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Thu 23 May 2019 12:04

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - LinuxGeek

Sold our Nissan Qashqai+2 and looking at other cars. I never liked the Qashqai, its build quality was pretty poor. The petrol 1.6 engine in it is seriously underpowered.

I need a car that can seat 5 people (2 adults and 3 kids, out of which 2 are in car seats). I would had liked Audi Q5 but the middle rear seat is very tight.

Looking at Honda CR-V 1.6 diesel auto (I own a Honda Accord, had it for over 9 years and its still going strong). Thanks to flat floor at the rear, none of the kids would complaint and I think getting 3 kids at the back won't be an issue at all.

With my budget I can get 16/17 plate quite low mileage CR-V. People who own/owned it please give me your feedback so I can make an informed decision.

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Thu 23 May 2019 12:24

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - SLO76

I had a 2014 1.6 DTEC SE-T for four years and found it an excellent big family car. Loads of room inside, massive boot, outstanding economy, good refinement, comfortable ride, good high speed stability and decent seats. It wasn’t exactly fun to drive but as a family wagon it was hard to beat.

Honda’s 1.6 diesel is one of the few modern diesels I’d recommend to anyone. There’s little to worry about under the bonnet if it’s maintained properly as they’ve an excellent reputation for reliability. The only problem we had was clutch judder from cold, which would clear up after a few standing starts. No big issue, more of a minor irritant and apparently very common on manual diesel CRV’s.

I’d happily buy another but it would be an auto as you are looking for here. The only negative is that the auto box only comes with the higher power twin turbo and has 4wd which means economy is nowhere near the excellent 56mpg average (60 plus on a run) we were seeing on our 2wd manual. You’ll be lucky to get early to mid 40’s from what I’m hearing but the 4wd has more traction and performance and isn’t greedy for what it is.

I did have a look at used examples when our lease CRV went back but the bulk of them outside the dealer network had patchy non-dealer service histories which considering the complexity of a twin turbo diesel SUV I wouldn’t touch one without a full main Honda service history, preferably an approved used one. It’s worth paying extra for this as dealers hold all the best stock.

I spotted a very tidy 9yr old Toyota Avensis estate which I bought as a stop-gap while promising swmbo that I’d get another CRV at some point. I’ve managed to fob her off for over 6mths so far and kept the cash in the bank and found the old Toyota flawless and economical. Boss is making rumblings again as she loved that big Honda though so Polo might make way for one soon.

I’m happy to recommend one and would go for the auto too which suits the relaxed nature of the car.

Edited by SLO76 on 23/05/2019 at 12:26

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Thu 23 May 2019 12:46

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - FP

I get a lift pretty often from a friend who has one. He reckons the handling is nowhere near as good as the Civic he had before and the ride, especially on corners, does seem a bit uneven to me.

I guess you need to take one for a test drive and decide for yourself.

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Thu 23 May 2019 13:53

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - SLO76

I get a lift pretty often from a friend who has one. He reckons the handling is nowhere near as good as the Civic he had before and the ride, especially on corners, does seem a bit uneven to me.

I guess you need to take one for a test drive and decide for yourself.

No high riding SUV will handle as well as a hatch or saloon. The ride can also be a bit bouncy but I’d say it was better than the comparatively firm Civic. It’ll roll more but I never found it too bad. Grip and traction wasn’t great in the 2wd though thanks to economy minded hard compound tyres but they did last very well with plenty of life left in them after 4yrs and 42,000 miles.

Edited by SLO76 on 23/05/2019 at 13:57

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Thu 23 May 2019 16:16

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - FP

"No high riding SUV will handle as well as a hatch or saloon." That's pretty much what my friend was told.

However, though I don't push my cars really hard, I've yet to find my CX-5 handles worse than the Ford Focus that preceded it. Certainly it corners as well.

I have refrained from mentioning it.

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Thu 23 May 2019 19:09

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - SLO76

"No high riding SUV will handle as well as a hatch or saloon." That's pretty much what my friend was told.

However, though I don't push my cars really hard, I've yet to find my CX-5 handles worse than the Ford Focus that preceded it. Certainly it corners as well.

I have refrained from mentioning it.

The CX-5 is a rare exception. It does handle very well indeed but I’d argue that it doesn’t match the 3 that it’s based on or a Focus in my opinion but if you want entertaining handling it’s probably the best thing next to a BMW X3 and I’d favour the Mazda thanks to the ride being reasonably forgiving. I’d have a CX-5 2.0 Skyactiv on my shortlist too but when we were looking about everything within Range was a diesel and Mazda just can’t do Diesel engines for some reason.

