Don’t look now, but yet another
subcompact SUV is about to join
the seemingly endless parade of
small sport utilities vehicles
introduced over the past 6
months. I’ve personally written
about three of these vehicles
since mid-December
, and with the all-new 2016
Honda HR-V going on sale May
15th it marks an average of one
new small SUV arriving in dealer
showrooms every month for the
past 4 months. That’s a run rate
I’ve never seen in my 20 years
covering the industry. It’s
enough to give one pause while
asking the obvious question: can
the U.S. market absorb so many
all-new models, all focused in a
single vehicle segment, in such a
short timeframe? With over two
million compact crossovers and
SUVs sold last year, representing
an annual growth rate of 14.5
percent, the answer looks like a
resounding “YES!”
In fact, just 3 months into the
year Kelley Blue Book is tracking
the segment’s growth at an
additional 9.5 percent, and that’s
with many of these newer
models still ramping up to full
production. This means Honda’s
2016 HR-V will face a full
formation of competing compact
SUVs when it goes on sale next
month. Yet Honda knows a thing
or three about selling small SUV’s.
The company’s CR-V has been
tearing up sales charts for over a
decade, and the new HR-V uses
much of the same philosophy in
a smaller, more affordable
package. The recipe starts with a
functional-yet-sporty exterior
design wrapped around a space
efficient cabin. With over 100
cubic feet of interior volume
(including 24.3 cubic feet behind
the second-row seat and 58.8
cubic feet behind the front seats
when the second row is folded
down), the HR-V packs plenty of
utility inside a small, easy-to-
manage frame. That frame
features 27 percent ultra-high
strength steel, and Honda reps
told use they are confident the
HR-V will earn top safety scores
from the NHTSA and IIHS.
COMPLETE STORY: www.newsgregator..com

Honda HR-V is not a new addition. It has been available since 1999, suspended in 2006 and resurfaced in 2015. I have a friend that has the 2000 model Honda HR-V.