Some eight years after axing the original HR-V in Europe, Honda is reintroducing the badge on a new small SUV that will enjoy its premiere at the Paris Auto Show.

It’s the same Jazz / Fit-based crossover sold in Asia as the Vezel and the soon to be launch North American version that also wears the HR-V nameplate.

Honda will show the car in Paris as a “Prototype”, but there’s nothing conceptual about the HR-V; pre-production would have been a more accurate term but we guess prototype sounds better.

Like the Jazz and the Euro Civic, the fuel tank in the HR-V is located centrally to increase boot space and allow a lower positioning of the rear seat bench. Speaking of seats, the automaker said the HR-V will offer a “wide range of seating configurations, with the ability to fold the second row seats completely flat for added cargo space”.

No other details were given about the European version of the HR-V, but Honda’s Nissan Juke and Jeep Renegade rival should get the firm’s 1.6-liter turbo diesel along with a 1.5-liter gasoline unit when it goes on sale early next year.

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