Honda WR-V Open For Bookings, Special Preview Series Also Announced

All-new Honda WR-V is now open for bookings!

The Honda WR-V compact crossover SUV is set to enter the local market sometime in the third quarter (Q3) of this year, and it’s now open for bookings. Besides opening up the order books, Honda Malaysia also  announced a series of special customer previews for the model will be held at selected dealerships starting this month.

Making its global debut in November last year, the WR-V fills the void left by the outgoing BR-V model. Slotting below the HR-V and upcoming new generation CR-V, the WR-V is similar in size to the Proton X50 and Perodua Ativa. In neighboring ASEAN markets, the WR-V stands as a strong rival against the latter’s Daihatsu- and Toyota-badged twins, in fact.

Pictured are teaser images of (presumably) the range-topping RS variant of the WR-V.

From its press release issued today, Honda Malaysia has at least confirmed that a pure combustion-powered variant of the WR-V will be available. It will feature the marque’s familiar 1.5-litre DOHC i-VTEC petrol 4-cyl mill matched with an also familiar CVT transmission, the former rated at 121 PS and 145 NM.

At present, Honda Malaysia hasn’t shown signs of introducing the hybrid petrol-electric choice. Given the reception for both the HR-V and Civic in their respective e:HEV RS forms, we won’t discount this possibility just yet. For now though, the WR-V will initially break into the local market as a pure combustion model first, and one that’s laced with plenty of premium features and amenities.

The Honda Sensing suite of active driver assists (ADAS), as well as the Honda LaneWatch, will both be present in the WR-V at launch.

Notably, the Malaysia-spec WR-V is set to harness the Honda Sensing active driver assist (ADAS) suite in full. This will include things like Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Lead Car Departure Notification (LCDN), Forward Collision Warning (FCW) with Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Lane-Departure Warning (LDW) and Lane Keep Assist System(LKAS), Auto High Beam (AHB), and more.

Besides that, the WR-V is set to offer both the Honda LaneWatch camera view function, as well as the novel new Honda Connect suite that grants customers access to a variety of on board functions via their smartphones. Simply put, the WR-V promises to be one fully-loaded and very posh compact crossover SUV offering when it launches later this year.

An excerpt from Honda's initial announcement and presentation of the WR-V from March this year.

Despite opening up the order books, Honda Malaysia didn’t reveal any tentative prices, so your guess on this is as good as ours. However, Honda Malaysia did confirm that a handful of local customers will be invited for an exclusive preview of the model through selected dealerships throughout this month and the next. Details for which are listed in the table pictured below:

So, what do your reckon then folks? Keen on a smaller but equally posh, high-tech and safe ‘baby’ version of the ever-capable HR-V? Would you also fancy one if it came in Honda’s e:HEV hybrid flavour? Hit the comments below – and our official social platforms – with your thoughts!