Moving on from the Perodua Aruz from last week, we're scrutinizing the 2020 Honda BR-V 1.5L V facelift by evaluating all aspects from driving performance to purchase and cost.

Driving Performance – 32/50 pts, car-like driving experience

Being lighter and more powerful than the Perodua Aruz, the Honda BR-V is significantly quicker in a straight line. 0-100 km/h takes 11.6 seconds, which is over 4 seconds quicker than the Aruz.

Braking distance is not as impressive as the Aruz, but par for the course nonetheless at 40.8 metres from 100-0 km/h.

Steering is light with decent feel and is quicker to respond than the Aruz. Couple that with the lower ride height, the BR-V feels more car-like to drive. 

The CVT responds relatively quick to throttle inputs, making the BR-V feel light on its feet. Jab the throttle from standstill and the BR-V lurches forward accordingly. Smooth inputs will be translated to smooth progress.

Ride Comfort – 33/50 pts, poor cabin insulation

The suspension is calibrated with a full-load (7 passengers) in mind, so the BR-V doesn't ride quite as smoothly when it is unloaded. Sharp bumps are more intrusive than in the Aruz. But large undulations are well managed.

The front seats have good thigh support from its lengthy seat base, and side support is decent as well. Rear seats are mounted a little low, so thigh support isn't that great. But upside is the generous amount of headroom.

Sound insulation is rather poor in the Honda BR-V. We recorded higher noise level than the Perodua Aruz at all speeds from 60 km/h to 110 km/h.

Quality and Features – 23/50 pts, only 2 airbags

Panel gaps deviated by no more than 1.0 mm deviation at the rear quarter panels. Paint thickness consistency averaged in the 110s of µm.

Interior build and material quality is par for the course, with hard plastics used on most surfaces and a splash of leather here and there like the door armrest.

In the facelift exercise, there are red accents throughout the interior such as the stitching on the steering wheel and red leather on the door armrest.

The facelift also brought speaker count to six in total, with 2 additonal tweeters. Although the infotainment system is unchanged. Operation isn't the slickest and the user interface is rather bland.

The Honda BR-V still gets 2 airbags, which is a potential deal breaker. There's also no ADAS which is offered by rivals such as the Aruz/Rush.

Space and Practicality – 39/50 pts, more spacious than rivals

Space in the second row is generous. There's more than 2 knuckles (roughly about 3 tennis balls) kneeroom, with about 2 tennis balls of headroom for a 175 cm tall adult.

Space in the third row is rather decent by 7-seater standards. There's about one tennis ball of kneeroom and headroom.

Cubby spaces are aplenty with a pocket below the driver side air vent and compartment below the climate control switches. Boot space is rated at 223 litres with the 3rd-row seats up. It's also worthy to note that the boot floor height is rather low at 59 cm.

Fuel consumption – 15.5/20 pts, relatively efficient

After completing a 136.4 km journey broken down to 60% highway and 40% city driving, the amount of fuel required to brim the tank is 10.48 litres. This gives a calculated figure of 7.7-litre/100 km.

Purchase and Cost – 19.5/30 pts, good value proposition

The 2020 Honda BR-V 1.5L V is priced at RM 96,900 (with SST). Price without SST is RM 93,420, valid until 31 December 2020.

Considering its price hike over the pre-facelift model with no increase in safety features such as higher airbag count and ADAS, the Honda BR-V doesn't offer quite as much value as the Perodua Aruz.

Conclusion – 162/250 pts overall

The 2020 Honda BR-V 1.5L V offers a car-like driving experience, supremely spacious interior, and relatively good fuel economy. But downsides are the safety aspect with only 2 airbags and the price hike without significant value-added features.

If you're looking for a 7-seater that drives almost akin to a hatchback and space is a priority, then the Honda BR-V fits your bill.