Ready to move: Yoshimura (right) with Honda Malaysia president and chief operating officer Sarly Adle Sarkum at the launch of the HR-V in Kuala Lumpur. — LOW LAY PHON/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Honda Malaysia has received a staggering 20,000 pre-launch bookings for its latest HR-V compact sports utility vehicle (SUV).
Aside from the SUV’s stylish appeal, premium equipment and advanced features, the high number of bookings was also attributed to the extension of the vehicle sales tax exemption by the government, said Honda Malaysia managing director and chief executive officer Hironobu Yoshimura.
“With the high demand of this new model, the latest update is that the waiting period for the HR-V is 12 months, depending on the availability of selected variants.
“However, rest assured that Honda Malaysia is doing its very best to deliver the new cars to our customers in a timely manner,” he said at the launch of the all-new HR-V here yesterday.
Some customers who booked their cars early are expected to take delivery next week.
The company is also looking at monthly sales of 1,600 units of the HR-V, also known as Hip & Smart Runabout Vehicle.
The model is available in four variants of S, E, V and e:HEV RS hybrid.
The entry-level S variant comes with a retail without insurance price of RM114,800, the E (RM129,800), the V (RM134,800) and RS (RM140,800).
Buyers who booked their HR-V before June 30 and have them delivered before March 31 next year are eligible to a sales tax exemption price of RM110,386 for the S variant, E (RM124,971), V (RM129,848) and RS (RM137,091).
Among the new features are a dominant grille with LED auto headlights and LED daytime running lights, a liftback rear styling with LED lighting strip, front LED fog lights, hill descent control, reverse camera, rear air conditioner vents, rear multi-utility seats and sporty 17in or 18in alloy wheels.
The S variant comes with a 1.5-litre i-VTEC twin cam that produces 121PS and 145Nm, while the E and V get a more powerful 1.5-litre VTEC Turbo twin cam engine with 181PS and 240Nm of torque.
Transmission for the three variants is a continuous variable transmission (CVT).
The top-of-the line RS is equipped with a two-motor system that delivers 131PS and 253Nm of torque coupled to an e-CVT and a 1.5-litre i-VTEC twin cam Atkinson Cycle engine producing 107PS and 131Nm of torque.
The hybrid powertrain of the RS allows it to achieve exciting driving performance with a low fuel consumption of 4.1 litre per 100km.
Other features include an innovative air diffusion system for better cooling circulation, walkaway tailgate auto close, seven-inch interactive TFT meter cluster, eight-inch display audio with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, USB ports, Honda LaneWatch camera system, Honda Connect telematics system and Honda Sensing advanced driver assistance system.
Equipped in all variants, Honda Sensing comes with Forward Collision Warning, Collision Mitigation Braking System, Lane Keep Assist System, Road Departure Mitigation, Lane Departure Warning, Auto High Beam, Adaptive Cruise Control, Low Speed Follow and Lead Car Departure Notification.
Honda Japan Large Project leader of the new HR-V Yoshitomo Ihashi said the new HR-V had been designed to be quieter, safer and more premium, while delivering better driving enjoyment compared with the previous generation HR-V model that was introduced in 2015.
The previous HR-V model had sold over 111,0000 units in Malaysia over its seven-year run and was the frontrunner in the Non-National Compact SUV segment from 2015 to 2021.
