Honda CR-V

The Honda is a superb buy, though it is limited by not offering seven seats.

Auto Express Car Reviews

Rating:
Latest deal price: from £19,099 to £29,065
On the road price: £22,755 - £32,530
For : Comfortable, car-like, superb engines, classy and well built
Against : Lacks flexibility, no seven-seat option, ride is firm

Driving
The CR-V comes with two excellent engines. The 2.0-litre petrol uses i-VETC technology, and is silky-smooth, revvy and eager. Most buyers, however, choose the 2.2-litre i-CTDi diesel, which delivers class-leading performance. It’s helped by a slick six-speed gearbox shared with the Accord saloon but adopted for four-wheel-drive. The powerplant picks up strongly from below 1,500rpm, and at the test track, the CR-V recorded a fast 9.3-secs 0-60mph time. Out on the road, the engine’s punchy nature makes the Honda a perfect companion for long trips, and overtaking presents few problems. It may not be as quiet as a Hyundai Santa Fe, but it’s still refined at motorway speeds. Its cornering ability is excellent too, with an agile and responsive nature that belies its size. A low centre of gravity boosts stability and makes it car-like to drive. It’s not all good news, though, for the sporty suspension offers limited comfort over bumps – especially for passengers.

Marketplace
Refinement was Honda’s priority when creating the third-generation CR-V. It wanted to create an SUV that was as good to drive as a saloon, but still offered the practicality buyers needed. We think it’s a real success. It’s marginally taller than many rivals, but the well proportioned lies disguise this well. The lower half of the body looks chunky, with black plastic sump guards and flared wheelarches, while the top half is much smoother thanks to a window profile that arches at the rear. We’re not totally convinced by the fussy nose, but it’s a bold design nonetheless. This helps give it distinction from rivals such as the Hyundai Santa Fe, Nissan X-Trail, Mitsubishi Outlander and Volkswagen Tiguan.

Owning
The Honda’s air of quality is apparent inside. From the seats to the stylish steering wheel and clever handbrake, there’s a real sense of sophistication. Build quality is excellent, as is the driving position, which is enhanced by a high-mounted gearlever. And despite being shorter than rivals (and having a shorter wheelbase), the Honda offers plenty of space for passengers. It doesn’t feel quite as roomy as the best, but there’s ample legroom and the flat floor is handy. However, there’s a major stumbling block: the Honda can only seat five. A third row of chairs doesn’t feature on the options list, and this limits its practicality as family transport. At least it’s great value. The price seems high, but so too are spec levels; what’s more there’s even an optional Advanced Safety pack, which brings adaptive cruise control, active front lighting and the collision mitigation brake system (although it isn’t cheap, at £2,000). We expected better economy returns than 36.4mpg, though, and while dealers are excellent, check-ups are expensive. It’s therefore a good job that strong retained values compensate.

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5 Comments

A most satisfying drive and fab comfort

My first experience of Honda's CRV was whilst driving a brandnew vehicle with 9 miles on the clock during a Police National Championship 10m Road Race in Llandudno N Wales.

A very rewarding drive and having the automatic box was a bonus for slow controlled driving.

A superb sat/nav system and rear camera reversing aid with fabulous heated seats made for a very enjoyable ride.

Extreamly comfortable seating and superb visibility from every angle made this a car that one could drive for very long distances and feel relaxed whilst doing it.

The parking brake was a very clever design as was the cabin layout.

Within minutes i felt at home in this car and the red paintwork exactly like the one in the photograph above really suited the vehicle.

My vehicle was a petrol and with all Honda engines it felt silky smooth.

Not a cheap car to purchase from new but when you got behind the wheel of the thing maybe it represents good value because second hand values will remain keen.

Certainly a car worth taking a test drive in if you are considering such a vehicle.

By Fuelmiser on 9 November, 2009, 3:25pm

2010 CR-V, Rehash of last year's model?

Roads here in New Zealand are a little worse and smaller than the UK or US. We also tend to drive like maniacs...
Car safety is high on my shopping list - it's matter of time before someone will hit me...The CR-V seems to have a fine safety record and that's why it's top of my list...
I've been looking to upgrade my current CR-V 2004 for several years now. Recently, I got talked into taking the 2010 CR-V Sport 2.4l model for a weekend test drive. The petrol 2.4l engine still revs like hell on our roads, at 125kW it's no power house compared to my friends VW Tiguan producing 147kW from a 2.0 engine or the MAXDA CX-7 producing an impressive 175kW from a 2.3l turbo engine (The CX-7 moves and with 19" tires gives a very smooth and comfortable ride - it just drinks fuel like an alcoholic).
In my opinion, CR-V desperately needs a 6-speed auto gearbox. On our hilly roads, the gear changing seems to be confused with random gear changes and high engine revving around 4,000-5,000 rpm - the engine noise is really noticeable in the cabin: more so than my current model. Several hilly roads around home really cause the auto transmission to get confused, with random gear changes and wild engine revving...it just seems like something that another 30kW of power would sort out...

