Honda BR-V is a great car with a goofy gearbox

The new second-generation Honda BR-V Elegance has a glaring flaw, but it isn’t practicality.

The seven-seater has arrived in SA with all the clever seat-adjustability that made its predecessor a hit with large families on a budget, but now has more space and a fresh new design.

Successor to the MPV that was launched in 2015, the new BR-V also ups its game with updated suspension and a more rigid body for a more comfortable ride.

Available with a single choice of engine in three specification grades, the newcomer boasts more styling pizazz than the previous car, with less of a generic mommy-mobile look thanks to a sporty new grille design, and front and rear LED lights. With rails on its roofs, under body skid plates, and a ground clearance increased to 207mm it now looks less like an MPV than an SUV, which is the look all the cool seven-seater cars are aiming for these days.

The car has also grown in size. Interior space has increased to offer roomy adult-sized space in the first and middle rows, though the back pair of seats are still quite cramped and mainly suited to children.

The Honda’s shape-shifting cabin offers seat-folding options galore for the three rows. The middle and rear seats fold flat to accept bulky cargo, including the washing machine we needed to lug. As in the Honda Fit, the middle row squabs pivot forward against the front seats to accommodate tall objects. There isn’t much holiday luggage space with all three rows up, but the 244l boot is enough for small shopping expeditions.

The infotainment has been upgraded for the second-generation BR-V. Fitted as standard on all models is a new seven-inch touchscreen system with integrated Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

Pitched above the entry-level Trend model and the middle-spec Comfort, the range-topping R459,900 BR-V Elegance brims with features including active cruise control, auto high beam, lane-keeping assist and forward collision warning. It also has power outlets in all three rows to charge smart devices, a reverse parking camera and a safety camera that projects the blind spot view onto the infotainment screen when the left indicator is on.

The cabin is neat and uncluttered, mixing digital and physical controls in a user-friendly way that causes minimal distraction.

I could never get truly comfortable in the height-adjustable driver’s seat though, which always seemed set too high. Even in its lowest position I felt more like I was sitting “on” rather than “in” the car.

There are more premium-looking interiors in this car  segment, notably the Hyundai Grand Creta, but the BR-V Elegance has a pleasant-enough onboard ambience with synthetic leather on the armrests, doors and seats. There is hard plastic on the dash instead of the classier soft-touch type, but it avoids looking particularly cheap.

One of the BR-V’s standout characteristics is its comfortable ride on yielding suspension and high-profile tyres, and the vehicle deals with scarred roads without jittering its passengers too badly. This is no sports hatch but the car’s cornering agility is suitably neat and garners no complaints.

Honda has reduced noise, vibration and harshness in the new BR-V and the car feels refined except when the continuously variable transmission (CVT) sends the engine revs soaring and it becomes intrusively vocal. And this brings us to the aforementioned glaring flaw.

The 1.5l petrol engine is reasonably perky but the gearbox is the fly in the soup — and unfortunately there’s no option of a manual in the BR-V Elegance model as there is in the cheaper Trend and Comfort versions. You can make this CVT feel more like a regular transmission by manually shifting with the steering wheel paddles, but on the open road with cruise control engaged the droning becomes loudly intrusive when the revs are sent sky high up every incline. It would not be our first choice of long-distance car.

In a mix of freeway and town driving the car test car averaged 7.9l/100km which is not bad, if significantly higher than the claimed 6.3 — and no doubt a result of the CVT’s high-revving propensity.

At R460k the Honda BR-V Elegance is priced at the higher end of the market segment but comes with a higher-than-average level of comfort and active safety features. If you can live with fewer bells and whistles the BR-V Comfort probably represents better value in the range — and it’s available with a more pleasant-driving manual gearbox for R409,900.

Tech Specs:

Engine
Type: Four-cylinder petrol
Capacity: 1,498cc
Power: 89kW
Torque:145Nm

Transmission
Type: CVT automatic

Drivetrain
Type: Front-wheel drive

Performance
Top speed: n/a
0-100km/h: n/a
Fuel Consumption: 6.3l/100km (claimed); 7.9l/100km (as tested)
Emissions: 151g/km

Standard features
Electric windows, electric mirrors, touchscreen infotainment system, multifunction steering wheel, central locking, two USB ports, smart keyless entry, stability control, ABS brakes, six airbags, climate control, automatic headlights, synthetic leather seats, rear park distance control with camera, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, blind spot camera

Warranty: Five years/200,000km
Service plan: Four years/60,000km
AA roadside assist: Three years

Price: R459,900
Lease*: R9,866 per month
* at 10% interest over 60 months, no deposit

Competition
Suzuki Ertiga 1.5 GL auto, 77kW/138Nm — R312,900
Toyota Rumion 1.5 TX auto, 77kW/138Nm — R343,200
Mitsubishi Xpander 1.5 auto, 77kW/141Nm — R349,995
Hyundai Grand Creta 2.0 Executive auto, 117kW/191Nm — R509,900

We like: Practicality, ride comfort, styling
We dislike: CVT gearbox
Verdict: Nice car, but buy the manual

Motor News star rating
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