Honda CR-V Review & Prices

The Honda CR-V is a big SUV that’s one of the best-selling of its kind in the world. You can see why - it has a practical interior, handsome looks and great hybrid engines - but in the UK, it’s a bit expensive, and the tech on offer now seems a bit behind the curve.

The first-generation Honda CR-V was one of the original ‘lifestyle’ SUVs - one that looks rough and off-roady, but is actually designed to be practical and comfortable on the tarmac instead. The latest model has grown in size, and is an alternative to some seriously good SUVs - the Toyota RAV4, Peugeot 5008, Hyundai Santa Fe, and Mazda CX-60 to name but a few.

Honda’s never been afraid to do things its own way, though, and so the CR-V avoids being a clone of its alternatives with its unique hybrid system and staunchly old-fashioned interior. It’s like one of those old pubs that refuses to serve olives at the bar and has a wine list consisting of ‘red or, er, white’ - but draws a fantastic pint.

The Honda’s styling isn’t old-fashioned, though. In fact, it’s a great-looking car - almost American in its attitude, with a big grille, slim headlights and boxy proportions. A low window line ensures a great view out for all occupants, while at the rear there’s a tiered tailgate and twin-exit exhausts - both of which are functional, by the way.

Inside, it’s a bit of a strange mixture. If you’re looking for something glitzy and advanced - like the huge widescreen display of a Peugeot 5008 - go elsewhere. The CR-V’s comparatively tiny 9.0-inch infotainment screen won’t win any awards for wow factor. However, it’s indicative of an interior that’s been designed with ease of use in mind.

There are loads of physical buttons, including a full panel of nice clicky climate control dials and switches, and even the standard digital instrument cluster is designed to mimic analogue dials.

It’s all very well-made, and the plain design is quite easy on the eye, but it’s not as nice-feeling as the luxurious Hyundai Santa Fe or Mazda CX-60 - some of the plastics don’t feel up to the mark lower down in the cabin, and it’s uniformly black, which can feel dark when the alternatives all have light-coloured interior options.

It’s very comfortable, though, with a perfect driving position and supportive seats. The rear seats have good legroom, but not as much headroom as you’d expect from a car this tall and boxy. The boot is a good size though - 587 litres in the hybrid, and 619 litres in the plug-in hybrid. A Kia Sportage has more space, but a Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-60 both lag behind in space terms.

There are two engine options, and only one trim level, so picking a CR-V is pretty easy. There’s a self-charging and a plug-in hybrid option. The plug-in is the best choice for company car drivers, with a 51-mile electric range and low running costs, but the self-charging hybrid gets all-wheel drive giving the CR-V a bit more capability on the rough stuff. It’s also slightly cheaper.

To drive, the CR-V feels very solid and reassuring. Neither engine makes it particularly speedy, but there’s a fluency to the way it responds in corners that means it’s more satisfying to drive quickly than most alternatives. It’s also quiet and refined on the motorway, though the assistance systems do make driving around town a bit of a pain.

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The Honda CR-V is too expensive, to be blunt. The cheapest model costs over £48,000, which is way more expensive than a Kia Sorento or Peugeot 5008, both of which come with seven seats and feel rather posher than the Honda.

It’s almost £10,000 more expensive than the Hyundai Tucson plug-in hybrid, and doesn’t feel worth that much extra. Honda’s brand may be strong, but it doesn’t have as much kerb appeal as the posh alternatives it’s going toe-to-toe with.

At least you get lots of equipment. Hybrid cars come in Advance trim and get all-round LEDs, a panoramic sunroof, power tailgate, 360-degree camera system, keyless entry and a full suite of safety aids. Advance Tech is the trim level for plug-in hybrid models and gets automatic parking, fancier suspension, some posher interior trim and a roof spoiler.

The Honda CR-V gets too noisy at motorway pace, but boy is it comfortable

In town

Despite being a pretty big SUV, the Honda CR-V is really easy to drive around town. You get great visibility because the pillars aren’t too wide and don’t block your view. All versions aside from the base Elegance model get a 360-degree camera system, so you can check the car’s extremities if things do get a bit tight.

Comfort is impressive, too. Sure, you get a bit of a jolt over speed bumps, but generally the CR-V irons out road imperfections and goes down the road beautifully. The brakes aren’t too jerky either, which can be a problem with hybrid models that regenerate energy for the battery as you slow down, so it’s easy to make smooth progress.