The engine and transmission seem the same as the previous model and the last of the older 2005 CR-Vs? Yet the body seems to have got heavier? The engine just doesn't develop enough power to give a smooth and comfortable ride on the open road. Overtaking can also be a little scary, you really need to plant your foot on the accelerator and plan your moves in advance. Compared to the MAZDA CX-7 the CR-V is a slug...

The suspension needs some attention to fix the body roll around corners - by UK standards NZ roads are really poor, super windy, narrow and often very hilly; The new suspension means that the CR-V floats along the motor-way and tends to bounce for quite a while after going over a bump in the road - the suspension in my opinion is loose and is probably geared up for better road conditions than here.
The VSA (Electronic Stability) just doesn't cut it either - it's not great and you easily find yourself under steering around corners at speed and will also see some over steer on sharp corners, to the point that you think your back end is coming around to meet you!
Off road, on the gravel and country roads, the suspension and handling will scare the hell out of you. When the 4WD kicks in the back of the car comes around, pulling the vehicle to the right. If you plant your foot on the accelerator at the same time you'll almost certainly hit the nearest fence. In short the 4WD capability, even-though improved (apparently) is still rubbish in my opinion.
Don’t take it on a sandy beach either, the front wheels will bog you in and you’ll end up damaging the gear box – did this, cost me more than 00 to fix and 5 days without a car with my current CR-V. The HONDA dealer told me they see a few owners, every so often who have wrecked their gear boxes...aside from being 5-speed the current gear box runs the same basic principle as the first CR-V models and has the same limitations, no way to lock your wheels into a true 4WD mode.

The road noise in the cabin is worse than my current HONDA CR-V 2004, even with road tires - I had half expected an improvement here; not what seems a step backwards?

The interior is quirky Japanese, ugly and strange I think, trying to design something for western tastes when they have no idea where to start – it looks and feels cheap, a little 80’s retro may be.
I find the new dashboard LCD panel to be awful at night, I found the white color interferes with my nighttime vision. The amber color on my current CR-V is much better.
The reflection of the dashboard on the windscreen is also a real nuisance - it is really obvious on sunny days, and a hell of a lot of heat comes off the dashboard area on long trips. You need the air con on the windscreen on long trips with sunny weather else you'll slow cook the front occupants.

The audio system is nothing short of poor. Compared to the Bang & Olufsen in my friends Tiguan or the BOSE in my other friends Mazda CX-7. The CR-V stereo is a real disappointment….
The electric leather seats are slippery and on long journeys really, really uncomfortable. Nor is there a memory option so that I can re-adjust the seats after my wife’s been driving…

Having test driven a CR-V for two weekends, I can only form the opinion that HONDA screwed up on this one. Rightly or wrongly, I was expecting the new CR-V to be a big step-up. It seems that the design team let the engineers style this one. While the accountants made sure not a sent more was spent developing new technology and improvements?

The new CR-V would be a great shopping trolley for my mother; not too fast, not too slow, doesn't stand-out, looks kind of weird such that car thieves would probably ignore it, seems pretty safe and probably very reliable.

I would like to replace my current HONDA CR-V with a new one, the reliability is better than any other car I’ve ever owned. It’s just a real shame that the driving, handling and feel of the new model is such a let down in my opinion.
I was expecting more from HONDA. It’s hard to believe that they could produce the Accord and the CR-V from the same company?

By Terry2010 on 1 January, 2010, 1:57am

CR-V The Power of Dreams becomes THe Stuff of Nightmares

I bought a CR-V diesel just over 3 years ago. Fine at the beginning - drove well, reasonable economy etc. Just over 3 years old a different picture reveals itself. The engine makes a noise like there's a hole in the exhaust - an apparent fault around the manifold which costs big money to fix - and the clutch is slipping again another costly item. The car consumes a lot of that expensive synthetic oil and doesn't have an adequate oil warning system. I stupidly bought an FR-V for the family at the same time. Its' engine seized with no warning - Honda UK and the garage (Campbells, Rostrevor, Co. Down) said the manual states to check the oil every 600 miles or so. They did not help in any way to help pay for the repair - they quoted around £10K to fix.
In a manual of around 600 pages I don't think this was adequate warning - the print wasn't even bold - especially as both the CR-V and the FR-V drink the stuff. If they had at least warned us when we bought the vehicles we could have avoided this mess - then if they had warned us we wouldn't have bought them in the first place!

Dr. Finbar Magee

By fin23 on 6 April, 2010, 5:06pm

very good car

are they still in good condition

By parks on 18 June, 2011, 3:15pm

very good car

are they still in good condition

By parks on 18 June, 2011, 3:18pm

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Pictures

Honda CR-V