Like the Civic and CR-V, the FR-V only achieved four stars out of five for occupant protection in official European crash tests, which is below the class leaders. However, all cars have a good level of standard safety equipment, including twin front airbags (the two front passengers share an airbag) and side and curtain airbags. There are also ABS brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution and traction control (Honda calls it VSA) is standard on most models.

The FR-V has a versatile interior and the centre seat in both rows can slide backwards while the seats in the back can be easily folded flat into the floor. This, coupled with the low lip of the boot, makes it easy to load. There are plenty of cubby bins in the cabin, including a drinks holder in the front that’s large enough for three bottles, plus underseat storage trays.

The centre front seat can also be flipped down to become a large armrest or small table for the driver and front passenger.