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Featured · Honda · Reviews · Road Tests

Honda CR-V – substance over style

  • by Mike Torpey
  • April 24, 2018

SUBSTANCE over style has proved a winning formula for Honda as its compact SUV the CR-V continues to blaze a trail of success.

Already one of the most popular vehicles of its type in the world, the CR-V has more than 800,000 sales to its name – and that’s just in Europe.

No market is more competitive for SUVs than in the UK and while a plethora of, to be brutally honest, more sharp-looking contenders continue to enter the sales arena, buyers still flock to the CR-V.

For good reason too, because the ‘beauty’ of this conservatively designed model is that it does everything with exceptional competence.

Want a car that’s meticulously engineered – actually British-built and developed in Swindon – expertly refined, sensibly designed and has rock-solid reliability, then the Honda ticks the boxes.

Up for grabs with a choice of two diesel engines, with 120 and 160PS of power, plus a 2.0-litre petrol unit, and in four trim grades, the CR-V costs from an attractive £23,475 for a 2.0 i-VTEC petrol S variant with front-wheel drive.

The tested model came with the higher powered of the two diesels, which is from the Japanese brand’s Earth Dreams Technology series, a six-speed manual gearbox plus four-wheel drive.

And while the car’s official Combined fuel consumption figure was 57.6 miles per gallon, we managed to eke out an average 46.8mpg over a stint of what was exclusively urban driving.

In the circumstances that was a pretty fair return, in a car that’s comfortable, spacious and quite relaxing to pilot.

Safety kit like intelligent-Adaptive Cruise Control and Honda’s City-Brake Active System come as standard on all models and there’s an upgraded connectivity and infotainment set-up too.

The dash is wrapped around a seven-inch touchscreen to which a smartphone can be connected via MirrorLink and the short-shift gearstick is mounted high for easy access.

Otherwise you get a genuine five-seater with plenty of head and legroom – including in the centre rear seating position – and in the case of the high grade SE trim, the seats are in a classy perforated leather finish.

The CR-V is also top of the pile when it comes to luggage space which ranges from a useful 598  to 1,669 litres, and that’s not far off the capacity of a small van.

And if mucky trips to the sports field or local tip are regularly on the agenda, well the CR-V’s flush-fit plastic tray in the boot is a God-send.

Lift it out, give it a swill and the job’s done – in seconds.

  • SPEC CHECK

  • MAKE Honda.
  • MODEL CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC EX. 
  • ENGINE 1,597cc, 4-cyl diesel.
  • POWER 160PS at 4,000rpm.
  • PERFORMANCE 0-62 in 9.9 secs, top speed 122mph.
  • ECONOMY 51.4mpg Urban, 60.1 Extra Urban, 57.6 Combined.
  • CO2 EMISSIONS 133g/km.
  • BiK RATING 30%
  • INSURANCE Group 25 (1-50).
  • PRICE £33,630 on the road.

  • WHAT’S HOT

  • Quality, comfort, space, versatility.
  • WHAT’S NOT
  • Outright performance.
  • RATINGS  {Out of 10}

LOOKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

EQUIPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

RIDE AND HANDLING . . . . 7

PERFORMANCE . . . . . . . . . .6

VALUE FOR MONEY . . . . . .8

 

Tags: City-Brake Active SystemCR-VEarth DreamsHondaMirrorLinkSUV

— Mike Torpey

Mike Torpey is freelance Motoring Editor of the Liverpool Echo, past Racing Editor and also a travel/golf writer, music reviewer and rock music nut. Tweet @michaeltorpey1

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