1.6i DTEC SE Nav 2WD 5dr SUV

Roomy and practical, excellent engine

We bought the CR-V to replace our ageing Saab 9-5 Aero estate, so it was with some trepidation that we decided on the 120bhp 2WD CR-V after the 265bhp Saab! We needn't have worried, the smaller engined diesel moves the CR-V along at a remarkably good rate. It's a pleasure to drive on everyday roads, and is an excellent motorway cruiser, feeling smooth and surprisingly powerful. However, we undertook a 1500 mile drive only one week after taking delivery, and have some reservations about long-term seat comfort as my wife got severe backache after only a few minutes in the driver's seat, and I found it difficult to settle in the passenger seat as the seat squab is short and there is no height adjustment on the passenger seat (I should say that our car was bought in Austria, as we are brits living abroad, so the SE spec might not be identical in the UK). The seat material doesn't feel top quality, but higher specs have different material and possibly different proportions.

Overall economy so far is good for a relatively small engine in a largish car at 52mpg, and as it loosens up I'd expect it to improve.

It's clearly not a sports car like the Saab, but having lived with it for around 3000 miles, it feels comfortable and well-planted and the body roll which has been commented on elsewhere isn't an issue except on tight corners.

All-round visibilty isn't wonderful, but the rear-view camera is a boon. The huge door mirrors however are great.

The only other criticism is the complexity of the display and menu functions. To my mind they aren't intuitive, and are distracting to use. The sat nav is very good, and displays plenty of other information plus real time traffic/accident information. The various buttons and switches scattered around the dash aren't always easy to find when needed without taking your eyes off the road.

It was well-built at Swindon, and well-prepared by the local dealer. There are no rattles, squeaks etc, and it hasn't so far missed a beat.

In all, if you need an SUV which has plenty of passenger and luggage space, I'd recommend a look at the CR-V.

UPDATE 23/05/16

We've now covered 20,000km and the car hasn't skipped a beat. It's had three journeys to the UK on the German autobahns, and continues to impress with its long distance comfort and feeling of more than adequate power. The problems with seat comfort have largely disappeared, although I would prefer a longer squab. Overall average is still c. 52mpg. The luggage space is impressive and is a good shape after the longer, but lower, boot of the Saab estate, we seem to be able to fit more in despite the volume being roughly the same.

The satnav is efficient and easy to use, with lots of traffic info and the ability to navigate round holdups on request. It has full UK postcode entry. Sometimes the instructions as to which exit you need to need on a roundabout arrive a little late to get into the appropriate lane on the approach.

Now it's summer, the aircon/ventilation seems to lag behind the efficiency and controllability of the Saab, as do the rain-sensing wipers. All work OK, but no more than OK.

The (non-xenon) headlights aren't wonderful, and are much improved by some Osram Nightbreakers.

Overall, still more than happy with the car, and impressed with its abilities.

UPDATE 18/10/16

We've now covered 30,000km in the first year, and nothing to report really! Satnav works well. I still think that the overall controllability of the aircon/ventilation lags behind the Saab. I'm guessing that a smaller aircon compressor is fitted, in the name of fuel efficiency, because the system seems to switch to "recirculate" under most normal summer conditions, which it didn't do with the Saab. On the other hand, it kicks in sooner from startup.

A trip with four-up in the summer, with huge amounts of luggage for a two-week cruise, demonstrated just how capacious the boot is.

Long term fuel consumption is sitting at precisely 52mpg based on brim to brim measurements, although with a light foot I recently achieved 57mpg on one tank, not bad for a largish car. The engine is impressively quiet and torquey, but the road noise is more than I'd like although you tend to block it out after a while.

Still can't find anything to really criticise. It's easy to drive, and just gets on with the job.

UPDATE 30/10/17

Still no significant problems with the car, at 54,000km and still more than happy.

However, we've been having problems with bluetooth connectivity over the last 6 months or so, and the dealer has undertaken a software update which seems to have cured this problem - but introduced another minor one. The satnav display now shows incorrect speed limits occasionally but consistently, e.g. in our village, there is an overall 50kmh limit with a short stretch of 30kmh near the school, but the whole village is now showing as 100kmh (the national speed limit). It was all fine until the software update, and I've since updated the map but to no avail. Not really a big deal, but annoying. The dealer is on it, and we're awaiting an answer.

The other question mark has been over the clutch, which judders when manouevering at low speed when the engine is cold (no problems when the engine is warm). This has been reported recently under "Good and Bad" on this website under the Car by Car review. The head mechanic has spoken to Honda Austria and they claim to know nothing of the problem, but we have been advised to use a few more revs, around 1500rpm when manouevering by slipping the clutch when the engine is cold. This seems to have done the trick, although counter-intuitive in my 45+ years of driving.

Apart from these blips, still happy. We drove from the UK home to Austria in December four up last year for new year, and no complaints with luggage space, legroom, or general comfort. Overall economy since new still around 52mpg.

UPDATE 20/01/2019

Nothing to report really at 85,000km. Still averaging 52mpg. No failures, no problems, but an update on the incorrect display of speed limits. Nothing has changed with respect to our car, but when it was being serviced recently I was given a lift home in a new model (2018), which had identical, and incorrect, speed limits displayed, so it's clearly a problem that is not related to our specific car.

Otherwise, the car continues to provide good service. Other than service items such as filters and oil, it has needed nothing. Looks like a CR-V, preferably a hybrid, will be top of the list when the lease on this car runs out in October.

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