Honda CR-V

This SUV in the upper middle class segment has actually been launched for a long time as a car from the Land of Sakura, officially releasing it in the form of a new composition that is cooler and better. In terms of exterior design alone, the impression of elegance and luxury already looks striking with some changes that are more fresh and modern on each side of the body. Meanwhile, the cabin space will also present a luxurious interior that is equipped with a variety of advanced supporting features. On the other hand, the specifications for the engine are also equipped with two engine variants, namely the standard 2.0-liter engine and the 1.5-liter turbo engine variant, both of which have super gahar power.

History

The Honda CR-V is an SUV made by the Japanese automotive manufacturer Honda since 1996. The CR-V is available in front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive, although in some countries it is only available in four-wheel drive, such as in the UK and Australia. The first generation Honda CR-V was produced from 1996 to 2001. At that time, only 1 model was available with the 2.0L engine (max. 126 hp (94kW) and max. torque of 180 Nm). Fifth Generation (2016–Present) The fifth generation Honda CR-V was introduced on October 13, 2016 in Detroit, United States and went on sale on December 21, 2016. In Indonesia, the fifth generation Honda CR-V was launched at IIMS 2017 on April 27 2017. The fifth generation Honda CR-V uses a 1.5 VTEC Turbo engine with a maximum power of 190PS with CVT technology.

Price

The Honda CR-V price in the Philippines starts at P1,678,000.00. The lowest price is the Honda CR-V 2.0 S AT, ranging all the way up to the Honda CR-V 1.6 SX DSL AT AWD Honda SENSING priced at P2,158,000.00.

Front 

The front end seems to be more of a better take on the previous model, instead of being an all-new design. As a refresh for 2021 and onwards, the front bumper has a lot of black surface area than its 2017 original, with just one strip of silver running through the top of the telltale Honda logo.

The angle of the front bumper and the headlights are quite similar to its predecessor’s, albei with a wider “maw” and more honeycomb-shaped slats at the lower grille area.

Retained too was the steeply raked angle of the a-pillars and the front windshield, which to some reviewers made the sport-ute seem like a crossover utility runner instead of a people carrier.

Headlights

Light emitting diode (LED) headlights and daytime running lights come standard, but the top end goes all out with LEDs.

These include the foglamps and the sequential turn signals. 

Side and rear 

The 2021 minor change for the flanks and rear are thick chrome strips for the sides, a lane watch camera within the right side mirror housing, and 18-inch rims with a five-petal flower design.

For those interested as to whether or not the CR-V can go through floods, ground clearance is raised to 208 mm for the range topping PHP 2.253 million 1.6 SX AWD (all wheel drive) diesel model, while other variants (like the base model PHP 1.753 million 2.0 S gas and mid-tier PHP 1.993 million 1.6 S front-wheel-drive/FWD diesel) go up to 198 mm. Regardless of ground clearance difference, there is increased confidence traversing most terrain (and the occasional Metro Manila high concrete hump).

Dimensions

The Honda CR-V measures quite big. Measuring 4,584 mm long, the Honda CR-V is longer than a Proton X70 and Mazda CX-5. At 1,855 mm wide, the CR-V is also wider than any of its rivals. 

Light

Lighting elements for the CR-V range start with halogen projectors for the lower trim-level, while full LED lighting along with auto-leveling can be found on the higher variants. At the rear, all variants of the compact crossover come with LED guide type tail lamps.

Wheels

Not only that, the legs will also be equipped with 17-inch (2.0-liter and 1.5-liter Turbo) and 18-inch (1.5-liter Turbo Prestige) type alloy wheels.

The thoughtfully contoured dashboard had none of the previous generation’s dullness, instead showing as distinctly premium in appearance and construction. From the driver’s chair, the inviting new instrument panel largely mirrors the previous Honda Civic’s three-gauge layout, substituting a horizontal digital tachometer above the speedometer and a relatively elaborate color information screen below it. In a brand that doesn’t offer any stick shift (read: manual transmission) models, the rev counter becomes a virtual band at the top and the speedometer is a digital readout.

