Blink and you’ll miss them, but the Honda HR-V is receiving some minor visual updates.

    Honda Australia hasn’t confirmed when the refreshed model will come here.

    Revealed in Japan, the updated Vezel – as it’s known in its home market – gets a more squared-off, wider-looking grille and tweaked tail light graphics.

    New exterior colours comprise Slate Grey Pearl, Botanical Green Pearl and Seabed Blue Pearl.

    Inside, there’s a more pronounced tray underneath the climate control array, while underneath this – behind the transmission shifter – is a wireless charging pad.

    Honda says the small crossover in hybrid guise has updated energy management control, intended to improve responsiveness while reducing engine noise in urban driving.

    The Honda Sensing suite of active safety and driver assist technology also gains traffic jam assist and a sudden acceleration suppression function, intended to prevent accidents when the driver has mistakenly pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.

    Also new to the HR-V is Honda’s adaptive driving beam for the LED headlights, which adjusts the beam of the lights to avoid dazzling oncoming motorists.

    Honda in Japan has also revealed a pair of option packages: HuNT and PLaY.

    The HuNT package brings unique copper exterior accents and distinctive Fabtect upholstery inside, with patterned seats featuring green bolsters and blue accents.

    The PLaY package features unique accents on the grille and lower doors, a two-tone exterior finish, and distinctive upholstery of its own with subtle blue accents.

    The current HR-V debuted in 2021, going on sale in Australia in 2022.

    Last year, Honda sold 2182 HR-Vs in Australia– well down on the tallies of its predecessor, which in most years recorded more than 10,000 sales.

    However, it’s no longer the only SUV slotting below the CR-V in Honda Australia’s lineup. Last year, the Japanese brand introduced the ZR-V – confusingly known as the HR-V in North America – of which it sold 2282 examples.

    MORE: Everything Honda HR-V

    William Stopford

    William Stopford is an automotive journalist based in Brisbane, Australia. William is a Business/Journalism graduate from the Queensland University of Technology who loves to travel, briefly lived in the US, and has a particular interest in the American car industry.

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