Compact holiday adventuring in the Honda WR-V

What is a holiday adventure without some exploration off the beaten path? While there is a local craze with crossovers and SUVs which have the ability to do this job sufficiently well; bloated, full size SUVs just don’t cut it for us.

They have an undoubtable place in the market from my viewpoint – especially when travelling to unknown destinations as a full size family but more accessible, compact and affordable derivatives are the answer for Alana and I.

I might not be a hardcore off-road junkie so most of the time additional ground clearance is all I need for dusty gravel roads and tracks. Out of all the Honda models we got to enjoy on our local getaway, the most sensible overall option for us would be the butch Jazz sibling: the peppy WR-V.

173mm of ground clearance comfortably overcame the uneven surfaces and kilometers of road works that were between us and our picturesque destination of Clarens. 

Fortunately, its more diminutive size did not mean less space with 363l of volume in the boot alone with the seats folded up. We also made use of the highly configurable Magic Seat system which allowed us to load longer items in through the boot with the second row of seats folded down into their most compact setting. 

Most of the time, compact cars come with small power and while that is not untrue with the WR-V it is hard to believe that it is only powered by a perky 1.2 litre VTEC motor. Its meagre 66KW and 110Nm of naturally aspirated petrol-performance is well matched with its lightweight 1081kg stature and made it the ultimate companion with the most fun factor for the winding paths on our road trip – even at the majesty of Drakensberg altitudes!

The bonus was achieving just over 6l/100km with our fully loaded boot and two adults in the front row of seats. It presents an affordable, economical, comfortable and practical car for local getaways.