HONDA HR-V

Is this hybrid compact SUV still a strong contender? Let's find out

- JACK HARRISON

Like many others, I've fallen into the trap of thinking that most cars on the road today look exactly the same.

Even as a card-carrying member of the motoring nerd community, I often have to squint to spot the subtle differences that mark out, say, a Cupra from a Citroën - and there’s no category I struggle with more than the B-segment crossover. A Toyota C-HR could be a Nissan Juke from a distance, and I've confidently misidentified a Volkswagen T-Roc as a Renault Captur on a murky evening.

The humble Honda HR-V has always stood out from the crowd, though. As it should: few seem to remember that it holds rank alongside the Matra Rancho as patient zero of the crossover curse. Should your memory need jogging, it arrived in 1999 as a three-door SUV built on the platform of the Honda Logo (when did you last see one of them, eh?), with space shuttle-esque looks that seemed more at home in the streets of London than the lanes of Wales.

Now in its third generation (the second one, based on the Honda Jazz, was a perfectly fine car but no trailblazer like its predecessor), the HR-V comes exclusively with a front-wheel-drive hybrid powertrain, badged e:HEV.

And it has just been treated to a midlife update to enhance its design appeal still further, receiving a less rounded grille, a reworked front bumper, sharper headlights and some extra body shaping, particularly down the sides.