Photo: Honda
Honda has announced the development of a virtual showroom for the HR-V. The idea behind the project, which was made by Honda UK, is to offer potential customers the ability to explore the car before it arrives at dealerships.
The Japanese marque even set up a personalized virtual demonstration, which needs to be scheduled, as it is a one-on-one experience with a Honda product expert.
The virtual showroom allows anyone to just step in one of three themes to understand the new HR-V. Meanwhile, the virtual demonstration part involves a 30-minute guided view of the HR-V along with live responses to any questions that the customer might have.
In the case of the virtual showroom experience, Honda has thought about the HR-V experience in an urban environment, in a rural environment, and what the car will be like from a family's perspective. There are 360-degree images to observe, along with videos and detailed image galleries.
Unfortunately, Honda will only run the virtual demonstration of the HR-V from the 20th of September to the 12th of November. We think the idea is cool enough to be expanded to other models in the range. It might have been a solution in the lockdown when people went through complicated procedures before getting to look at a new car before buying it.
It is important to note that Honda does not plan to move the sales of its HR-V to the online environment. Instead, the company wants to make its HR-V known to the audience before it reaches showrooms. Customers will still have to get to a dealer to get a real test drive if they desire one.
At this point, you might wonder if this virtual showroom experience has a shot of replacing the real thing. Well, we think it is not there yet, but it is not Honda's fault here, as the level of technology we currently have is not prepared for such feats.
While some people are fine with the idea of ordering a new car off the internet and just waiting for it to arrive in front of their homes, others still like to go from dealer to dealer.
The latter group wants to smell the new cars and test drive their favorites before buying a new vehicle. We are also on that page, but we appreciate Honda's idea with the virtual showroom experience.
We hope it may inspire other automakers to improve their websites with their latest models similarly. Who knows, maybe there will come a time when you will be able to look around for your next car from the comfort of your sofa, whenever you like, without having to go to a dealer to see it.
The virtual showroom allows anyone to just step in one of three themes to understand the new HR-V. Meanwhile, the virtual demonstration part involves a 30-minute guided view of the HR-V along with live responses to any questions that the customer might have.
In the case of the virtual showroom experience, Honda has thought about the HR-V experience in an urban environment, in a rural environment, and what the car will be like from a family's perspective. There are 360-degree images to observe, along with videos and detailed image galleries.
Unfortunately, Honda will only run the virtual demonstration of the HR-V from the 20th of September to the 12th of November. We think the idea is cool enough to be expanded to other models in the range. It might have been a solution in the lockdown when people went through complicated procedures before getting to look at a new car before buying it.
It is important to note that Honda does not plan to move the sales of its HR-V to the online environment. Instead, the company wants to make its HR-V known to the audience before it reaches showrooms. Customers will still have to get to a dealer to get a real test drive if they desire one.
At this point, you might wonder if this virtual showroom experience has a shot of replacing the real thing. Well, we think it is not there yet, but it is not Honda's fault here, as the level of technology we currently have is not prepared for such feats.
While some people are fine with the idea of ordering a new car off the internet and just waiting for it to arrive in front of their homes, others still like to go from dealer to dealer.
The latter group wants to smell the new cars and test drive their favorites before buying a new vehicle. We are also on that page, but we appreciate Honda's idea with the virtual showroom experience.
We hope it may inspire other automakers to improve their websites with their latest models similarly. Who knows, maybe there will come a time when you will be able to look around for your next car from the comfort of your sofa, whenever you like, without having to go to a dealer to see it.
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