Honda HR-V - Reliability & safety

Honda has long enjoyed a reputation for reliability and this was backed up with a solid performance in this year's Driver Power results. In fact, Honda finished just one spot behind Toyota. A good level of safety equipment is also included as standard but the HR-V failed to achieve a top Euro NCAP rating, being awarded four stars.

Honda HR-V reliability

Both the latest Honda Jazz and HR-V were too new to feature in our 2021 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey but Honda as a brand came sixth out of 29 manufacturers. Scores were consistently high across the various categories, with practicality being its best. Running costs and servicing were also praised, and one of the few areas of criticism was the complexity of its infotainment systems, which have been vastly improved for the HR-V. 

Safety

The HR-V missed out on a five-star Euro NCAP rating, being marked down for its lack of a central airbag, which can help prevent occupants moving towards the centre of the vehicle in a side impact. It scored 82% and 75% for adult and child protection respectively.

All three trim levels come with Honda's 'Sensing' suite of safety technology as standard. This has been bolstered by a new forward-facing camera, with more computing power for improved autonomous emergency braking and steering. The new camera can also see more effectively at night and better spot pedestrians, cyclists, motorcycles and oncoming cars crossing the car's path.

Adaptive cruise control has also been tweaked to make changing lanes and passing traffic a safer experience. The car will now accelerate earlier in the manoeuvres, making for a safer transition into a faster lane. Blind-spot warnings are also offered using improved radar sensors, increasing detection range from 3m to 25m, while cross traffic monitoring can warn the driver before reversing into a stream of traffic.

Hill descent control is also available for the first time for the HR-V, providing control while descending steep or low-grip surfaces.