Honda has denied claims that it has stepped away from the affordable end of the new-car market, stating that its smallest SUV now serves as the de-facto replacement for the Jazz light car that was discontinued in Australia in 2021.
Currently, the HR-V in base Vi X automatic petrol-powered grade is priced at $32,900 (drive-away). This is $2000 less than what it cost when launched in Series II guise in September 2024, which was itself $1800 cheaper than the pre-facelift version when it debuted as the all-new third-gen HR-V in early 2022 at a steep $36,700.
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The Vi X model is actually about $500 less expensive than what the Jazz equivalent was during its late-2000s peak, when annual sales reached around 10,000 units. At that time, the base GLi 1.3-litre auto started from around $21,000 ($33,400 adjusted for inflation in 2026), while the $23,555 Jazz VTi 1.5L auto cost approximately $37,500 in today’s money.
According to Honda Australia Director Rob Thorp, Australian consumers are now responding positively to the HR-V due to the lower pricing over the past 18 months.
“The HR-V in particular plays an important role for us as an entry point into the brand,” he told CarsGuide.
“And that in itself, for the last year or two, has been a hugely successful model for us, actually. And continues to sell well.”
While sales have remained steady this year, HR-V sales increased by 44 per cent in 2025 to (a still modest) 4817 units, outpacing the small SUV segment’s 16 per cent growth year-on-year.
In contrast, the light-car class that the Jazz belonged to saw a nearly 28 per cent decline last year. Thorp revealed that the numbers required to sustain the light hatchback would not add up, justifying his company’s decision to discontinue it.
“At times you have to make really hard business decisions,” he admitted.
“Whilst the Jazz was a beloved brand name and was a volume vehicle for us, the reality was, economically, it was really hard. And we had to make a tough yet courageous decision to not continue with it.
“If you took the economics out of it, I agree. We would have loved to have kept it, but just unfortunately, it didn’t work.”
Making things worse, the current GR/GS-series Jazz that Australia misses out on would have switched to costlier Japanese-sourcing, since Thai production ceased with the discontinuation of the previous GK version at the beginning of this decade.
That Honda has managed to cut the price of the HR-V Vi X by nearly $4000 since 2022 is all the more remarkable considering that it is also imported from Japan, rather than Thailand like its successful predecessor was from 2015.
Plus, post-2024 facelift, the small SUV received more safety technology and improvements to the steering, suspension and refinement, making it a better and sharper proposition than before.
