Honda CR-V Advance long-term test: hybrid SUV ticks all the boxes

Verdict

A few niggles don’t get close to spoiling this superbly considered large SUV. Stylish, comfortable to the point of luxurious, and hugely practical to boot, the Honda CR-V also impresses with impressive quality. 

• Mileage: 8,583
• Economy: 38.4mpg

I’ve never been very drawn to personalised number plates, although there are plenty of good ones around. I’d like to have CAR 1, but that belongs to Ford, and given that any other combination would be sub-optimal from a personal perspective, I’m pleased that Honda has monogrammed the CR-V for me instead.

Wikipedia will tell you that CR-V stands for Comfortable Runabout Vehicle or Compact Recreational Vehicle, but given that neither of those monikers really fits the bill these days, I’m going to stake a claim for the initials. After spending three months or so driving the latest model – more comfortable than ever but hardly a runabout, and ideal for business or recreation but scarcely compact – I can confirm that it hits the spot perfectly as a ‘Chris Rosamond Vehicle’.

Having spent time with both the HR-V and ZR-V in recent months, I’d already concluded that Honda is doing the ‘SUV thing’ particularly well these days. The range-topping CR-V takes things to the next level, and is one of those rare cars that I’d seriously consider spending my own cash on, if buying an all-purpose vehicle for work and leisure were on the agenda.

Part of the appeal are simple good looks, plus the upmarket feel of a 4x4 that Honda describes as its most premium SUV ever. It appears classy and expensively finished on the outside, without being ostentatious or ‘blingy’, while the car’s leather-trimmed interior is impressively put together too. 

As well as being welcoming and comfortable, not to mention very well kitted out in our car’s Advance trim level, the fact that Honda’s designers and engineers have produced a comfortable, relaxing and upmarket interior, without gimmicks, glitter or wall-to-wall touchscreens, appeals to the traditionalist in me. 

Mind you, I have to admit that I constantly find I rely on important tech such as the easy-to-read Head-Up Display, Intelligent Cruise Control and Adaptive LED headlights. Even the regular chirrups and bongs from the array of sensors and warning systems became part of the background ambience after a while. It’s a bit like driving with an R2D2-type ’droid chattering in the back seat; you have no idea what it’s telling you, but it’s probably trying to be helpful.

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The most important part of the jigsaw, arguably, is the CR-V’s 204bhp 4x4 hybrid powertrain. It mates a 2.0-litre petrol engine and an electric motor, but from a driver’s perspective, the combination of quiet, easy operation – often silent in EV mode – and decently quick performance means you rarely stop to think about what’s actually going on under the bonnet. 

Much of my recent mileage has been of the swift motorway variety, and average fuel economy of 38.4mpg doesn’t seem too bad for a car this size either. It’s  not far off the 42.8mpg recorded in the official test. 

I mentioned in my first report that myself and my partner took the CR-V to eastern Germany shortly after it was delivered. Aside from delivering us to Jena fresh as daisies after a 14-hour road trip with little more than coffee and pretzel stops, the CR-V also proved its reassuring stability and relaxed demeanour with the cruise control set to 85mph on the autobahn. We did hit the 116mph max speed once for fun, but unsurprisingly, the car felt less comfortable when whipped like a racehorse.

One feature that came in very useful on that trip was the camera feed from the left- hand door mirror. Colleagues were quite dismissive of the tech in our road test, but the view displayed on the touchscreen – complete with red and orange marker bars to show how far you’re clear of cars behind – proved to be a real boon when executing lane-changes on a busy autobahn in wet or gloomy conditions. I’ve ended up relying on it almost as much back in the UK, too. 

Our review was right to point out that the camera view can pop up over essential sat-nav info at critical times, such as coming up to a junction. But it’s easy enough to flick the screen back to the nav guidance using the button on the end of the indicator stalk.

That German trip also provided an introduction to the CR-V’s impressive practicality, with family members enjoying the rear legroom and comfortable, heated rear seats, not to mention the view upwards through the panoramic roof. Those seats fold super-handily too, giving a van-like 1,634 litres of load volume, while even with them upright, the 579-litre boot provided palatial and plush accommodation for Lottie the dog. A little too plush, perhaps, because although the boot was fitted with a plastic liner, the sides carpeted in black showed up all the white hairs shed by our furry companion. They didn’t want to give them up easily to the vacuum cleaner, either. 

