Review
Things I love about the CR-V: it handles brilliantly, it’s more fuel efficient than some upper-medium saloons and it’s one of the best looking SUVs on the market.
Things I don’t love about the CR-V: the parcel shelf in the boot won’t stay upright when loading shopping, the parking camera becomes dirty quickly, thus obscuring the view behind, and the wing mirrors fold manually when automatic would have been better.
But when thinking about the possibility of a new model on a fleet, drivers’ niggles are likely to come second to running costs, reliability and safety.
The CR-V is likely to be a user-chooser favourite rather than a fleet staple but fleet managers still need to consider the impact it would have on their company.
It’s likely to appeal thanks to the 2.2 i-CTDi diesel engine which can also be found in the Civic and Accord. With 140bhp at 4,000rpm and maximum torque of 251lb-ft at 2,000rpm, it’s not the speediest model on the market but there is ample power and I haven’t needed or wanted more since I’ve been driving it.
With the CR-V’s mpg figures matching some estates and even regularly beating our long-term Ford Mondeo, there’s no room for fuel economy arguments.
The 173g/km CO2 emission level should also keep drivers happy when it comes to the monthly tax bill, falling into the 25% benefit-in-kind tax band.
In terms of reliability, Honda’s is legendary and the three-year/90,000-mile warranty is reassuring. The CR-V is sturdy, solid and feels as though it will easily outlive the 90,000-mile mark.
So with all the major boxes ticked how does the CR-V fare day-to-day? I have two more niggles I must mention.
The range on the headlights seems unusually short. Driving along country lanes, I was finding it difficult to see the contours of the road.
After taking home a Jeep Cherokee for a night it was clear to see there was a huge difference between the two models in headlight range.
I booked the CR-V into the local Honda garage and within a few minutes they’d adjusted the headlamps to the highest possible setting.
They are marginally better since the adjustment but I’d still prefer a longer range.
The second niggle is a hole in my pocket. I’ve discovered it now costs £7 to have the CR-V hand-washed at the local car wash – it’s classed as a 4x4, which means more metal to clean, compared to a standard car which costs £5.
It’s not really enough to put you off buying one but the headlight range could definitely be improved and make driving at night feel safer.
