HONDA CR-V road test reports and car reviews

Honda CR-V ES 2008

Hi. Done 33,000 in mine. Turbo is noisy, can sound like a passing police car with its siren on! Dealer says it is acceptable. Had issues with no electric, flat battery. AA had to lift car and deliver to the dealer (Stratstone) The AA man said a recall had been initiated as the battery was not up to the job and needed replacing. But he did not think that this was the problem. Before he lifted onto the flatbed, he did get it restarted, but the belt ceased with much screaching and smoke, obviously NOT the battery then, but something more serious. I had some issues previously with the aircon, all this information was provided to the dealer, and the car was left with them for 2 days. On collection they had replaced the battery and nothing else, this despite my and the AA man strongly suggesting that this was NOT the issue. After a week the same thing happened again, AA called out, CRV lifted onto flatbed and taken to the same unfortunate dealer, who still did not beleive either me ot the AA man as to the trouble. After nearly a week they evetually conceded that the Aircon was the culprit, and they apologised to me! Out of interest, I was looking to obtain one for my wife, and emailed 3 seperate Stratstone dealers for details of used vehicles I had seen on the Honda/Dealer web site, none of them returned my emails, address not known, and this was via their own email enquiry card! I still love the CRV and would/will get another, but the Dealers, oh dear, they do not do themselves any favours.

Honda CR-V 2.2 iCTDi 140 EX CMBS 2007

This is a car that’s very hard to fault, Yes the Tiguan, Kuga etc., is better looking and the Freelander wins off road but for everyday use ( Shopping, School run, Family days out etc...) the crv makes the most sense!! Its got the huge and practical cabin to hold all your parifinalia and has got the power to a our huge caravan no matter how big the hills are. Its also got the most room inside for all of these small urban SUVs and it has all the others trumped for build quality and reliability because its a HONDA!! I looked at all the sensible alternatives and the Jeep car that came close was the Peugeot 4007 2.2 HDI GT. Only reason I didnt buy the 4007 was because you cannot fault a Honda for reliability. The 4007 was really quick (0-60Mph, 9.7 Seconds) and felt more refined/ car like to drive but you cannot beat A Honda!

Honda CR-V 2008

Is it me??? This would be a great car which ticks a lot of boxes. It is a very comfortable ride, with tight suspension and low engine noise, well laid out with lots of bells and whistles (2009 ES model). A 6th gear and cruise control with good torque. However, the car I test drove had quite audible wind noise on driver’s side, some of the plasticky bits were very plasticky looking, road noise was greater than my 2003 RAV4 and amazingly the gear change was clunky. Help, I really wanted to but this one.

Honda CR-V 2.2CDi 2008

Something was lost in my review... For 80000 read 8000 What a difference a 0 makes!! Still a good car though. I will write again when it reaches 80000 (2018 I reckon).

Honda CR-V CTDi 2.2 2007

Now 11 months old with 80000mls on the clock. No complaints at all except perhaps the position of the odd control button or two. One observation however... The engine is very sensitive to different makes of diesel. This sounds odd, but through experience I have found that certain makes of fuel can lower mpg by up to 20%. Engine noise also varies according to fuel, especially at low revs. I have spoken to other CR-V owners, and they agree with my observations... So shop around and see which compromise you prefer. My car is returning an average over 11 months of 43 mpg... not bad for mostly short trips in city. I would recommend the CR-V without reservation.

Responses to this review

I would be interested to know which brand of fuel was found to be the best - John Davenport from England

Honda CR-V CRV ES Auto 2007

I’ve had this car for nearly 2 years and overall it has been a happy experience. The handling on this vehicle is excellent, much more car like than most 4x4’s. I read a comment about the performance from the petrol/auto combination and can only conclude that the author must have been carrying lead bars as it is more than adequate for all situations. My previous cars include a Volvo V70 R and a BMW 750i and whilst it clearly doesn’t match these 2 it has never been found wanting. My only criticism is that the interior plastics could be of a higher standard, they are relatively hard and cheap to the touch.

Honda CR-V good 2008

Noise, turbo. my new Honda CR-V diesel has only done 4100 miles and is on its third turbo and this one is even noisier than the last one but I can not fault my CR-V apart from the turbo. Is this a one off?

Honda CR-V CTDI 2005

This is my second Honda but first CR-V. I decided on a diesel and CR-V having read many of the reviews on this and other sites. It was a fairly high mileage example and was not cheap having the leather upholstery, but the body work and interior was in very good condition. I’m afraid I don’t like the look of the new version. I find it a quiet car, particularly on motorways with plenty of power for normal driving. All the controls fall easily to hand and the handling on winding roads perfectly acceptable with plenty of interior space although I agree it is very "plasticy". The only downside is on the front passenger foot well where it is not possible for an average height person to sit normally with their legs out and heels resting on the carpet, an intrusion onto the well forces anybody but the smallest to bend their knees and keep their feet flat on the floor. So far I get reasonable fuel consumption and am perfectly happy with the car although am about to have the clutch master cylinder replaced as it squeaks like mad. My dealer informs me this is a known problem.

Honda CR-V EX 2008

Was really looking forward to test-driving this vehicle after reading the brochures and what was said about it in reviews. What a great let-down. Tested the EX automatic petrol. Ride was very shuddery on small bumps, more than anything else I have tested - the Tiguan, X-Trail and the Rav4. Build quality is very good. The automatic gearbox was smooth but coupled to the petrol engine made the car utterly pedantic. With 3 passengers on board it struggled to accellerate at all. Honda need to do a big rethink on this engine/gearbox combination, it is not up to the job. The boot annoyed me because there is nowhere to stow the removable upper deck inside the boot, access to the lower deck is impossible with the tonneau cover in place and the upper deck installed. If you want to remove the tonneau cover, it is quite aukward to get out of the car; if you want to stow it away in the car, it’s too long to be put anywhere without getting in the way. The dashboard is easy on the eye and a plus point. In the cabin, rear passengers were not very complimentary about the back seats. The sunroof does not open but consists of two large windows with an electric blind which winds into the central roof bulk head, so retracting the blind opens both front and back blinds equally. This should be independent. Overall, I was not impressed.