Keeping any CR-V occupant entertained are five- to seven-inch touchscreen infotainment, with either four speakers (for the entry level version) or four speakers plus four tweeters (for the diesel choices). The infotainment offers intuitive operation for multimedia, Bluetooth hands-free telephone functionality, auxiliary input ports and USB ports. The diesel flavors get Apple CarPlay-Android Auto capability, smartphone MirrorLink usage and satellite navigation, a wireless charging pad, plus additional controls for its intelligent-dual zone automatic air conditioning (A/C). Speaking of the A/C, rear occupants get their own A/C vents and controls.

Aside from the in car entertainment, there are a lot of cabin items to notice, occasionally touch/use and fiddle. These included a panoramic sunroof and a push-button ignition with keyless entry.

Only offered with the diesel CR-Vs, the 1880 mm rear section (+220 mm total rear increased length, +40 mm second row increased length from the immediate predecessor) allowed for a third row close to the rear hatch. In order to accommodate third row occupants, the rearmost side window was reshaped with a more prominent upward kink, so the rear roofline no longer appeared to be melting downward from certain angles. This prevents third row occupants from smacking their heads unto the D-pillars (the letter “D” shaped pillars of metal that house the rear tailights and reside on either flank of the rear hatch) during lateral movement.

Also of note was a power-assisted tailgate, which opens or closes at the press of a button close to the rear hatch lock tab or a button below the rear hatch glass. Should you pop the tailgate, pull the prominent seatback-release levers of the third row seating (one on each side of the cargo bay) and the levers on the second row seats (they’re close to the rear doors) to fold the rear seats completely flat, and the CR-V totes a large 2.5 cubic meters of cargo real estate. With the second row seats upright and the third row folded flat, you have 150 mm of kneeroom. If you have two occupants per rear row, that quartet can actually play a game of tag (or punch Honda, punching the closest rear occupant whenever you see a Honda vehicle on the road) at the back without distracting the driver.

Despite the cabin being chock full of amenities, there are some niggles. For example, the size of the infotainment screen is hard to see, especially if you got the base model CR-V and its five-inch screen. Another example is the third row for the diesel picks, which are much to be desired, legroom-wise. Anyone beyond four-foot-five will find the third row cramped.

Dashboard

Space and Practicality

Like all Honda cars, the Honda CR-V offers class-leading interior space and practicality hallmarks of Honda’s man maximum, machine minimum philosophy. Legroom, headroom, should room, are better than any of its peers. The centre console box is big enough for a ladies’ handbag. The 522-litre boot is not just the biggest, but has a low and wide opening for easy loading/unloading. 

If you look at it as a whole, it seems that the cabin space in the interior sector of the Honda CRV specification is arguably very elegant and sophisticated with a super high level of comfort. Downsides include the lack of lights for the vanity mirror while cabin materials, including the leather seats, don’t feel as expensive as a Mazda CX-5 or even a Proton X70.

Safety features

The much-touted Honda Sensing driver aids are included in the SUV’s safety package. There is the Honda claims that Sensing was created to help further the one behind the wheel, whether in single digit speed or triple digit speed situations. Sensing aids included added deceleration when the front bumpers detect potential impact ahead, warning chimes to remind the driver to stay in a lane (should the vehicle veer off lane), the hazard lights engaged during emergency braking, adaptive cruise control on highways (which maintains a fixed distance between the car in front), and warning chimes to alert the driver if and when a vehicle in front has moved ahead from a standstill. It’s a lot to unpack, but the main takeaway from the Sensing technology is that they were meant to help the one behind the wheel in a lot of forward and backward motion situations.

In addition, Honda tossed in doodads such as anti-lock braking, deceleration distribution, an engine immobilizer, Isofix latches for child seats, automatic locking once one walks away with the key fob, a hill hold and hill start assist function, six airbags, and traction-stability control.

It also doesn’t have blind spot monitor but LaneWatch serves the same purpose, albeit only on the passenger’s side. However, LaneWatch works much better than regular blind-spot monitors. Since it sends live video feed, it’s extremely useful in the rain at night, when the windows and side mirrors are blurred. It also doesn’t give false alarms like blind-spot monitors.

Comfort features

Meanwhile, in order to support comfort, the latest Honda CRV will be equipped with several advanced features in the cabin space, such as a wide touch screen, audio-visual system, navigation buttons on the driver and seats made of quality materials used by the Honda CR-V which is so soft.

