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2016 Honda HR-V First Drive [w/video]

Compact crossovers are all the rage right now, and the 2016 Honda HR-V enters the marketplace at a crucial time. This class only had three or four entries just a year or two ago, and the number of players should double this year. That equates to an estimated 236,000 sales of B-segment CUVs in 2015, more than twice last year's sales, according to AutoPacific data. Honda joins a growing list of automakers looking to cash in on expanding sales. Fiat-Chrysler has its adorably Italian Fiat 500X and tiny-tough Jeep Renegade siblings. Chevy brought its small Trax to the US market from abroad. The Nissan Juke carries on with oddball styling and zippy dynamics. And the small-boxy class sales king Kia Soul could add all-wheel drive model to further increase its appeal. The HR-V doesn't break any new ground here. It starts with the Swiss Army Knife packaging of the Fit hatchback, then adds a more powerful engine, increased ground clearance, and all-wheel drive. It's nothing revolutionary, but that's not a bad thing. In typical Honda style, the beauty lies in the execution. What we have here is an attractive, compact crossover. It looks like a puffed-up Fit, or Honda Fat if you will. At 169.1 inches in length, the HR-V is more than a foot longer than the Fit (and almost nine inches shorter than the original CR-V). But with clean, taut lines that sculpt the body sides the HR-V is anything but bloated. We particularly like the integration of the rear door handles into the C-pillar. This thing is cute, especially with the rounded nose and chiseled rear end. And the chunky, five-spoke, 17-inch alloy wheels we like so much are standard even on the base model. There are a couple of weird bits to the styling. Like the way the hood cutline spills over to the front quarter panel and the oversized, fang-shaped taillamps. But overall the HR-V looks great. It has more modern appeal than the Trax, and while the 500X and Renegade are more interesting to our eyes, the HR-V has plenty of pizzazz for folks afraid of flamboyance. That reserved charm carries on in the interior. Like the exterior, the cabin is a safe kind of stylish. Materials include a mix of fabrics and plastics on the doors, plus obligatory soft-touch surfaces abound because, you know, we're all in the habit of squeezing dashboards these days. The row of three vents in front of the passenger seat looks nice, and there's added storage underneath the center console.

Honda FCEV could be hiding EV, PHEV surprises in Tokyo

Honda has already detailed which vehicles it will bring to the Tokyo Motor Show next week, but we think there's something the automaker isn't telling us. We've been thinking about the company's various announcements regarding future powertrain plans, and we now think that the FCEV is going to house more than just a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain at some point down the road. We think that the upcoming pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles that Honda has talked about - but still hasn't shown hide nor hair of - will actually be based on the FCEV. The FCEV that's coming to Tokyo (pictured) has been toned down from the fanciful concepts that we saw in LA in 2013 (below) and 2014 and there's no reason why Honda couldn't be the first to offer one car with a truly wide variety of powertrains. It's already said that electric vehicles are a core technology, and while many automakers talk about how both plug-in and hydrogen cars are electric at heart, Honda could just be the first to prove it in a big way. Now, all that Honda has officially confirmed is that it will introduce the new electrified vehicles by 2018. Ryan Harty, Honda's manager of environmental business development, told AutoblogGreen earlier this year that, "We want to bring these vehicles [EV and PHEV] to market in significant volume." One way to make that feasible would be repurpose the FCEV to use a battery or a PHEV powertrain. We've got no proof of any of this, of course, but we think the logic makes sense. In any case, we're plenty excited to see what Honda reveals at the show. There is still plenty of time for the company's future plans to shift – the hydrogen car might not arrive until June of 2017, after all, with the other two due in 2018 – but we could learn a lot of specifics in Tokyo next week.

Honda further expands Takata recall to 340k vehicles in Japan

Just days ago, Honda announced it would expand its global Takata airbag inflator recall by 4.89 million vehicles globally, though none of those were in the US. Now, the automaker has broadened the safety campaign in Japan by 340,000 units. The company's Japanese expansion includes 80,000 vehicles to replace their driver's side inflators. According to Reuters, these cars were covered under an earlier recall but weren't yet repaired. There are also 260,000 additional automobiles in the country in need of passenger side replacements. A broadened campaign is also coming for the US, but its extent isn't known yet. According to Reuters, Honda submitted the necessary documents to regulators on May 27. However, the automaker has decided to wait for National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to make the official announcement. Takata's exploding inflators are linked to six deaths and many injuries. Research indicates that exposure to moisture causes the part's propellant to ignite too quickly when the airbag is activated and can cause these ruptures. In testing on components taken from recalled vehicles, Takata found hundreds of cases of them bursting. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi / Bloomberg via Getty Images Recalls Honda Safety Takata airbag recall