• Same dashboard layout as Civic
• Comfortable seats and good driving position
• High-quality materials and well made

How is the quality and layout?

Good on both counts. The Honda ZR-V uses the same dashboard as the Civic hatchback, which is great because it’s a well-made and easy-to-use setup. The materials feel upmarket (apart from some scratchy plastics on the switch panel above your right knee), the components have been screwed together with care and it isn’t overly cluttered.

Honda also hasn’t fallen into the trap of moving all the Civic’s interior controls onto the infotainment system. The temperature and fan speed settings are operated using traditional dials and buttons, as are safety features such as lane-keeping assist and hill descent control. That makes the ZR-V’s cabin much easier to interact with on the move than, say, the Mercedes GLC’s.

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The only major quality issue we encountered was with the centre console. While we were digging around in its storage tray for our belongings, we found that it wobbles on its mounts.

Infotainment and tech

Every version of the Honda ZR-V is fitted with a 9.0-inch infotainment system as standard. It’s the same screen found in the Civic – and it’s a crisp, simple unit with good contrast and a reasonable resistance to glare. It has its own built-in sat-nav system, but wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto are also standard if you’d rather use third-party navigation apps.

There’s one problem with the infotainment system, though. It’s angled ever-so-slightly away from the driver, which is a rather irritating. It seems Honda built the touchscreen’s mounts to suit left-hand drive markets and never bothered to change them for the UK.

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Other technology features available (depending on specification) include a wireless smartphone charger, four USB ports and a thumping 12-speaker Bose stereo which, as we mentioned in the previous section, eats 10 litres of boot space thanks to its subwoofer. It might be worth it if you’re an audiophile, though.

Comfort

• Good driving position
• Decent noise isolation
• Seats lack lumbar adjustment

The ZR-V’s front seats are comfortable and they offer enough adjustment to allow almost anyone to find a good driving position. On Sport models and up, they’re electrically operated – and they gain a setting that allow you to tilt the seat base fore and aft. With a rearward rake, your legs are better support than they would be with a flat seat squab and you’re less likely to slide forwards when braking hard.

However, we’d have liked to see an adjustable lumbar support setting for the driver’s seat at least. There’s a little bit of static lumbar support built into the front seat backs, but some drivers’ spines might tire on longer trips. We’ll update you on how the seats perform over extreme distances once we’ve sent one of our staffers on a drive from the Parkers HQ to the Scottish borders and back.

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The ZR-V’s rear seats are pretty basic. Their cushions are well-padded, but they don’t have adjustable backrests (like the Mazda CX-5) or sliding seat runners (like the Land Rover Discovery Sport), which makes the Honda less versatile. However, the range-topping Advance model does at least feature heated rear seats.