Honda HR-V 2020: Is more safety equipment coming to the Mitsubishi ASX rival?

A new-look Honda HR-V has broken cover in the US, with changes to the 2020 model year including increased standard safety equipment for certain grades.

Honda Australia is yet to confirm the changes to its HR-V model that has been on sale in its second-generation form since early 2015, and was lightly refreshed in August 2018.

Differences in the US market and Australian-spec HR-V are minimal, but include a 7.0-inch multimedia system on the former that is able to mirror smartphones, whereas the latter misses out on the feature.

From the outside, the new HR-V is distinguished by updated headlights and new bumpers, while the grille and tail-lights are also fresh for the 2020 model year.

Five grades are offered on the US HR-V, the LX, Sport, EX, EX-L and Touring, with all grades upwards from the EX now sporting the brand’s Honda Sensing safety suite.

The advanced driver-assist systems include adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-keep assist and lane departure warning.

For reference, all Australian-spec HR-Vs come with AEB, but adaptive cruise control is not offered at any grade in the local line-up.

In top-spec VTi-LX form, the Australian HR-V sports forward collision warning, high-beam support and lane-depature warning.

As before, the US-market 2020 HR-V is motivated by a 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine, producing 105kW of power and 172Nm of torque, paired exclusively to a continuously variable automatic transmission.

Australian HR-Vs use the same powerplant and transmission combination.

US versions also gain an all-wheel-drive option, whereas Australian HR-Vs drive only the front wheels.