The Honda Vezel (Honda HR-V) will complete five
years in Japan, its first market, this December. The company will celebrate its
fifth anniversary with the launch of a Sport variant, as per a new report from
Best Car.
The Honda Vezel Sport may wear a more aggressive
look than the standard variant’s RS grade that features a dedicated front
grille, model-specific fog light garnish, exclusive lower body garnish, crystal
black ORVMs, 18-inch alloy wheels, chrome exhaust finisher and stainless steel
sports pedals. It will have a stiffer suspension setup for better handling.
That’s not all; a more powerful engine is planned for what would become the
best-performing first-generation model.
According to the report, a 1.5-litre turbocharged
petrol engine will power the Honda Vezel Sport. The report is referring to one
of the Honda Civic’s L15-series units that Japanese customers get. The sedan
uses the L15B unit good for 173 PS and 220 Nm, while the hatchback version
sports the L15C unit that delivers 182 PS and 240 Nm of torque. The engines are
coupled to a CVT, and one can expect the same in the sub-compact SUV’s
celebratory performance variant.
The Sport variant will likely arrive as the final
derivative of the first generation Vezel. The Japanese publication said in a
report last month that Honda has fast-tracked the second generation model
because of fierce competition from Toyota C-HR. The full model change will take
place in the second half of 2019.
