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.
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.