GRR Garage: Giving the Honda HR-V some 'stick'

This week in our adventures with our long-term Honda HR-V we're taking a trip inside, into what is already an excellent place to sit, but one which is only enhanced by its rather unconventional shifter.

Rather than using the ubiquitous 'stick and knob' approach, Honda have gone for a more 'F1 car of old' approach. Furnishing the HR-V with a small, slender gearstick, that completely dispenses with the usual bulbous knob. It's a very nice thing to hold, finished with stitched leather at the top (although the rough stitching can be less pleasant to hold on a longer journey) and fitting nicely into our hands.

What finishes it off is the action it's connected to. This is the short-throw punchy change of a performance car, not the wallowing saunter across the box you would expect from a crossover, and it makes attacking country lanes mega fun. Get the gearchange right and that slot of the stick is perfect, the only thing you could add to improve would be a metal gaiter to bring that satisfying 'click' to the process.

If more cars had gearsticks like this then more people would discover the joy of really driving!

Pricetag of our car: £26,780.

MPG this week: 48.6.

Photography by Tom Shaxson.