It was an ideal road test for our weekly set of wheels, Honda's upgraded CR-V: a long weekend away in Byron Bay. After throwing a couple of suitcases, shoe bags and pillows in the luggage area we were away on the National Highway to the haunt of hippies, druggies, and alternative lifestylers who mix shoulder-to-shoulder with the rich and sometimes famous.
The car suited the latter. Honda's CR-V was once famous, the best-selling soft-roader SUV. It now languishes towards the end of the medium SUV field. How could this happen? Honda have started to redress possible causes. The vehicle has been re-priced and now has a starting tag of $30,990 while specifications have been upgraded. They needed to be, with the segment leaders Subaru's Forester and Toyota's RAV 4 taking no prisoners. Safety has been addressed with all models now boasting standard front, side and curtain airbags.
There are other, less significant changes that are more akin to fine-tuning. External rear view mirrors have been re-designed to reduce wind noise and there's extra sound deadening to improve the NVH - noise, vibration and harshness. The front suspension has been tweaked to improve ride and handling. Visually, the CR-V has altered slightly with a new grille.
Luxury and Sport models gain new alloy wheels and the Luxury also benefits from auto windscreen wipers and lights. The interior has been freshened with new door handles and new surface materials, upgraded fabrics and plastics. The overall effect is the vehicle looks a little more classy, albeit the exterior seems to be evolving as a RAV4 lookalike. That's probably not a bad thing, given CR-Vs relatively mundane styling.
Our trip from the Gold Coast to Bryon Bay and return, plus some local sightseeing with a couple of passengers in tow, left us wondering if Honda had neglected another important upgrade. The engine. CR-V is still powered by the 2.4 litre, four cylinder petrol that produces 125 kW of power and 218 Nm of torque. We have no issue with the engine's willingness. It is nicely mated to a five speed auto transmission. It tackled the steep hills around Byron without gasping for breath.
Our entry to Bryon was inauspicious. Caught in stop-start traffic for three kilometres. The CR-V's engine does not like standing still from the aspect of economy. Nor does it like hills. At times it was showing economy of 20 litres/100 km. Not good. Honda claim a combined economy of 10.0 litres/100 km. We returned a little more than this, around 10.4 litres/100 km, but this included being caught in a traffic jam for about 10 kilometres just south of Tweed Heads on our return journey. Ten kilometres that took 50 minutes.
The upgrade we are querying is one of why is this previous class-leading vehicle still punting a relatively poor economy engine? The current CR-V was launched in 2007 and this is it's first facelift. We would have thought a priority would have been to have a distillate-burning engine, with economy around the 7.0 litres/100 km mark, as an alternative variant to the petrol.
You only need to look at CR-V's rivals to discover this is the norm: Hyundai ix35, Jeep Compass, Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-7, Nissan X-Trail, Renault Koleos, Subaru Outback and soon Subaru Forester, all have diesel options. What is interesting is that CR-V shares something in common with one of the leaders of the compact SUV pack. The popular Toyota RAV4 also lacks a diesel in the Australian line-up.
The other area that concerns us is the lack of a reversing camera. Only the CR-V Luxury has even a reverse parking sensor. As a high-riding, poor rear-view visibility wagon, CR-V should come standard with the latest camera technology. Particularly as it is a vehicle suited to young families.
As a package the CR-V is a pleasant, no-fuss vehicle. It does not stand out, nor does it offend. A typical Honda, you turn the key and it goes. However, these days many buyers are looking for more than those attributes. Style, practicality, technology and economy are all necessary ingredients. You only have to look at the above (incomplete) list of vehicles to realise the compact SUV segment is as hard fought as the 2010 AFL football premiership. It is cut-throat. Honda has gone some way to redressing CR-V's shortcomings, but there's still a way to go.
MODEL RANGE AND PRICING
Standard man $30,990**
Standard auto $33,290
Sport auto $38,790
Luxury auto $42,790
(*Does not include dealer delivery and statutory charges)
(*Metallic paint extra)
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: standard
Air Conditioning: standard
Automatic Transmission: standard on Sport and Luxury
CD Player: standard
Central Locking: standard
Cruise Control: standard
Dual Front Airbags: standard
Front Side Airbags: standard
Stability Control: standard
Traction Control: standard
SPECIFICATIONS ()
ENGINE:
Capacity: 2,354 litres
Configuration: in line four
Head Design: DOHC i-VTEC
Compression Ratio: 9.3:1
Bore/Stroke: 87.0 mm x 99.0 mm
Maximum Power: 125 kW @ 5800 rpm
Maximum Torque: 218 Nm @ 4200 rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: AWD
Manual Transmission: 6 speed
Automatic Transmission: 5 speed
Final Drive Ratio: 5.333
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4520 mm
Wheelbase: 2620 mm
Width: 1820 mm
Height: 1680 mm
Turning Circle: 11.8 metres
Kerb Mass: 1580 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 58 litres
Towing Ability: 1500 kg (kg with braked trailer)
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: MacPherson struts
Rear Suspension: multi link/double wishbone
Front Brakes: ventilated disc
Rear Brakes: ventilated disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 10.0 seconds
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Type: RON91
Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 10.0 L/100km
GREEN VEHICLE GUIDE RATINGS:
Greenhouse Rating: 5.5 /10
Air Pollution Rating: 6.5 /10
STANDARD WARRANTY:
3 years/ 100,000 km |
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