USDM HR-V has a face only Honda can love

Honda has split the third-generation HR-V into two markets, the USA and the rest of the world. Fortunately, we’re getting the latter. If you’ve seen what the USA is getting, you would agree with me too. Take a look.

The all-new HR-V for the US domestic market (USDM) arrives at dealerships later this year, but Honda has already unveiled it to spark interest and opened a sign-up page on its website. It uses Honda’s Civic (11th generation) architecture and thus, will be bigger and is classified as a C-segment SUV. The wheelbase is longer while its stance is wider. That is all well and good in a market that likes everything big and supersized.

Another thing that makes the US-market HR-V different from the global version – the model the Philippines will be getting on April 19 – is the design. It gets a smaller grille with large hexagonal meshes instead of the streamlined and clean exterior seen in our teaser news article.

Its headlamps are much bigger as well, with yellow daytime running lamps. Its unusual appearance is further highlighted by the angular façade with ridges and creases to form the appearance of a scowling face. The sides and the rear are much smoother and more plain, with a sunroof, rear spoiler, and shark’s fin antenna finishing off the new look.

Powertrain details, variants, and pricing have not been made available, but judging this ‘book’ by its ‘cover’, Honda USA better set modest expectations.

What do you think?