Other minor annoyances include a too-fiddly (for me) steering-wheel control for the cruise control’s ‘set and resume’ functions, and the ‘wireless for Apple/cable for Android’ approach to phone charging.

Honda CR-V Advance: first report

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We’re moving up in the world, from a Honda ZR-V to a CR-V

• Mileage: 6,433
• Economy: 39.1mpg

If I were a paying customer, I’d be on our local Honda dealer’s Xmas card list by now, having just graduated to my third Honda SUV fleet car in succession.

They’ve all been getting bigger too, with our new CR-V standing 53mm taller, 26mm wider, and 138mm longer than its ZR-V predecessor.

There are more obvious differences, of course, including the fact that our handsome new CR-V 2.0i-MMD Advance hybrid finished in lustrous Crystal Red Metallic (£995) has a boxier profile than its swoopier-looking ZR-V stablemate. This, combined with those extra inches all around, means it can load 579 ‘computer-simulated one-litre blocks’ in the boot even with the seats up. With its heavily raked rear hatch, the ZR-V musters a meagre 370 litres under the same test process, so while offering a decent amount of luggage room for the average family, it doesn’t get close to the CR-V’s capacity to swallow stuff.

This voracious appetite turned into a significant advantage when it came to the CR-V’s first major test, which was a 700-odd mile drive to Jena in Germany over Easter, to visit my partner’s family. We usually fly and agonise over what to pack in our suitcases, but taking the CR-V was liberating – after loading the kitchen sink, I thought ‘what the hell’ and chucked in my mountain bike as well. That still left room for the four cases of fine German lager I was ‘permitted’ to import on the return journey, as well as a couple of large cardboard boxes that, for reasons not fully explained to me, have now transitioned from a dusty basement in Germany to a dusty loft in Hampshire.

Using the Channel Tunnel, and stopping only for fuel, coffee, crisps and comfort breaks, the trip took roughly 13 hours each way. On the away and home legs we jumped out of the car at journey’s end feeling fresh and limber too, which is definitely a tribute to not only the seat comfort and cabin refinement of the CR-V, but also just how stress-free it is to drive. Adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance can be a mixed blessing on crowded motorways here in the south east of England where you’re constantly forced to intervene, but they come into their own on a long European road trip when you can set the speed control to 80mph and enjoy long-ish periods of not having to contribute much to proceedings.

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The CR-V’s luxurious cabin pampered us on the journey, too. Honda describes this model as its “most premium family SUV yet”, and it’s certainly a decent step up from the ZR-V, which I felt could have done with a little more luxury to back up its premium-looking exterior styling.

Our CR-V is not only packed with tech and creature comforts, but it’s also very nicely trimmed in leather, with shiny highlights around the cabin that really enhance the ambience. I like it because it’s elegant and tasteful, without being overblown or frivolous, and also because the design and technology work so harmoniously, making the CR-V a rather fine thing to ‘own’.

Talking of spec, it’s worth giving you a run-down of what you can expect when spending close to £50,000 on a Honda these days. Aside from the soft leather upholstery, we’ve got an eight-way-adjustable driver’s seat with memory function, and seats that are heated for front and rear passengers, and cooled in the front. There’s a heated steering wheel, wireless charging, wireless Apple CarPlay (but not Android Auto, which requires a cable), and a nine-inch central touchscreen with Honda’s excellent Connect system for smartphone integration, punchy Bose music system, plus nav and vehicle settings. Yes, that’s a small screen by some standards, but I don’t like a massive telly in the living room either, so it’s right for me.

The CR-V’s digital dash is configurable, along with the head-up display, and there are sensible rotary switches for the climate control, plus an array of parking sensors that work with 360-degree cameras to make manoeuvring a breeze. There’s a panoramic glass roof, electric tailgate, very smart LED headlights with an effective anti-dazzle function, and 18-inch alloy wheels.

Safety and driving assistance functions are legion too, with a full spectrum of features, from traffic-sign recognition to intelligent speed control, a wide range of alerts and lane assistance.

The Honda’s kerbweight of a little more than 1,800kg means you get reasonable performance from the petrol/electric set-up, with 184bhp allowing a 0-62mph time of 9.5 seconds. Power delivery is smooth and refined, and while we achieved a decent 36mpg on our German run, driving locally often sees the economy rise to an even more pleasing 44mpg or more.

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.