THE CR-V continues to impress, as just fits in so well with my family life. In fact, it probably fits in too well, as Mrs R seems to have forgotten that she has her own car, resulting in regular fights for the keys!
With Mrs R liking the CR-V so much, I’m thinking of replacing her car with a last-generation, second hand one. That car, like this one, is still winning awards too, with the annual Which? Car Survey naming the CR-V 2.2 i-DTEC, as the most reliable SUV up to three-years old.
What’s got me reaching for the classifieds, was that on top of almost total reliability, this CR-V had an amazing annual repair cost of just £10 and that was over a 12-month period.
I’ll let you know how my second-hand CR-V search goes in a future report, but let’s get back to talking about my current one.
I’d describe the interior of my Honda CR-V is capacious, which according to Google means roomy, commodious, spacious, ample, big, large, sizeable, generous, extensive, substantial, vast, huge and immense.
According to the Ratcliffe family, it means the kids can sit in the back of the CR-V and be far enough apart not to argue. In fact, the Honda’s interior is very well designed, with lots of leg room and a spacious, practical boot.
Honda CR-V 1.6D: Facts, Figures, Likes and Dislikes
- P11D – £25,060
- Company car tax – £80 per month for a basic taxpayer
- Official mpg -62.8mpg
- Our average mpg -60mpg at 6,000 miles
- Our best mpg – 61mpg on a 250 mile trip
- We like – SUV styling, build quality, excellent economy
- We don’t like – Noisy diesel engine on start up and acceleration, over-sensitive parking sensors, confusing tyre pressure warning system
I’ve managed to get five sets of golf clubs in the CR-V with the rear seat up, but with the back seats down the Honda turns into a mini Transit – with plenty of room for cheap Swedish furniture!
If I was to sum up the CR-V, I would say it is stylish, versatile yet frugal.
A lot of my in-town driving is undertaken on the school run in heavy traffic, yet this doesn’t worry the Honda as visibility is great all-round and the fuel consumption at 53mpg around town is pleasingly light.
On the motorway is where the CR-V’s economy really shines, with the best consumption figure I’ve seen on a 240 mile motorway run.
With careful use of the Honda’s easy to use cruise control, I managed to eke out an impressive 61mpg from the i-DTEC diesel engine.
This isn’t far off the combined figure of 62.8mpg.
Downsides so far are the parking sensors which I think are over sensitive, the tyre pressure warning light, which took 20 minutes to sort out – 15 minutes of which were trying to understand the language in the driver’s manual – whilst still answering questions from an overly bright nine year old.
The next bit of action I’ve got planned with the CR-V is a family holiday to France.
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It will be interesting to see how the Honda will deal with the sun, sand, excited children and carrying all our luggage.
I’ll report back on this in my next report, but on current evidence I reckon the Honda will do fine.
More on the Honda CR-V
Read our review here