Steering is light without being too vague, so it’s easy to place the car where you want it, and the electric motors have enough punch to jump out of junctions when required.

One cool feature is that the throttle has a ‘false stop’. There’s a bit of resistance that you need to push past to call on the petrol engine. It’s good, because it means you can accelerate quickly on the electric motor when required, judging the accelerator prod to not call on the engine unnecessarily. Then, if you do want full power, you just push the pedal further and the petrol engine wakes up.

On the motorway

Although you might think a big, comfy SUV would be the ideal car for long stints on the motorway, the Honda CR-V is actually not as quiet and refined as alternatives such as the Volkswagen Tiguan.

The problem is that there’s quite a lot of wind and road noise, so it’s not as relaxing as you might expect, given the fact that it’s so comfortable because of the cosseting seats and soft suspension.

Because both engines offer the same power output, each is equally adept at getting you up to speed. And in the plug-in model, even if you’re driving on electric power and press the throttle down for an overtake, there’s little delay as the petrol engine kicks in pretty quickly. The engine can groan a bit under hard acceleration, but it doesn’t sound too bad, at least.

There’s a blind-spot camera that shows up on the main infotainment screen when you indicate left, but there isn’t one for turning right, presumably because it doesn’t make sense to look left at the infotainment display while doing so. It just feels a bit clunky, and works better in a Hyundai or Kia, for example, where the cameras display in the instrument screen ahead of you.

On a twisty road

The Honda CR-V is a comfort-focussed family SUV, so it’s not the most agile car for a twisty road. It goes round corners well enough, but it certainly doesn’t encourage you to have fun – it’s competent, but dull.

There are selectable drive modes on all models, so you can switch to Sport to make things a bit more lively; you get heavier steering and sharper throttle response, and plug-in hybrid models get adaptive dampers which make the suspension firmer to improve handling.

Sport mode also changes the sound of the engine in the cabin, but it’s frankly bizarre. It sounds a bit like there are bees trapped behind the dashboard trying to get out. Probably best to keep it in Normal mode…

The Honda CR-V has a practical cabin with lots of storage, and some of the best seats around, but rear headroom is limited.

There’s loads of space for those in the front, and you get fantastic seats that are big and comfortable like armchairs, but also hold you in place like a sports car. Couple this with the high driving position and plenty of adjustment in both the seats and steering wheel, and it’s easy to find the ideal driving position.

Storage is plentiful, with a large cubby hole beneath the armrest, a couple of cup holders and a wireless charging pad beneath the dashboard. You also get a 12V connector and USB and USB-C slots to charge your phone. The glovebox and door bins are good rather than great, but overall there should be enough storage for most.

Space in the back seats

Space in the back is decent, with lots of kneeroom and space to put your feet. Headroom is more average, with taller passengers likely to brush their hair on the roof. You do get a lot of reclination, though, so it’s easy to relax on longer journeys and makes headroom less of an issue. The window line sits pretty low, so those in the back have a great view out.

Practicality continues in the back, with fairly large door bins, big pockets on the seat backs in front, and two USB-C charging slots.

Fitting three across the back is a bit of a squeeze, but more annoying is that the middle seat seatbelt is mounted on the roof and pulled forward, which means it rubs on your neck more than a typical seatbelt.

Putting a child seat in is little effort because the doors open really wide and the ISOFIX mounting points are easy to access. Even big seats should have enough space to the seat in front so you don’t have to move it forward.

Boot space

We’ve already discussed the wide variety of alternatives to the Honda CR-V, but whichever way you look, its boot capacity is merely average among them and outgunned by the roomiest options. For reference, the Honda has a 579-litre boot in hybrid form or 617 litres as a plug-in hybrid.

Among large, seven-seat SUVs, the new electric Peugeot E-5008 rules the roost with a cavernous 916 litres when the third-row seats are folded (if you include the under-floor storage). The also-new Skoda Kodiaq has 845 litres with its third-row seats folded away, while the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento both have enormous boots — up to 985 litres for the Hyundai, and 813 litres for the Kia.

If you’re not so worried about having lots of cabin space, there are smaller SUVs with boots that aren’t far off the CR-V’s capacity, yet cost considerably less. The Hyundai Tucson has 577 litres in hybrid form, or 558 litres as a plug-in hybrid, while the Kia Sportage falls a bit behind with 540 litres in plug-in form.

It should be noted, though, that the CR-V’s boot should be more than spacious enough for most people, and it has a useful square shape that means it’s easy to maximise use of the space. You also get a bit of under-floor storage, which is good for cables on the plug-in hybrid. There’s also no load lip to lift heavy items over, and it’s easy to remove the load cover when required.

