YORK, England — Honda began selling the Fit-based second-generation HR-V in the USA as a 2016 model, but we never saw its first-generation predecessor here. That boxier, shorter machine debuted in Japan as a 1998 model and went on sale in Europe for the 2000 model 12 months. During my recent trip to the junkyards scrapyards of northern England (that is what they call them here) I discovered this first-year example at the U-Pull-It in York.
U-Pull-It UK is owned by Dallas-based Copart and its two British locations (the opposite is in Edinburgh, Scotland) operate very like their counterparts in the USA. One difference is that every one customers must wear high-visibility vests whilst on the premises, so I brought the one issued to me by the organisers of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb last summer.
The workers on the York U-Pull-It were very friendly and helpful, though the local dialect could be difficult for natives of the remainder of the English-speaking world to know. I’ve documented a number of the cars I photographed at their yard already, including a 2007 Mitsubishi Colt, a 2008 Mitsubishi i, a 2005 Smart ForFour, a 2002 BMW 320td and a 2010 Peugeot Bipper, with many more to come back.
The unique HR-V was based on the platform of the Honda Logo, which itself was the successor to the Honda City (yes, that Honda City). The all-wheel-drive system was the identical one utilized in the CR-V.
It was designed with its home market in mind and is thus a masterpiece of compacting loads of interior space right into a small footprint. Two-door and four-door versions were available, while the later generations all had 4 doors. As you’d assume, the second- and third-generation HR-Vs which have appeared in American Honda showrooms (for the 2016-2022 and 2023-up model years, respectively) are each greater and more truck-shaped than the first-generation versions. Today’s Junkyard Scrapyard Gem has a curb weight of two,381 to 2,557 kilos, while the present (Civic/CR-V-based) U.S.-market HR-V scales in at 3,159 to three,333 kilos.
The engine on this one is a VTEC-equipped 16-valve D16W5 straight-four, rated at 122 horsepower. The transmission on this automotive is a five-speed manual.
In line with details about its final auction, it was a runner with 126,659 miles and a few body damage at the tip of its road. The doors were all locked and/or frozen shut (it’s extremely cold and damp in Yorkshire in January), so I could not get inside to photograph the inside.
Would this automotive have been a sales success in North America, or would it not have just cannibalised sales of the CR-V?
Honda hired Southern California ska-punk band Save Ferris to perform for this JDM industrial. Apparently, the “HR” a part of the automotive’s name stood for “Hi-Rider.”
You’d think it might have been unattainable for the Netherlands-market HR-V industrial to out-frantic its JDM counterparts, but you would be incorrect.
This four-door HR-V industrial got a Fatboy Slim remix.
In Australia, first-gen HR-Vs were driven by demonic Honda salesmen who tuned into 666 FM during test drives. It seems the value of 1’s soul in 1999 was 23,350 Australian dollars. The Down Under adverts for the second-gen HR-Vs were quite entertaining, too.
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
