Honda CR-V 2018 Review

The value of long-term tests has been highlighted once again. Colleague Susannah Guthrie noted in her update for our long-term test CR-V VTi-L that she didn't care for the styling, but liked the vehicle's satellite navigation system. For me, the reverse was true.

But more of that later.

To recount from the start, this particular CR-V variant is powered by the same turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine I’ve previously sampled in the all-wheel drive CR-V VTi-S. The engine’s traits are unchanged in this front-wheel drive model. It’s an easy-going powerplant with a pleasant note at low engine speeds, and respectable smoothness higher in the rev range.

As in the case of the all-wheel drive CR-V, the seven-seater’s engine drives through a continuously variable transmission (CVT). The lighter, less complicated powertrain of the CR-V VTi-L didn't translate to more efficient fuel use.

While the all-wheel drive model was achieving about 10.3L/100km in urban driving, the seven-seater was hard-pressed to get below 10.0L/100km in the same circumstances. That was despite extra time spent in free-flowing traffic during the quieter school-holidays period. After a few open-road cruises totalling around 200km the CR-V posted a final figure of 8.9L/100km.

The seven-seat CR-V felt a little livelier off the mark than the all-wheel drive model. As far as CVTs go, the unit in the CR-V was quite effective at harnessing the engine's output for optimal performance. But it would take some time to appreciate, if a new owner has stepped into the CR-V from a car with a conventional automatic.

At the point where the engine hit mid-range revs, rather than acceleration tailing off, it remained linear, thanks to the CVT. For the uninitiated, the CR-V's performance was tepid at first, but then excessive as it built up a head of steam. This was due to a disconnect between the driver's expectations (based on experience) and the linear power delivery.

Lower gears in a conventional automatic provide faster acceleration sooner, and then tail off as the transmission steps up to higher ratios. The CR-V's languid step-off prompts the driver to use more throttle initially, but the rate of acceleration remains constant as the road speed climbs. This is particularly apparent pulling into traffic from a side street, for example. When you need performance most, the CR-V under-delivers, but just when the Honda is finally putting some distance between it and the car behind is when the powertrain begins to catch up with the driver's input (and the car in front).

It still seems odd to me, even after many occasions driving CVT-equipped vehicles in the past. Despite a positive assessment of the CVT in Nissan's JUKE, the transmission in the Honda leads me back to my original views on this type of transmission – it's ultimately designed for fuel economy, not acceleration. And drivers don't usually drive for fuel economy in commuter traffic...

For all that, however, the CR-V’s power delivery is undeniably something that would come to feel natural in time.

During its stay with us, the CR-V unfortunately suffered hail damage during the worst downpour of its kind in at least six years. And we really began to feel like a black cat had crossed the path of the CR-V when the system monitoring air pressures in the Toyo Proxes tyres unexpectedly reported a problem. Manual checking of the tyre pressure (twice, by a different person each time) revealed no problem. There were minor variations in pressure between the individual tyres – about 2psi at most – but nothing to indicate any serious danger.

Almost everything else I’ve written about the CR-V in the past applies equally to this car (including the clunky gear shifter and dim headlights). One exception is the third-row seating, of course. Others have noted that the last two of the car’s seven seats are no country for old blokes – or even larger teenagers.

At least the single-occupant seat in the second row is located on the near side (nearer the kerb) for kids to climb in and out away from the road. Folding that seat up to facilitate access is not easy, however. Pull up a cord on the outboard shoulder to unlatch the squab and pull the squab forward. Then slide the whole seat unit forward on its tracks to reach another cord behind the seat base. Pull that to unlatch the rear of the seat and tip it forward. There are other (spring-loaded) systems around that will do all that in one movement.

There’s limited headroom in both the second and third-row seats, principally due to the test CR-V's large sunroof. Sliding the second row forward for more legroom reduces the available headroom further. To the CR-V’s credit, there are climate control vents in the headlining for both second and third-row passengers.

From the driver's seat, the Honda's ergonomics are unconvincing. Several control systems are puzzling unless you already have frequent and regular experience behind the wheel of a Honda. You can reset trip B fuel consumption, as one example, but not trip A fuel consumption. Maybe there's a way of resetting both, but to find out would mean reading the owner's manual. The last time I resorted to a Honda owner's manual for information, it took 20 minutes by the side of the road on a dark night just to learn how to disable an over-speed chime set to 60km/h.

Then there's the CR-V's legal “Notice” you have to accept every time you restart the car. It reads: “The driver is responsible for the safe operation of this vehicle. Use this system only when traffic conditions permit. For further details see your owner’s manual.”

And to clear the notice, you have to press ‘OK’. Unlike similar legal warnings in the infotainment systems of other cars, the Honda version won’t go away if you ignore it. After a brief period the screen blanks out, displaying just the date and time instead, but if you want the audio screen, or the sat-nav, for example, you will still have to accept the disclaimer before the infotainment system will allow either of those options to be displayed.

It's easy to nudge the touch-sensitive volume-control scale on the left spoke of the steering wheel when changing trip computer screens. You know when you’ve done this because it mutes the music without warning.

As another example, consider the satellite navigation... the system Susannah found so easy to use.

She should have accompanied us on our ill-fated odyssey to visit the illuminated Christmas decorations on The Boulevard in the Melbourne suburb of East Ivanhoe. It may sound lame, but this is actually a momentous event. It's an evangelistic paroxysm of domestic LED technology at a ‘Ben Hur’ level. Traffic management is literally conducted on a scale equivalent to that of an NRL or AFL game.

Apparently, using the Honda’s search facility in the sat-nav system, selected from ‘Where to’, you won’t find ‘The Boulevard’ if you’re not in the same suburb. Somehow, even after eschewing the search function, the sat-nav’s instructions still led us all the way to a thoroughly closed Hindu temple via Development Boulevard somewhere in the industrial zone of Mill Park. No Christmas lights to be seen there.

In the time it took to program a destination into the sat-nav system, my son had already found it on his smartphone and could have found at least two other destinations besides. So, Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr (also soon to be knighted) can scuttle the yellow submarine. Their CR-V awaits them for their own magical mystery tour.

2018 Honda CR-V VTi-L pricing and specifications:
Price: $35,490 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 140kW/240Nm
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 7.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 168g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP)