2022 Honda BR-V – bold redesign, big safety upgrades

Honda has finally unveiled the second-generation BR-V. Its arrival was foreshadowed by the N7X Concept that was shown to us earlier in May, featuring a fully redesigned front fascia, a range of other upgrades, plus a massive bump in safety features.

But first, let’s talk about the design. If you’ve seen the concept, then you know that it’s pretty much a carbon copy of it. The redesign makes the car appear a little bigger in pictures, but its exact dimensions have not been disclosed as yet. In any case, you can expect the cabin to be slightly roomier and its overall footprint to be larger than before.

The fascia is much more masculine this time. It looks more rugged thanks to the more upright grille and longer bonnet, giving it a more conventional SUV look – from the front, at least. Some may say its design is similar to the Perodua Ativa, but hey, it is what it is, and it’s not a bad look.

Unlike the outgoing BR-V, the Solid Wing Face is much less heavy on the use of chrome, and the chrome strip now blends right into headlights. Speaking of which, the range-topping version appears to get reflector LED headlights, and the LED DRLs now sit at the top of the headlights and kink downwards at the edges. There’s also what looks like LED fog lamps and a pretty pronounced silver “skid plate” further down.

Other obvious changes include a smoother side body with an uninterrupted shoulder line, which stretches from the headlights all the way to the tail lights. The lower window line is also completely straight now, making it look much cleaner compared to the weird jagged lines on the outgoing model.

The rear end also gets a full redesign. It’s noticeably rounder, more curvaceous if you will, and cleaner on the whole. The LED tail lights look very much like the ones on the City, and the tailgate looks like it has a split right along the midsection to reduce volume.

Other noteworthy design overhauls include the lower profile roof rails, a rear spoiler, tidier plastic claddings, bigger 17-inch dual-tone alloy wheels, and horizontal reflectors at the bottom of the rear bumper.

Interestingly, the layout of the dashboard remains very familiar with the previous generation model. There are clear revisions made across the cabin, but the cockpit and centre stack with the top-mounted air vents have the same general layout as before, making it look a bit like the CR-V.

The instrument cluster is completely new this time, with two analogue gauges plus a coloured multi-info display in the middle. The multifunction steering wheel looks chunkier with a squarish centre boss, and the infotainment display is a small seven-inch unit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. Other new features include remote engine start, walk-away auto lock, centre armrest for the first and second row seats, and charging sockets for all three rows.

The powertrain is also upgraded. The 1.5 litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine now gets dual overhead cams, generating 121 PS and 145 Nm of torque. It’s only 1 PS more than before, but hey, an upgrade is an upgrade. All that power is sent to the front wheels either through a six-speed manual transmission or CVT.

The biggest upgrade to the BR-V has to be its safety features. All variants of the new BR-V will get six airbags as standard, whereas the range-topping Prestige model can be had with Honda Sensing. This introduces features such as adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist, lane centring assist, front departure alert, automatic high beam, and Honda LaneWatch. Honda Malaysia, don’t let us down now.

Finally, for pricing, the new BR-V will reportedly go for around 260 million rupiah in Indonesia, which equates to around RM76k. It will only go on sale in January next year, so expect more information to be released over time.

It sure looks like Honda Malaysia will be having a very busy year in 2022. We can look forward to the official launching of this new BR-V, new HR-V, and the new Civic. Actually, the Civic might even be launched before the end of the year, so that ought to get the ball rolling.

So, tell us, which new Honda model are you looking forward to, and what do you think of the new BR-V? Let us know what you think, below.