2026 Honda HR-V EX-L

[Blueprint]

Happy New Year!

Yes folks, October 1st marks the new model year for us Traderites.

1st up is the updated HR-V. The new upsized wheels and tires work wonders on looks and steering feel - this rig was really under-tired prior. And this unit is well screwed together, no rattles like the one I drove a year ago.

While the atmo 2.0 is probably bullet-proof, with only urban driving I'm sitting at 11.7 l/100 km so far... This needs the Civic's hybrid drivetrain - badly.

[Oliver]

I didn't realize this was updated for '26. A friend of mine recently picked up a bright red '25 to replace her 2015 she's had since new.

[Blueprint]

I didn't realize this was updated for '26. A friend of mine recently picked up a bright red '25 to replace her 2015 she's had since new.

Minor content revisions accross all trims, some restyled trim bits, and new larger wheels / tires accross the range.

[RRocket]

I didn't realize this was updated for '26. A friend of mine recently picked up a bright red '25 to replace her 2015 she's had since new.

IQs folks are on their 2nd HR-V too...

[Johnnymac]

I find these to be a bit pricy but so are all the Hondas right now.  I also dislike that they removed the "magic seats" in the back that was big selling point on the old one.

They do look nice and are a good size, I just would probably go a different route if it was me.

[Blueprint]

This one just went live : https://www.autohebdo.net/editorial/20251218/honda-hr-v-ex-l-2026-essai-routier

[Blizzard]

We drove one of these last summer (a 2025 model) when shopping to replace the Crosstrek. My girlfriend went into the shopping thinking she would end up with one of these, and I did as well, but we both came away pretty disappointed.

The car drove well and the size was perfect, but I couldn't get over the terrible fuel economy, the seats, and a lack of features even in the top trim EX-L. The test unit at the dealership had a lifetime average of over 10L/100 km and the official ratings for this are worse than the gas-only CR-V which is a way more substantial car. I found the seats pretty uncomfortable - the foam was hard, the bottom cushion was very flat with no way to tilt up the front, and there was only 6 way manual adjustment (!) It seemed crazy to me that a car at this price point only has a 6 way manual adjustment. Apparently this was addressed in the 2026 model, but there's still no power trunk which is disappointing.

This desperately needs a hybrid drivetrain. If there was a hybrid and the price premium wasn't huge, I feel like there's a much bigger chance we would've ended up with one of these. The fuel consumption was one of my girlfriend's biggest problems with the car, seeing as she commutes 300 km/week.

[Careener]

I know what you mean re the seats. A colleague bought one and I took it for a test drive and couldn't get comfortable. I think it wouldn't be as much of an issue for someone with shorter legs, but for me it was a disappointing.
Other than that it seemed decent.

[GreatBigAbyss]

Honda should put a detuned version of the Civic/CR-V Hybrid drivetrain in this car.  The drivetrain in those cars is a gem, and it would improve the HR-V immeasurably, especially in the power, fuel consumption, and refinement departments. 

[Blizzard]

Honda should put a detuned version of the Civic/CR-V Hybrid drivetrain in this car.  The drivetrain in those cars is a gem, and it would improve the HR-V immeasurably, especially in the power, fuel consumption, and refinement departments. 

Agreed. We also drove a CR-V Hybrid Touring while at Honda and both loved it. If it wasn't for budget maybe we would've ended up with one of those. 1-2 year old models were $42-44k and new ones were $10k more. We only started looking at EVs afterwards when we realized how cheap they've become used.

After the CR-V Hybrid we drove a RAV4 Hybrid, and it felt like we'd stepped back 15 years in terms of refinement, technology, interior quality/materials.