The California Air Resource Board’s (CARB) certification database has been updated and now features data that suggests that the 2023 Honda HR-V will be powered by a 2.0-liter engine.
The CARB database, first discovered by a poster on the Integra Talk forum, suggests that, along with being powered by a bigger engine than the outgoing model, the new North America-specific HR-V will be offered in both front- and all-wheel-drive.
The move is noteworthy, if not surprising, as it means that the new HR-V will get 0.2 liters of extra displacement over the outgoing model, which is powered by a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine that develops 141 hp (105 kW/143 PS) and 127 lb-ft (172 Nm) of torque.
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Although the CARB database has no information on power, we do know that the crossover will sit on the same platform as the Civic and, in that application, Honda’s 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine makes 158 hp (118 kW/160 PS) and 138 lb-ft (187 Nm) of torque. That would amount to a 12 percent increase in horsepower and an 8.5 percent increase in torque over the existing HR-V.
Honda showed off the design of the North American 2023 HR-V earlier this month. Completely different than the HR-V for other markets (although they may get a version of the crossover sold under a different name), the automaker said it would advance the vehicle’s “position as the segment leader with young buyers, first-time buyers, and multicultural customers.”
Although the look of the new vehicle has been revealed, the company has not yet announced official specs for it. Honda promises, though, that it will have “aspirational qualities beyond its segment” and that it will be a “gateway to the Honda brand.”
Expect the second-generation North American HR-V to be fully revealed later this year and to go on sale as a 2023 model year vehicle.