Formally launched by Honda Cars Philippines last Monday, November 21, the second-generation BR-V sub-compact crossover SUV now has the underpinnings of a larger and more globally-attuned platform, it features the same engine as that of the nominally higher notched HR-V, and it brings back the manual transmission option that was briefly offered on the previous model. The new BR-V:

• leaves behind its Brio/Mobilio origins and is now upsized to the platform of the newest City model, the same one on which the recently upgraded HR-V is based;
• replaces the previous generation’s L15Z1 1.5 liter i-VTEC engine with the L15ZF Earth Dreams i-VTEC, the same one used by the naturally aspirated base variant of the new HR-V;
• and expands the model line up downwards with a more utilitarian base variant and upwards with a Honda Sensing-equipped top spec variant, making its price-points overlap those of the HR-V.

The previous generation BR-V had been assembled at Honda Cars Philippines’ plant in Santa Rosa, Laguna, along with their popular City sub-compact sedan. But this new generation model is now being brought in from Indonesia, the same country of origin as that of its Japanese-brand 1.5 liter-powered rivals the Mitsubishi Xpander (both the MPV and Cross crossover models) and the Toyota Rush, as well as the recently launched Stargazer MPV of the South Korean Hyundai marque. 

At the launch event, Honda Cars Philippines sales division general manager Atty. Louie Soriano said that they intend to have the BR-V eventually contribute 50 percent of total sales volume, adding that the 800 to 900 units per month this entails ought to be reachable given how they opened the small crossover SUV segment with the hugely popular first-gen CR-V in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. 

Can they reach this 50 percent sales volume target? We think yes, it’s feasible, and this could conceivably lead to the BR-V again being assembled locally. Because, by the looks of it, by how the new BR-V has been designed by regional Honda engineers Eknat Ajjanakulchai and Suthai Chokngamvong, and how it’s configured into four diverse variants by Honda Philippines’ product planning team, this upsized and now full-fledged small crossover SUV could very well follow in the footsteps of their pioneering small SUV–the original and classic CR-V. 

Larger mainstream platform

Originally evolved from Honda’s Mobilio sub-compact MPV which, in turn, was based on the Brio micro-hatchback, this new BR-V is now built on the City platform which was also the basis for the third-generation HR-V that was launched here last April. The BR-V is now fully grown, so to speak, with all dimensions being upsized from that first generation model that charmingly pushed the envelope of the diminutive yet spirited Brio that they asserted to be small but still, at its heart, a Honda.

		BR-V	BR-V
Aspect	Unit	1st-gen	2nd-gen	Increase
Length	mm	4,456	4,490	34
Width	mm	1,735	1,780	45
Height	mm	1,677	1,685	8
Wheelbase	mm	2,662	2,700	38
Ground clearance	mm	201	207	6
Curb weight	kg	1,222	1,291	69

More significantly, the upsized platform implies an upscaled market for the BR-V as well. The Brio platform and the first generation Mobilio and BR-V models it had spawned were all intended for emerging markets. This distinguishes the BR-V from Honda’s mainstream international-market models such as the Civic and CR-V, and explains why it was originally notched under the smaller HR-V. But with this upgrade to a larger City-based platform, the new BR-V appears poised to meet global market expectations without disclaimers about build quality and passenger size-limits.

This newest generation BR-V now features refinements that have been typical on global models–details such as:

• second row seats that can be tumbled out of the way with a single lever-pull, allowing for fast, no-fuss access to the third row;
• generous overall legroom that they’ve decisively and prudently balanced between the seating rows, the wealth of space allowing for sliding adjustment only to the front seats and for fixed second and third row positions (like on mid-size body-on-frame SUVs) that accommodate predictable passenger mixes;
• and, finally, the same sort of fold-flat stowable seats we’ve come to expect from Honda wagons and hatchbacks that let you transform the cabin’s rear into a car-camping cavern.

With its new styling, particularly its redesigned fascia, the BR-V looks like an upsized HR-V, a lengthened wheelbase and cabin making it possible to turn the latter two-row model’s generous luggage space into a multi-purpose seats-or-cargo third row. And, showing how powertrains, passenger box designs and materials engineering have advanced during the intervening decades, the new BR-V offers people-moving and/or cargo-hauling capacities equivalent to that of the still slightly larger and heavier first-generation CR-V from the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. And, perhaps not coincidentally, this BR-V iteration now features cabin and window lines similar to that of the even larger, latest generation CR-V.

