HR-V goes on a road trip.

So the sun was shining for the first time in ages, spring was in the air and I had a new Honda HR-V for the weekend. What to do? Get out of Auckland was my first thought – roadtrip with my girlfriends the second.

It was the perfect opportunity to take it for a test drive down to Tauranga and the Mount. The first surprise was the amount of room inside. The back seats were so spacious that all passengers travelled down in comfort, with no need to bargain for the front seat. Getting out of Auckland is always tricky on any day of the week, but the Brake Hold feature in this car made the stop/start traffic on the Southern Motorway more tolerable. Once we were out on more open roads, the LaneWatch camera made changing lanes a breeze! I didn't have to check and double-check if there was someone on my left - the display screen showed the lane clearly and perfect. And of course every road trip needs a soundtrack – I loved being able to wirelessly sync my iPhone with the sound system (my playlist was amazing!)

But the perfect weather meant that everyone in New Zealand also had the same idea of coming to the Mount.  Finding a park was a nightmare. However despite my record of less than perfect parallel parking into tight spaces, with the reversing camera and guidelines I achieved this on my first go. I suspect it’s a much better option than using reflections in shop windows to guide me! 

Once we had climbed the Mount, taking in the beautiful view from on top, we chose a quintessential Kiwi way to celebrate the beautiful weather with our first fish and chips of the season on the beach. Then after a little retail therapy, we climbed back into the car and started the journey home, stopping off at the Te Waihou Blue Springs to tick another thing off our Australian passenger's list. 

The journey home was smooth and on having engaged the Eco Mode and choosing to display the exact mileage left in the petrol tank, we knew we’d make it back to Auckland without having to stop for petrol. After such a lovely weekend, with the trip made so effortless and easy, it was really difficult to give the car back!