2022 should be a big crossover year for Honda.
No technical information has arrived just yet, but we’ve known for awhile that North America will see its own version of Honda’s updated small crossover this year. In fact, the automaker just teased the 2023 Honda HR-V in these new design sketches, lending some perspective to the spy shots a reader sent in late last year.
Of course, certain details in these sketches — the wheels, for example — are likely subject to change prior to the production model’s actual debut. However, from what we can see (at least at the rear), the styling cues largely match what we saw in October. Honda clearly aims to ditch the first generation’s softer styling for something more aggressive and modern, as they did with the larger Passport for the 2022 model year.
What remains to be seen is whether Honda will introduce a hybrid HR-V variant over here, as it’s done in Europe. The e:HEV technology is something we’ll likely see in time, but the more likely powertrain for the 2023 Honda HR-V is a 2.0-liter, naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine from the new Civic. That would offer a bit more grunt than we saw in the last generation, while also giving Honda a cost-effective price point against the wave of small SUVs currently on sale.
The 2023 Honda HR-V will debut sometime this year, though the company was no more specific than that in today’s announcement. Depending on whether we’ll also see the updated CR-V in 2022, we could see its smaller sibling emerge sometime later this spring or in the summer.
In case you needed a reference point, here’s a look at the now-outgoing HR-V:
