The Honda ZR-V shares some design elements with the Civic small car for a family resemblence.

The design of the cabin and its layout is well considered by Honda. There’s plenty of small item storage space, including two cup holders, bottle holders in the doors and two small shelves to pop your phone (on the LX models one of those shelves is the smartphone charging pad). There is both a USB-C and USB-A port in the front as well as a pair of USB-C in the rear.

The VTi X comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, adaptive LED headlights, a 10.2-inch digital instrument panel, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and ignition, two-tone fabric seat trim and a 9.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay, wired Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity and digital radio.

The VTi L adds LED light bars, a hands-free power tailgate, heated side mirrors, black leatherette seats with fabric trim and heated front seats.

The VTi LX and e:HEV LX extras include ‘Econ’ mode, leather-appointed seat trim, power adjustable driver and front passenger seat, satellite navigation, wireless smartphone charging pad, a 12-speaker Bose premium sound system and a 360-degree parking camera set-up.

The Honda ZR-V is available with two powertrain options.

A 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine makes 131kW/240Nm. It’s paired to a CVT auto and drives the front wheels.

The other option is the petrol-electric hybrid, which pairs a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with an electric motor to make 135kW/315Nm. It gets a unique electronic CVT with shift-by-wire technology.

The Honda ZR-V has five-seats across the range.

In the entry-level VTi X the seats are trimmed in cloth and in the VTi L they are finished in synthetic leather.

In the VTi LX and e:HEV LX the seats are leather-appointed and offer power adjustment from the front seat occupants.

Honda doesn't offer an official 0-100km/h time for either the petrol or hybrid models of the ZR-V. However, reports from overseas indicate it will take both variants approximately eight seconds. Top speed is around 170km/h.

The Honda ZR-V e:HEV is the most fuel-efficient member of the range. It has a claimed urban/highway cycle economy figure of 5.0-litres per 100km.

The Honda ZR-V VTi X uses 7.0L/100km according to Honda, while the VTi L and VTi LX use 7.2L/100km.

All models use the same 57-litre fuel tank, which gives the hybrid a theoretical range of more than 1100km, the VTi X more than 800km and the VTi L and LX approximately 790km of driving between stops at the petrol bowser.