Honda HR-V VS Nissan Qashqai

From the outside, aside from the styling, the 2022 Honda HR-V doesn’t seem like its changed all that much – it’s still a practical five-door small SUV, right?

And from the front seat, the new HR-V paints a very familiar picture.

There is plenty of room for the driver and front passenger, the seats have plenty of adjustability, and there’s storage for your water bottle, wallet and phone.

There’s even an underarm storage cubby that’s deep enough for you to lose some spare change or throw a charging cable or two into.

However, from the second row, the story really starts to change – especially compared with the outgoing model.

Whereas the old HR-V was classed as a five-seater, the 2022 version has seating for only four.

This is due to the middle ‘seat’ fouling Australia’s unique design rules for what can be classified as a seat, and does not have a seat belt.

How much would you’d actually use the middle seat if there was a seat belt there? That’s for you to decide, but it’s certainly a deal-breaker for some families.

Regardless, the two outboard seats offer heaps of leg- and shoulder-room, and our head can just about squeeze in comfortably without hitting the roof.

It’s certainly comfortable enough, and there’s a bottle holder in the door and air vents here to keep you comfortable, while the lack of centre seat means second-row passengers can have a full-time armrest with extra cupholders.

There’s also USB ports and backseat map pockets with a handy phone sling, so you don’t have to go reaching all the way down to get your mobile.

One saving grace for the rear seats, however, is the inclusion of Honda’s versatile ‘Magic Seats’, which allows you to fold the base of the rear seats up to accommodate taller objects like house plants.

The rear seats can also fold flat, creating a 1274 litre boot space, which measures just 304L with the rear seats upright.

This makes the 2022 HR-V’s boot smaller than the outgoing model, which could accommodate about 100-130 litres more, and even smaller than rivals like the Toyota C-HR and Mazda CX-30.

In fact, so small is the new HR-V’s boot, it’s even smaller than the Jazz light hatchback that was discontinued in 2020 – so don’t expect to see this small HR-V hauling timber from Bunnings or flat-packed furniture from Ikea.

Following last month’s X-Trail launch, it was clear as soon as I jumped behind the wheel of the Qashqai that the two models are related.

The dash layout and design are the same, which is not a criticism, with some elements like the gear shifter mirrored in both models. The Qashqai misses out on the under-console storage tray found in the X-Trail and Pathfinder.

There may be far fewer than the old model, but I’m glad Nissan hasn’t completely ditched physical buttons like some brands are trying to do. It’s much faster to change air-con settings that way, rather than via a touchscreen menu.

Speaking of, the 12.3-inch multimedia screen is responsive and has a relatively logical menu structure - the graphics are much more visually appealing than the old model, too. There was no ST at the launch so I’m not sure what the 8.0-inch system is like.

On higher grades, the digital instrument cluster is easy to customise, while the head-up display is crisp. 

The front USB-A and USB-C ports are found in the central bin which is a decent size for the segment, but the glove box - like in the X-Trail - is smaller than expected. Big bottles fit in the front doors, and storage is best described as good for the segment, without being exceptional. 

The front seats in ST-L and Ti don’t have a huge amount of thigh support, but chunky side bolsters. 

There is more rear head and legroom than before and I sat comfortably behind my 183cm (six foot) frame, with loads of toe room and plenty of headroom, even in the Ti with the massive sunroof.

In terms of amenities in the rear, it has knee-level air vents, USB-A and C ports, map pockets, smaller bottle holders in the doors, a fold-down centre armrest (in ST-L and Ti), ISOFIX hooks on the outboard seats and top tethers across the board.

The boot in most grades takes 429 litres of cargo, but that drops to 418L in the Ti due to the placement of a subwoofer. Fold the 60/40 split-fold seats and available volume increases to 1524L (1513L Ti).

It’s a spacious boot but can’t quite hit the heights of the petrol Corolla Cross (436L). There’s a 17-inch temporary spare under the boot floor.

Ti grades also come with Nissan’s ‘Divide N Hide’ boot storage solution that allows you to lift and split the boot floor panels and slide them in vertically so they provide separate, secure spaces in the cargo area.