Honda’s CR-V has been a remarkable product for the Japanese company. In its history which spans over two decades, it has constantly been lauded as one of the best SUVs on the market, particularly as far as reliability is concerned.
The latest generation of the Honda CR-V was launched here in September 2017. It gained striking new styling and a new engine range that saw no diesels being offered, this time around.
The latest Honda CR-V has most of the attributes that made it such a success here over the years. But in this generation, there are also a few drawbacks. Thus when listing the latest CR-Vs standout features that set it apart from the competition, we should stress that not all of them are of a positive nature.
Honda CR-V Top 6 stand-out features
- Space. Honda has a great reputation for space packaging, notably with its smaller Jazz, and the latest large CR-V offers passenger accommodation that is amongst the best in class, as well as plenty of luggage space. The boot measures 522 litres with 1 084 litres on offer with the rear seat backrests folded flat. In addition there are numerous smaller stowage areas around the cockpit. Even more impressively, the luggage space is achieved with a full size spare wheel as standard equipment.
- Plush interior. The fit and finish on the interior of the Honda CR-V is superb. Soft-touch finishes abound, and the mix of fine grade plastics and leather used is top class. It is a premium class cabin, thanks also to the futuristic but non-flashy design of the steering wheel, instrumentation and the infotainment system.
- The ride. The Honda CR-V looks great from almost any angle. Yet this stylish but classy look is achieved without resorting to ridiculously large wheel sizes and low profile tyres, which hurt ride quality. The CR-V rides on 235/60 R18 rubber, which makes it one of the most comfortable SUVs around.
- Reliable engines. The two petrol engines offered on the CR-V are very efficient. The lower-priced unit is a two-litre non-turbo, producing 113 kW and 189 NM of torque. The 1,5-litre turbo is considerably more powerful at 140 kW and 240 Nm of torque. The latter offers a 7,0 second 0-100 km/h time, a 200 km/h top speed and a claimed average fuel consumption of 7,0 litres/100 km. Honda probably has the best reputation for engine reliability for any make of car sold in South Africa.
- CVT transmissions. What a pity! The current Honda CR-V only comes with a CVT (Constant Velocity Transmission) gearbox. This gearbox is disconcerting to most drivers as it keeps engine revs constant no matter what the speed, and this results in a droning noise in the cabin that can be extremely irritating. On the AWD models there is a step function that simulates different ratios and cuts down droning but it still takes too much concentration to use. We wish Honda would consider a dual-clutch automatic transmission or even a conventional torque convertor automatic.
- Price. This is the second of our listed stand-out features for the Honda CR-V that is not a positive. The pricing of the Honda CR-V ranges from R453 600 to R671 900. This is somewhat above prices asked for top competitive models like the Volkswagen Tiguan and Kia Sportage, although it should be noted that Hyundai with its new Tucson is now similarly pricey.
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