There was car display at the bank that I work for and it happens to be Honda. The BR-V is among my Top 3 cars (in no particular order) as my potential first car. The test drive is free of course, so I took the chance.

About the BR-V, it's quite good. Road noise is not too intrusive, it's very spacious even in the third row, the ride is comfy soft, and although I'm not a fan of CVTs, it blends well with the engine that it feels like a traditional automatic (you can also switch the gear lever to sport and shift the paddles yourself).

In terms of power delivery, it's adequate. It's no performance car, but you can treat it like a momentum car to get the most out of it. Fully loaded I think it'll struggle high elevation roads.

I drove the top of the line variant hence it included Honda Sensing. Is it worth it? Not for me since I'm already used to driving cars without those features. What I liked though is that it has cruise control for those long roadtrips.

My other options are the Suzuki Jimny and Mazda 3. I know they're not from the same categories but there are certain elements as to why I like those cars. Anyway, the Mazda 3 is the only one haven't got the chance to test-drive yet.