If you want to discover exactly how the HR-V lures so many buyers in, just step inside. Large doors that ease entry/egress, lofty seating and a huge sense of wide-open space for a small SUV make instant and lasting strong impressions.

There is also an intimacy up front, as you’re sat ensconced alongside the wide console bisecting the cabin. It feels solid, secure and expensive, making the VTi-LX seem even more luxurious inside.

Aiding this is the attractive leather-stitched steering wheel, gloss-black climate control fascia, twin-pane sunroof and lashings of soft-feel vinyl material over the doors and upper-areas of the lower centre console (with handy sliding lid). A pair of USB-A ports, a 12V outlet, a decently sized glovebox and a two-level console storage shelf below the gear lever make up for the small door bins and tiny console storage.

A first-class driving position (helped out by tilt/telescopic steering), adequate all-round vision, beautifully clear instruments (but with no digital speedo) and more than sufficient ventilation are further plus points, while nothing rattled, zizzed or squeaked during our week with the HR-V. There’s obvious and appealing quality going on in there.

That said, the recently updated multimedia system looks cheap and tacked-on, and though there is Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, voice control and fripperies like personalisation wallpaper, having no digital radio is an oversight for a range-topping anything these days.

The lack of an audio volume knob (for an admittedly effective toggle switch) won’t be to everybody’s taste, along with the haptic sensor-operated climate system’s fingertip-slide functionality, which actually does work better than expected though does ultimately prove distracting when you need to focus on the various functions like altering temperature. Whatever happened to big, simple slide controls you can adjust blindfolded?

The back doors open pretty widely and though the roofline slopes down markedly, it’s unobstructed access all the way. 

It’s about as spacious and inviting as these sorts of smaller SUVs and crossovers get, with ample talking leg, head or shoulder room. The long and deep side windows and VTi-LX’s twin glass roof result in a light and airy cabin ambience, forward vision rates highly, there are medium-bottle sized door pockets, a centre armrest, overhead grab handles and twin reading lights fitted.

But there are no face-level air vents, only a single cupholder where you expect them to be behind the front console. Rear passengers have no USB-A or USB-C ports to plug into. Quite a bit of road and tyre noise filters through. And smaller folk may struggle to reach the pillar-sited handle to get back there in the first place.

The VTi-LX features a panoramic sunroof, reverse camera, front and rear parking sensors, electric mirrors with kerbside dipping (handy for not scratching those attractive wheels), keyless entry/start, one-touch power windows, tyre deflation alert, leather seats, powered driver’s seat, heated front seats, paddle shifters, dual-zone climate control, Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, a pair of USB-A ports, 17-inch alloys and a space-saver spare.

Additionally, on top of AEB, forward collision warning, high-beam support and lane-departure warning, the HR-V is alone in bringing a left-lane camera (great for spotting cyclists racing up on the inside) as well as the Jazz’s multi-configurable rear-seat arrangement known as Magic Seats.

Sculptured and supple, the front seats are of the premium variety compared to the entry-level version, and thus offer lasting comfort and support, with the driver’s side adding electrical adjustment. But there is no lumbar support, surprisingly, or height adjustability for the passenger. 

The rear seatbacks recline two positions, and of course – being Jazz based – fold down and flat into the floor cavity where in most other cars a fuel tank resides, allowing for a massive floor-to-ceiling space. In Honda’s advertising there’s always a large pot plant, sat there like some prop from Little Shop of Horrors.

As far as the human cargo is concerned, it’s about as spacious and inviting as these sorts of smaller SUVs and crossovers get, with ample talking leg, head or shoulder room. The long and deep side windows and VTi-LX’s twin glass roof result in a light and airy cabin ambience, forward vision rates highly, there are medium-bottle sized door pockets, a centre armrest, overhead grab handles and twin reading lights fitted.

But, for some, cushion comfort is compromised by its relative shallowness, thus lacking the sumptuousness of their front-seat counterparts.

Honda does not quote a 0-100km/h sprint time for the HR-V VTi-LX, but expect it to reach that mark in about 10 seconds.