Honda ZR-V

The ZR-V boasts a cabin heavily loaded with premium materials and high-end tech.

Cabin Layout and Quality

• The interior has an all-black theme, highlighted by leather upholstery and premium stitches.
• Leather soft pads are generously applied across the instrument panel and the door pads.
• LED ambient lighting illuminates the door linings, front footwells, and the centre console.
• The roof lining uses a premium tricot material for an upscale feel.

Seating Comfort

Front Row

• The driver gets an eight-way power-adjustable seat with a two-position memory function.
• The front passenger also benefits from a four-way power-adjustable seat.
• The steering wheel is wrapped in smooth leather and offers telescopic and tilt adjustments.

Second Row

• The rear bench offers comfortable seating and has a 60:40 split-and-fold feature.
• Passengers in the back get dedicated rear AC vents and dual USB Type-C charging ports.
• Capacitive-touch LED spot lamps are also given in the rear to help out book readers.

Bilal notes,

"As with all Hondas, the ZR-V’s cabin too feels premium, no-nonsense and built to last."

Features That Improve Daily Use

• A nine-inch advanced floating touchscreen
• A 10.2-inch HD fully digital colour TFT instrument cluster
• A premium 12-speaker Bose surround sound system
• A hands-free power tailgate
• A wireless smartphone charger
• Fully automatic dual-zone climate control
• A PM2.5, aldehyde, dust, and pollen filter

The ZR-V is admittedly a pricey vehicle, given that it’s a CBU and there are importing costs involved. But the brand keeps the price bracket under a single value, with a single variant on retail. 

With Honda's 2.0-litre e: HEV self-charging strong hybrid system, this vehicle cleverly balances performance with exceptional fuel economy. The crossover comes fitted with a generous 57-litre fuel tank. And the hybrid system runs in pure EV mode during low-speed stop-and-go driving, so city mileage remains reasonably high. The battery, meanwhile, has a warranty of eight years.

The ZR-V had already scored a four-star rating from both Euro NCAP and Australia NCAP (tested back in 2023 and 2024). It remains to be seen whether a Bharat NCAP rating will follow.

Passive Safety & Structural Protection

• The body structure can absorb and deflect impact energy very well.
• The car gets an eight-airbag system, including dual front i-SRS, front seat i-Side, side curtain, and front knee airbags.
• ISOFIX-compatible rear side seats are available with lower anchorages and top tethers.
• There are front pretensioner seatbelts with load limiters and 3-point ELR seatbelts.

Active Safety & Stability Systems

• The Collision Mitigation Braking System automatically applies brakes when it senses an unavoidable collision.
• The Adaptive Cruise Control with Low Speed Follow keep the car at a reasonable distance from the vehicle ahead at all times.
• There’s also a 360-degree camera with multi-view guidelines and front and rear parking sensors.
• Other features from the Honda Sensing Suite are the Vehicle Stability Assist, Agile Handling Assist, and Hill Descent Control.

Honda's classic ergonomic layout remains. But this model also has some high-end digital features.

Infotainment & Interface

• The nine-inch advanced floating touchscreen features wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, a digital radio tuner, and e: HEV power flow information.
• The 10.2-inch HD Digital TFT Instrument Cluster displays digital speed, customisable gauge layouts, ADAS info, and cruising range data.

Cabin Convenience & Practical Features

• There’s a 12-speaker Bose Premium Surround Sound System.
• Multi-zone LED ambient lighting exists on the door linings, footwells, and roof console.
• Prime-smooth leather soft pads are also present on the dashboard, door pads, and high-deck centre console.
• There’s also a wireless smartphone charger in the centre console tray.

Cargo space is uniform and thoughtfully designed inside this car; it sits at 380 litres.

• The rear 60:40 split bench folds down completely flat to create a cargo bay of 1,313 litres.
• There’s an extra under-floor box storage compartment along with cargo tie-down hooks.
• The foldable rear parcel shelf keeps luggage hidden from outside view.
• The kick-sensor power tailgate makes loading heavy bags effortless when your hands are full.

Honda's low-slung global platform is found in the ZR-V, too. Naturally, the ride quality is undeniably sedan-like, i.e., refined and agile at the same time.

Bilal states,

"The ZR-V isn’t a large car, and it works in its favour as it is intended to feel more sedan-like rather than an SUV."

City Driving

• The electric power steering takes very little physical effort to turn inside the city.
• The strong hybrid system moves silently in EV mode, keeping the cabin deeply quiet.
• The car never hesitates to move from zero, since the battery power always remains on standby.
• The suspension setup absorbs most city potholes and road patches smoothly; you won’t feel the impact most of the time.

Highway Driving

• The multi-link rear suspension and wide track of this car help it stay stable at high speeds.
• The Agile Handling Assist (AHA) feature subtly brakes the inner wheels during cornering so that there is as little understeer as possible.
• The disc brakes can bring the crossover to a confident, progressive stop when required.
• Body roll is very little around fast corners, obviously because of its low body stance.

The single, top-spec CBU grade that Honda offers for the ZR-V in India has most of the needed essentials, except for a few trade-offs.

The Essentials That You Don’t Get

• Sold only as a front-wheel-drive crossover in India (there’s an AWD option)
• A cheaper, non-hybrid petrol or diesel engine

Since Honda launched the ZR-V in a single, fully spec'd e: HEV trim, buyers don't have to worry about going through complex option sheets between different variants. At Rs. 47.99 Lakh (ex-showroom), you get every available comfort, safety, and hybrid technology feature as standard. For buyers who want imported Japanese build quality, reasonably high mileage and long-term reliability, there isn’t much of a drawback that stands out from this car. Two of the only few issues that some might have are its pricing strategy and the fact that more performance-loving enthusiasts do not get the AWD drivetrain in the Indian market.