Infotainment features

The CR-V has a multi-view reverse camera display with Dynamic Guidelines to aid drivers in parallel parking and long backing. Those Dynamic Guidelines – a color-coded “ladder” of sorts that projects where the rear bumper is going to end up, based on steering wheel and rear bumper positions – are a godsend for the vision-challenged, and when combined with the sport-ute’s standard parking sensors, they should be of immense aid in shoehorning the utility runner in cramped mall lots.

Customers get two engine choices, a gas-fed two-liter inline four and the aforementioned 1.6-liter common rail direct injection turbo diesel straight four. All three variants come with automatic transmissions (A/Ts), a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVAT) for the starter CR-V and a fixed A/T for the diesel picks. Speaking of the A/T, the diesel units added four forward gears (the A/Ts in the previous CR-V had five), an electronic parking brake and push-button gear selection that ditches traditional A/T sticks. The CVAT in the base model gas front-wheel-drive five-seater may seem quaint, but it’s a good one. Allegedly, the gas 2.0 S’ tranny responds promptly to throttle inputs and ably imitates the gear-shifting “steps” of a conventional automatic to avoid full-throttle drone.

An enhanced real time AWD system is available for the top end SX. This allows the power and torque to be distributed across all four wheels for maximum traction and stability on any road condition.

In case you want to get the most kilometers out of your CR-V, Honda installed an Eco button that chokes throttle response by changing the powerplant mapping. The manufacturer even tossed in some indicator graphics on the gauge cluster to “coach” the driver into getting more mileage out of a full tank.

Probably the only downer when it came to this particular Honda SUV is the noise from the diesel engine, which can be heard over the infotainment occasionally.

Suspension, steering and chassis

The chassis was also engineered from the ground up to provide a more agile and confident handling with a wider front and rear track. Standard front MacPherson strut and rear multi-link suspension promotes more responsive turn-in and cornering. However, what made this suspension setup different from previous CR-Vs is fluid-filled suspension bushings, along with a stiffer steering column. The result is a pretty planted unit on a lot of turns, yet can absorb a lot of noise, vibration, harshness from badly paved Philippine tarmac.

Engine

There are two engine options. The entry variant’s 2.0-litre’s naturally aspirated i-VTEC is the older engine while the newer direct injection 1.5-litre turbocharged offers more power. Both engines are paired to a CVT-type automatic transmission.

Riding & Control

With 193 PS on tap, the Honda CR-V isn’t slow at all. We’ve recorded a 0-100 km/h time of 9.3 seconds. On the move, the smooth shifting CVT blunts most of its aggressive edges so while it may not feel fast, the numbers tell a different story. Handling is not its forte though. The steering wheel feels light and vague, like most Hondas. It’s conservatively tuned for easy and safe driving. Not the most exciting to drive but it’s what regular folks want. 

This car will rely on MacPherson Strut suspension for the front and Multi-Link suspension type which will be embedded in the rear of the Honda CRV. The Honda CR-V might be spacious but ride comfort is not its strength. At highway speeds, the cabin is rather noisy. The Proton X70, Mitsubishi Outlander, Mazda CX-5 is quieter but in terms of ride quality, only the Proton X70 and Mitsubishi Outlander is better.

Fuel consumption

The Honda CR-V is very fuel efficient, especially the 1.5 TC-P variant, which averaged at 7.0-litre/100 km during our test drive, coincidentally matching the manufacturer’s claim. Even in urban traffic, it burns no more than 9-litre/100 km, possibly the most fuel efficient SUV in its class bar the Nissan X-Trail Hybrid.

Even with diesel prices in the Philippines reaching ridiculously expensive levels, the variants to pick are the mid-spec S FWD diesel and range-topping SX AWD diesel units. This is due to their larger seven-inch infotainment screens, the full array of Sensing technologies installed, the larger cargo hold, and the 300 nm of torque that can effortlessly go up mountain passes. The S FWD diesel option is great for all around, primarily urban driving. On the other hand, the top tier SX AWD may break the piggybank at PHP 2.253 million, but if you frequently go to the provinces, the AWD comes in handy for the occasional non-tarmac jaunt.

The Honda CR-V is neither the cheapest nor the most fun to drive, but it’s a sensible choice for those who appreciate the finer details in practicality, details not offered by the cheaper Proton X70.