8 Reasons why we love the Honda WR-V

The 2021 Honda WR-V has arrived in South Africa featuring signature Honda styling, a naturally-aspirated 1.2L engine, a comfy interior, and a range of safety tech. Sharing its platform with the Jazz and the BR-V, it is the fourth soft-roader for the SA market. Although Honda is only offering the crossover in two variants (Comfort and Elegance) with only one engine option, the standard features are pretty impressive.

Here are eight reasons why we love the 2021 Honda WR-V:

The 2021 WR-V has a simple design boasting a chrome-wing grille bordered by LED headlights (accessible in Elegance trim), LED daytime running lights, and C-shaped taillights. To make it look more appealing, Honda has added roof rails and offered the crossover in four regular paints: Platinum White, Radiant Red, Lunar Silver, and Modern Steel.

The naturally aspirated 1.2-litre petrol engine generates 66 kW and 110 Nm of torque and mates to a 5-speed manual transmission. The mill is lively enough to get up to highway speeds effortlessly, and the handling is sure-footed.

Honda has made sure to equip the 2021 WR-V with all the up-to-date interior facilities. The top-of-the-line Elegance features a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system (with six speakers). The system supports Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth telephony, and music streaming, in addition to app-based navigation. On the other hand, the Comfort variant gets a basic 5-inch touchscreen offering just Bluetooth connectivity

The WR-V offers a range of other convenience facilities including a multifunction steering wheel, fabric upholstery, electric windows, auto aircon, and rear parking sensors. The Elegance also comes equipped with a reverse-view camera, keyless entry (with push-button start), and cruise control.

What makes the WR-V so exciting is its usefulness. It possesses a very roomy load bay - around 363 litres – as well as a "Magic Seat" system (borrowed from the Jazz). The tech allows you to arrange the rear seats in multiple ways to put up the load you require to move. Folding down the seats can increase the load space to a handy 881 litres. 

In addition to the generous boot space, there is plenty of leg- and knee space for rear passengers. Even the taller individuals will not have any issue at the back seats.

The crossover ensures the safety of the passengers through six airbags, ABS with EBD, IsoFix child-seat anchors at the rear, as well as, brake assist.  

The 2021 Honda WR-V comes with a healthy five-year/200 000 km warranty, a four-year/60,000 km service plan (with a gap of 15,000 km), and a 3-year AA Roadside Assistance. 

Honda has priced the WR-V very reasonably. Compared to its rivals like the Ford EcoSport (from R297,400), Renault Captur (from R289,900), and the Hyundai Venue (from R301,500), it starts at R289,900 for the Comfort and R319,900 for the Elegance. *Prices correct at time of publication.

If you want to buy a new car in 2021, then make sure the MotorHappy blog is your starting point. Each month we review at least two of the latest models on SA’s roads.

Please note the imagery supplied in this blog was taken off www.cars.co.za