What Is Honda Sensing?
Honda Sensing is the brand’s suite of driver-assist features that is standard equipment on all 2021 and 2022 models except the HR-V, where it is standard on the EX and higher trim levels.
The main ingredients include forward collision warning with pedestrian detection and brake assist, road departure mitigation, adaptive cruise control, lane departure prevention, lane keep assist and traffic sign recognition. Blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert is included on most models, though only on EX and higher trim levels in some cases.
Related: What’s New From Honda for 2021?
Though elements of Honda Sensing were available earlier, Honda packaged them into a suite starting with the 2015 CR-V Touring, and features have been added as it spread to other models. It became available on the 2016 Civic and on the redesigned Accord two years later, when traffic sign recognition and road departure mitigation were added.
Road departure mitigation and lane keep assist provide some hands-on steering assistance. Lane keep assist can steer the vehicle into the center of a lane when drifting is detected, and the road departure feature steers the vehicle and applies the brakes as needed, or if the vehicle crosses lane markings without a turn signal.
On some models, lane keep assist works with adaptive cruise control at low speeds down to a full stop, and on others, it functions only at speeds above 22 mph.
Honda’s LaneWatch system, which used a camera in the passenger-side mirror to display an expanded view of the roadway when the turn signal was activated, used to be widely available in the Honda lineup as part of Honda Sensing. Honda has been phasing out LaneWatch the last few years and replacing it with blind spot monitoring as vehicles are redesigned, such as in the 2018 Accord. Currently, it is found only on the HR-V EX and EX-L and the Clarity.
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