South America's car market is booming right now. But that doesn't mean just any car will sell. Most if not all models sold there come with simple naturally aspirated four-cylinder engines and don't come with many of the comfort and safety systems we take for granted. As a sort of justification of the claim we just made, Honda has just revealed the BR-spec version of its HR-V crossover today at the Sao paulo Motor Show.
Most of the bodywork is identical to the HR-V that the company plans to sell in Europe or America. However, it's nowhere near as technologically advanced as the Japanese Vezel model they are all based on.
Bone are the fancy all-LED headlight units, replaced by simple halogen bulbs. The taillights also look cheaper and so are the radar and parkings sensors.
At the time of its launch, the Japanese Vezel mode came with a Hybrid system that was claimed to be the most efficient on the market. It combined a 1.5-liter VTEC engine with their first twin-clutch gearbox and a powerful electric motor that could power the car by itself. No such luxuries here, since the HR-V's engine probably doesn't deserve its VTEC moniker. The 1.8-liter engine offered features single overhead cams and is a flex fuel unit, meaning it runs on ethanol.
You guys might have noticed that all the windows on the Brazilian crossover have been blacked out. That's because they aren't ready to reveal the interior until production starts in early 2015, which is when full technical specs and details about the features will also be revealed.
Bone are the fancy all-LED headlight units, replaced by simple halogen bulbs. The taillights also look cheaper and so are the radar and parkings sensors.
At the time of its launch, the Japanese Vezel mode came with a Hybrid system that was claimed to be the most efficient on the market. It combined a 1.5-liter VTEC engine with their first twin-clutch gearbox and a powerful electric motor that could power the car by itself. No such luxuries here, since the HR-V's engine probably doesn't deserve its VTEC moniker. The 1.8-liter engine offered features single overhead cams and is a flex fuel unit, meaning it runs on ethanol.
You guys might have noticed that all the windows on the Brazilian crossover have been blacked out. That's because they aren't ready to reveal the interior until production starts in early 2015, which is when full technical specs and details about the features will also be revealed.