“Joyful, Safer World.”

This is Honda Cars Philippines’ theme for its rather simple booth at the eighth staging of the Philippine International Motor Show. But that doesn’t mean the carmaker doesn’t have surprises up its sleeve.

First is a preview of Honda Connect, a new feature that the company will soon bring to the country. This system is developed to offer better safety, security, and convenience to customers through a smartphone app. You can now get notifications for any security or safety concerns—not just the car, but its occupants as well.

Additional convenience features also allow you to operate certain functions of the vehicle remotely. No details about the formal launch and availability of the system were made. But we’re pretty much sure that it will all come to future Hondas, just like the Honda Sensing suite of driver-assistance systems.

Secondly, Honda also announced new Modulo accessories available for the 11th-generation Civic and the City. There is a display of available accessories should you want to personalize your car.

Last and the most important bit, the pavilion has five cars. There’s the best-selling City, the CR-V, the Civic RS, and two new vehicles. First is the preview of the upcoming BR-V subcompact seven-seat crossover. The much-awaited SUV features a fresh exterior design and better interiors. No further information has been provided, so we’ll all just have to wait and see what this model will get when it is formally launched.

And then there’s the HR-V RS, the subcompact crossover’s latest variant. The HR-V RS gets new exterior design bits, bigger 18-inch RS Design Gray alloy wheels, and sequential LED turn-signal lamps. Inside, it will have side curtain airbags, a LaneWatch camera, and auto up-and-down power windows for the driver and the front passenger. It will also get an eight-way power driver seat and dual-zone climate control air-conditioning.

The HR-V RS sells for P1,739,000, and is available in the RS-exclusive Ignite Red Metallic, Crystal Black Pearl, and Premium Opal White Silver Pearl (for an additional P20,000) paint jobs.

If you are thinking about getting a new Honda, there’s also an outdoor test-drive area where the following models are available:

• City 1.5 RS CVT
• City Hatchback 1.5 RS CVT
• Civic RS Turbo CVT
• CR-V SX AWD
• BR-V 1.5 V
• HR-V Turbo
• Brio 1.2 RS Black Top

For reservations made on-site, customers can also get exclusive and premium deals like freebies, additional cash discounts, or free one-year PMS on top of the usual offers. There are also 50% discounts on select accessories.