Hi everyone! I just thought I'd share with you how the Japanese name of the HR-V is pronounced since I've seen it dubbed the "Weasel" on quite a few auto blogs. Having lived in Japan and can speak some Japanese I can attest that it absolutely does not rhyme with weasel.
The name Vezel was coined from the words vehicle + bezel. And it is pronounced roughly between "bezel" and how most Americans pronounce "basil" (the "a" as in "bake" not "back"). Since there is no "v" sound in Japanese it is approximated with a "b" sound by Japanese though it would be proper for a foreigner to correctly pronounce the V. So in short it would in English be best pronounced as VAY-zuhl.
The name Vezel was coined from the words vehicle + bezel. And it is pronounced roughly between "bezel" and how most Americans pronounce "basil" (the "a" as in "bake" not "back"). Since there is no "v" sound in Japanese it is approximated with a "b" sound by Japanese though it would be proper for a foreigner to correctly pronounce the V. So in short it would in English be best pronounced as VAY-zuhl.