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Thu 23 May 2019 18:03

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - Mike H

Like SLO76, we've owned a 1.6 diesel 2WD for three and a half years. It's been trouble free, except that it has suffered from the same clutch judder, and returns 52mpg for us. It's comfortable, has good mid-range torque, and can easily hold its own on the motorway. The boot is pretty impressive. The only thing that let's it down slightly is the rather fiddly multimedia touch system, but the satnav works fine.

It's a good size inside, but the thing you should think about is whether it's wide enough for two car seats and a third child in the back. We have used what is admittedly a fairly chunky child seat when our 3-year old granddaughter visits us, and it's very cosy for the two adults with the seat Installed. Might be worth trying it with the seats you intend to use before committing yourself. Otherwise it''s very spacious.

We've liked it so much that we are replacing it with another CR-V, this time a hybrid.

You can read my full review, regularly updated, in the owners' reviews section of this website.

www.honestjohn.co.uk/owner-reviews/honda/cr-v-2012...d

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Thu 23 May 2019 21:04

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - Senexdriver

How do you update your review? I submitted a review of my car shortly after I bought it and after 3 years and 20,000 miles I’d like to share my experience in case it might benefit others. I can’t see any clues as to how updating is achieved.

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Fri 24 May 2019 21:40

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - Mike H

How do you update your review? I submitted a review of my car shortly after I bought it and after 3 years and 20,000 miles I’d like to share my experience in case it might benefit others. I can’t see any clues as to how updating is achieved.

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Sat 25 May 2019 09:19

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - Senexdriver

Not on my screen. I wonder if it’s because I view HJ on an I-pad.

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Sat 25 May 2019 13:40

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - Mike H

Not on my screen. I wonder if it’s because I view HJ on an I-pad.

I've tried on my android phone and tablet, ok on both of those. I assume it would be fine on the laptop as well.

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Thu 23 May 2019 18:46

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - Avant

This one will depend on the size of the child seats and of the older child who's going to sit in the middle. Does (s)he need a booster seat?

You could add the Ford S-Max to your list - also the very similar SEAT Alhambra and Ford Galaxy. I think the Citroen C4 Grand Picasso may be wide enough too.

Edit - the Audi Q7 would do it too, but these are a lot more expensive.

Edited by Avant on 23/05/2019 at 18:54

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Thu 23 May 2019 21:33

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - LinuxGeek

I love this forum. There are plenty of very helpful people so thank you everyone!

Our youngest is 2 and the other still in a seat is 6. She can go on a booster seat. We've got 2 sets of car seats, the very chunky Recardos and more slim ones. I think youngest seat and either the slim car seat or booster plus older child would have enough space at the back.

Avant thanks for the alternative suggestions. We had a 7 seater Qashqai but hardly ever used rear 2 seats. No one likes to sit there, hence looking at CR-V.

With regards to handling comments above, as long as its a comfortable ride its good enough. We need a family car, not a road racer :-)

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Fri 24 May 2019 22:38

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - badbusdriver

Might not be trendy enough, but the Peugeot Rifter (and presumably the Citroen and vauxhall versions) have isofix on all three rear seats (on the five seat versions, not sure if the seven seaters have isofix on the third row), which suggests plenty of room width wise for your needs. Also, for family car duties, absolutely massive boot and endless amounts of storage cubbies. Not to mention sliding rear doors which is a boon in car parks. Engine options are 1.5 turbo diesel and 1.2 turbo petrol. You have not said your budget though, so not sure if it would be viable.

According to what i have read, they drive real nice (as long as you are not looking for 'sporty'), being refined, comfortable and with a great ride.

Just had a quick look online, diesel versions start at £16.5k, petrol are an extra £1.5k (they only came out last year)

Edited by badbusdriver on 24/05/2019 at 22:41

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Sat 25 May 2019 09:11

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - Senexdriver

I agree about the Peugeot/Citroen/Vauxhall Rifter/Berlingo/Whatever. We use the same taxi driver to get us to Heathrow for our regular trips abroad and he has the Citroen. OK it’s a converted van, but it’s very roomy, has a massive boot for our suitcases, countless storage options and the ride is very good. He’s on his second example of the Citroen model and only replaced the old one as it had covered such a high mileage. When I’m no longer concerned about sporty characteristics I wouldn’t mind something like this.

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Sat 25 May 2019 16:40

Honda CR-V - Honda CR-V - KB.

And it says both the diesel and petrol have the option of an 8 speed torque converter too.

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