UPDATE 7/2/2018: Honda has confirmed that the six-speed manual transmission will no longer be offered on the 2019 HR-V.



Honda is bringing the little HR-V crossover up to speed with plenty of updates for 2019. To accompany its visual changes, the big news is that it’s finally available with Honda’s suite of active-safety technologies; it previously was the only Honda nameplate that didn’t offer these features. We’re also simply over the moon to report that its infotainment system now incorporates a volume knob, although it’s with sadness that we report that its manual transmission is gone.

The HR-V’s new front end, previewed earlier this year by its Japan-market cousin, the Vezel, seems to mirror that of the Civic and the CR-V, with a more prominent chrome grille insert and LED headlamps, at least on the model shown in the initial photos provided by Honda. There also are new wheel designs and two new trim levels—Sport and Touring—that will complement the existing LX, EX, and EX-L trims with their own respective visual cues. Pricing and equipment for the new lineup isn’t out yet, but we do know that the Honda Sensing package—with adaptive cruise control, automated emergency braking, and lane-keeping assist—will be standard on EX and higher HR-Vs. Inside, the biggest change appears to be to the available infotainment system, which now incorporates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto along with a volume knob.

Unfortunately, the 1.8-liter inline-four engine with 141 horsepower and 127 lb-ft of torque isn’t at all different—we were hoping that the Civic’s turbocharged 1.5-liter four would make it into the HR-V eventually, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. There also won’t be a six-speed manual transmission offered anymore, sadly. Honda does say that the continuously variable automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive system have been updated, although the company won’t yet share exactly what changes have been made. There also is more sound deadening and the steering system now is of the variable-ratio type.

More details will be available when the 2019 HR-V goes on sale July 24, and we expect the base price of $20,665 to rise a bit to reflect the fact that the CVT is now standard instead of being an $800 option.

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