It’s possible to fold the seats but, annoyingly, you have to go round to the rear doors and do it from there, rather than reaching in from the boot or pressing a button. And once they’re folded, there’s a slight ridge to push longer items over.

The Honda CR-V has a good-looking cabin, but it’s spoiled by too many cheap surfaces

First impressions of the Honda CR-V’s interior are pretty good. The design is fairly simple but it works well, with a panel spanning from the middle out to the passenger side integrating the air vents and physical climate control dials with the temperature housed within them.

You get some quality materials, too, with plenty of squidgy plastics, chrome on areas such as the door handles, and some lovely trim accents. However, when you consider top-spec models cost in excess of £50,000, it’s too easy to find scratchy plastics – on the lower dashboard and door bins, for example. It also doesn’t feel particularly robust.

The infotainment screen is a 9.0-inch unit on all trims, and while it’s not necessarily small, it could do with being a bit bigger in a car this size. It’s a lot better than Honda systems of old, and fairly intuitive to operate, but the graphics are still a little dull and dated — like an old PlayStation game. You get wireless Apple CarPlay, but Android Auto is only available through a wired connection.

The 10.2-inch digital instrument display is also standard across the range. Again, the display isn’t the brightest nor most interesting to look at, but it’s easy enough to navigate to the information you need using the steering wheel-mounted scrolls.

All models get a Bose sound system plus ventilated seats in the front and heated rear seats.

There are two hybrid engines available with the Honda CR-V – one is a self-charging hybrid, the other is a plug-in hybrid, and they both have the same power output.

Starting with the regular hybrid, it combines an electric motor with a 2.0-litre petrol engine, providing all-wheel drive. The maximum power output is 184hp and the 0-62mph time is 9.4 seconds, while official tests put the fuel economy at 42.8mpg.

The plug-in hybrid is more expensive to buy, but if you can keep the battery charged, it will provide much lower running costs. You would have to run it almost exclusively on electric power to hit the official 353mpg figure, but fairly regular charging should return over 60mpg. Regular charging should return better economy than alternatives because the 50-mile range is more than you get in plug-in hybrid versions of the Kia Sportage or Hyundai Tucson.

You’ll pay less for road tax in the plug-in, too, because its low emissions put it in one of the lowest bands, and it’s the favourable option for company car buyers because of its lower benefit-in-kind rate.

The Honda CR-V should be a very safe car, but in the Euro NCAP safety tests, the standard model only gets a score of four out of five stars — you have to upgrade the CR-V with the optional safety pack to make sure it achieves a full five-star score. However, the good news is that’s not an issue for UK buyers, as all three models in the CR-V lineup have the same level of safety kit in this market. For the record, the CR-V scored 85% for adult occupant protection, 86% for child occupant protection, 80% for vulnerable road user protection, and 79% for its electronic safety systems. These are good scores, but there are more than a few rivals — notably the Skoda Kodiaq — which have achieved higher scores. 

All models have Honda’s Sensing 360 technology, which uses sonar, radar and cameras to build a 360-degree view of the world around the car to help inform various driver assistance systems such as lane-keeping assistance, adaptive cruise control and collision avoidance.

It's worth noting, though, that the speed limit alert is a particular pain in the bum. Most cars now give you a quick shortcut to turn this off, as it's very annoying, but in the Honda you need to dive deep into the settings menu. You can only do this while stationary, and once in there it's not clearly signposted - you actually have to switch off the road sign recognition system. It's needlessly complex and very irritating if you set off and realise you need to pull over before you can make the change.

Other (less annoying) safety kit seen across the range includes whiplash-lessening headrests, unintended acceleration mitigation, a traffic jam assistant and road departure mitigation.

The Honda CR-V comes with a three-year, 90,000-mile warranty. That’s one of the poorer offerings around, with Hyundai providing five years with unlimited mileage, and Kias coming with seven years or 100,000 miles. It is at least above the industry minimum of three years or 60,000 miles that some manufacturers are wedded to.

Fortunately, Honda is one of the most reliable car brands you can buy from. The Japanese manufacturer regularly tops reliability and owner satisfaction surveys, and parts and repairs tend not to be too pricey.

Honda finished 10th in the latest Driver Power ownership survey when it came to the most reliable car brands, finishing ahead of Skoda, Toyota, Mazda and Hyundai.