Honda ZR-V
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Anubhav Sharma
Honda has been a quiet presence within the Indian marketplace for some years now, promoting steadily with the Metropolis and the Elevate however with no halo automotive. The ZR-V is the try to repair that, and it comes right here as a very constructed unit from Japan, with nothing eliminated and nothing engineered down to satisfy a neighborhood value. It additionally means paying a premium, which locations the ZR-V in a bracket the place consumers have been skilled to anticipate measurement, a tonne of options and street presence above all the things else.
The ZR-V leads with magnificence greater than presence, with proportions which are comfortable and rounded with no arduous creases, and the entire thing reads nearer to a crossover than a slab-sided chunky SUV. LED headlamps with built-in LED DRLs and sequential flip alerts, 18-inch alloys, full LED tail-lamps and twin exhaust ideas give it a end that’s costly reasonably than loud. Patrons on the lookout for the visible authority of an SUV won’t discover it right here, and Honda has clearly determined to not chase it.
Inside is the place the import exhibits its worth. The cabin is essentially black and classically Honda, with a mesh panel working throughout the sprint that homes the air-conditioning vents, a dash-mounted touchscreen and an EV-style button-operated gear selector. Bodily knobs deal with the local weather management, fortunately, and a 9-inch touchscreen, a ten.2-inch driver’s show, a 12-speaker Bose system, eight airbags, a 360-degree digital camera and a powered tailgate cowl the necessities. The entrance seats are agency and supportive however not ventilated, and earlier than you full the gasp let me inform you there isn’t a sunroof and no spare tyre. The world clearly agrees with what a small bunch of us have been saying; sunroofs are largely ineffective and I’m glad Honda is on our facet, however the spare tyre is a miss.
double energy
The engine is a 2.0-litre strong-hybrid petrol working with twin electrical motors, making a mixed 181 bhp and 32.1 kg-m by an e-CVT. For more often than not, the petrol engine runs as a generator and the motors drive the wheels, so the automotive pulls away with the immediacy of an EV reasonably than the pause of a standard automated. Honda claims 7.9 seconds from 0 to 100 kph, and that felt plausible on the Buddh Worldwide Circuit’s straight. Ask for all the things without delay and the engine observe runs barely forward of the speedometer, particularly in Sport mode, which feels and sounds good. There are paddle shifters, and this will take some adjustment for loyal Honda customers, however they alter the regen and never change gears.
You sit on this automotive reasonably than on it, and that was fairly obvious through the quick slalom part the place path adjustments have been positive footed. The steering is correct and persistently weighted, brakes do what they’re requested to. It’s arduous to say how agency and comfy the experience shall be in real-world circumstances, based mostly on our quick spin on the monitor. I do want we had the total monitor obtainable to actually push the automotive, and never a restricted one, as a result of the ZR-V appears keen and sporty.
Honda says that 800,000 ZR-Vs have been offered globally since 2022, and it feels engineered like one thing that has had the years and the amount to be correctly sorted. Bringing in a powerful hybrid, licensed E20 compliant and self-charging, at a second when what goes into the gas tank on this nation retains altering, helps its case, too. Costs are anticipated to be introduced shortly, but when one have been to imagine the ₹40-45 lakh (ex-showroom) rumours, it isn’t going to be a stroll within the park for Honda. The ZR-V won’t out-argue a much bigger SUV on presence or on a function listing, and it doesn’t attempt to. It’s for somebody who understands strong engineering is extra vital than a sunroof, who needs an SUV for sensible causes and never solely measurement. That could be a narrower viewers than Honda would really like, however for the individuals in it, the ZR-V shall be a welcome inexperienced flag.
@TheMotorGram
Printed on July 24, 2026
