly, a lock-up clutch engages and the engine drives the wheels instead of the motor.

It is not likely that we will be receiving the 1.5 litre normally aspirated engine here. The outgoing HR-V uses a 1.8 litre engine for its non-hybrid offering – going down an engine size for a normally aspirated engine in a SUV body be an issue being received by customers here (HR-V 1.5 NA is 1,250 kg vs City hatch 1,151kg). So we think the 2022 HR-V could be a turbo or hybrid only offering in Malaysia.

How much will the 2022 Honda HR-V be priced at?

This is a tough one to estimate. Here are the prices of the outgoing HR-V currently on sale in Malaysia.

2022 Honda HR-V 1.8 E – RM 104,000.21
2022 Honda HR-V 1.8 SE – RM 105,363.85
2022 Honda HR-V 1.8 V – RM 113,421.92
2022 Honda HR-V 1.5 Hybrid – RM 113,954.82
2022 Honda HR-V 1.8 RS – RM 118,581.81

However you need to remember these prices are with the current SST exemptions, which is scheduled to end on June 30, 2022. We need to go back in time a little to 2019 to get pricing with SST, as the new HR-V will most likely be priced with SST included. We can see SST represents about 4-5% of the pricetag.

2019 Honda HR-V 1.8 E – RM 108,800.00
2019 Honda HR-V 1.8 V – RM 118,800.00
2019 Honda HR-V 1.5 Hybrid – RM 120,800.00
2019 Honda HR-V RS – RM 124,800.00

Pricing for the new HR-V could go a bit higher due to the higher positioning of the engines offered, if we were to get the turbo and the hybrid only, skipping the normally aspirated 1.5.

If you look at the pricing of the new City Hatchback, the e:HEV RS is priced at RM 107,783.09 while the most expensive petrol model is only RM 91,708.51. The City Sedan’s e:HEV RS goes for RM 105,950.45 compared to the 1.5 V’s RM 90,212.36 price. That’s a pretty significant premium for the hybrid system – about RM15k or about a 17% price premium.

This is because the new hybrids use Honda’s new i-MMD system which is more expensive than the outgoing i-DCD system as it is more advanced. You’re pretty much driving an electric car with an ICE generator.

If we take the 2019 HR-V 1.8 V’s RM 118,800.00 with SST price tag as a baseline and add 17%, the new HR-V’s top of the range e:HEV RS model could cost RM138k. That would still be cheaper than the CR-V’s last with-SST starting price of RM151k, so it is a real possibility.

Are you eagerly waiting for the new Honda HR-V to be launched? If you are, have you placed a booking at a dealership already? Drop a comment and let us know if the sales personnel have given you any hints on pricing and specs!

GALLERY: 2022 Honda HR-V e:HEV RS (Thailand market)

GALLERY: 2022 Honda HR-V e:HEV EL (Thailand market)