As if Honda didn’t have enough SUVs, its Chinese arm decided that too much is never enough. Cue the Honda UR-V, a high-riding crossover which is set to be presented next month at the Beijing Auto Show.
Dongfeng Honda is a joint venture with a manufacturing plant in the Hubei province of China and a lot of ambition. According to the Chinese automotive media, that ambition will see the birth of the UR-V, a model previewed last year in April by a design study christened the Concept D.
Our talented team of spy photographers have caught the Concept D-based model in prototype form in the summer of 2015, when Honda was testing it on the curvy roads of south-western Europe. From the looks of it, the concept vehicle’s overall shape was transplanted to the production model. The downside is that the boomerang-shaped LED daytime running lights and the wing-like metallic grille won’t make it into mass production.
Regarding dimensions, the mid-size crossover will be just an idea larger than the CR-V. In China, the Honda UR-V will act as the range-topping choice in the lineup. Under the skin, the UR-V is expected to be motivated by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. If Honda eventually sells the UR-V in the United States of America, then the 2.4-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder in the Accord should be offered as the standard engine. A six-speed automatic transmission will have to do for the China-spec model with the 2.0-liter force-fed four-cylinder mill.
As for pricing, word on the street is that the upcoming UR-V is going to start at 250,000 Chinese yuan. That's nigh on $38,440 according to current exchange rates. On an ending note, the mid-size crossover developed by Dongfeng Honda is slated to go on sale in the Middle Kingdom no later than this fall.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News