Better all-around, full-on Earth Dreams powertrain

While the Honda’s Earth Dreams trademark hasn’t gained much traction here, and only as a tag for their latest-generation CVT gearboxes, the technology set it describes includes advanced eco-friendly and efficient-burning valvetrains. On the previous generation BR-V, its Earth Dreams gearbox was not mated to an Earth Dreams valvetrained engine but rather to the L15Z1 i-VTEC 1.5 liter SOHC engine also used by their Mobilio MPV. This time around, the City-based BR-V has an Earth Dreams CVT gearbox option matched with the L15ZF Earth Dreams i-VTEC 1.5 liter DOHC engine that also powers their newest City sedan and hatchback, and the S CVT naturally aspirated variant of the new HR-V.

About the L15ZF’s DOHC-driven valvetrain, those double overhead camshafts are thought to bring higher power and torque numbers with cleaner burns, yes, but racing  enthusiasts have long asserted that SOHC-equipped engines have better punch with faster peaking torque because of the lighter valvetrain mass. Interestingly though, the L15ZF’s power and torque numbers appear better all around, with peak power of 121ps or 119hp occurring at 6600rpm and peak torque of 145Nm attained at 4300rpm. Compare these with 120ps or 118hp at 6600rpm and 145Nm at 4600rpm for the old L15Z1 with SOHC valvetrain and its clear that Honda has found a way to make a newer DOHC engine deliver slightly more power with torque that peaks faster at 300 less rpm’s.

BR-V generation	1st-gen	2nd-gen
BR-V model	DG1/2	DG3
Engine model	L15Z1	L15ZF
Valvetrain tech	i-VTEC	Earth Dreams i-VTEC
Valvetrain drive	SOHC	DOHC
Valves	16	16
Max power	120ps/118hp @ 6600rpm	121ps/119hp @ 6600rpm
Peak torque	145Nm @ 4600rpm	145Nm @ 4300rpm

In any case, Honda’s intent for complete Earth Dreams powertrains burned through the static with the new BR-V after a 2022 fuel-economy measuring run officiated by the Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP) recorded their 1.5 V CVT variant as delivering an impressive 24.71 kilometers per liter.

Priced deeper, notched higher

The new BR-V’s 1.5 S MT (manual transmission) variant’s PhP1.090M list price, while being PhP40,000 higher than that of the previous generation’s PhP1.050M 1.5 S CVT base variant, could actually be perceived as being of higher value by countryside customers. Honda Philippines’ Atty. Soriano observed that rural motorists appear to prefer manual transmissions over advanced CVT gearboxes–we think this is because stickshift gearboxes make them less dependent on Honda dealers for upkeep and major repairs. The BR-V’s new 6-speed manual option means being free from dealership-umbilicals and having the option of recruiting a neighborhood mechanic to do the fixing–a welcome freedom when living far from city grids and authorized service networks.

And this expansion downward is matched upward with a new top-spec variant completing a price spread that reveals how the new BR-V may now be notched higher than before in Honda’s model mix.

	2016	2022	2022
	1st-gen	2nd-gen	3rd-gen
BR-V Variant	BR-V	BR-V	HR-V	HR-V Variant
			P1.739M	RS Turbo Honda Sensing
			P1.598M	V Turbo Honda Sensing
1.5 VX CVT Honda Sensing		P1.390M
1.5 V CVT	P1.168M	P1.295M
			P1.250M	S CVT Honda Sensing
1.5 S CVT	P1.050M	P1.150M
1.5 S MT		P1.090M

With prices ranging from PhP1.090M for the 1.5 S MT manual gearbox base variant up to PhP1.390M for the top spec variant that gives the model Honda Sensing driver assist telematics for the first time, the BR-V’s price-points now overlap those of the HR-V. But, considering that its prices only bump against the price of the identically powered and naturally aspirated variant of the HR-V, the BR-V’s price-points now seem to be at parity with–if not notched higher than–the HR-V’s. 

The PhP1.090M BR-V S MT and PhP 1.150M S CVT are priced below the PhP1.250M HR-V S CVT but the variance could be attributed to all HR-V variants–even the naturally aspirated base variant–having the advanced Honda Sensing telematics suite. The PhP1.295M BR-V 1.5 V CVT, on the other hand, is priced PhP45,000 higher than the HR-V S CVT despite not being Honda Sensing-equipped. And the PhP1.390M BR-V VX CVT that has Honda Sensing is priced a whopping PhP140,000 higher than the similarly equipped HR-V S CVT. Drill down to the details of common or differing powerplants and premium Honda Sensing telematics options, it becomes apparent that, yes, definitely, apples-to-apples, the new BR-V is notched the same if not slightly higher than the similarly powered and naturally aspirated base variant of the HR-V. That’s a big move by the bigger new BR-V.