New Honda CR-V review: Better than VW & Skoda?

This is the new Honda CR-V!

The CR-V has been around for some time now, but here in the UK it doesn’t seem to get the same plaudits as some of its key competitors, such as the Skoda Karoq or VW Tiguan. So the question is, does the new CR-V offer enough to compete with these class leaders?

Well let’s take a closer look, starting with the exterior design. The CR-V certainly looks the part, with sleek headlights and taillights designs, and the usual SUV profile along the side. You’ll also find soft creases across the bodywork, roof bars along the top, and a large grille at the front. If you have a top of the range model like we do here, you’ll also find a sporty front bumper.

The interior is well laid out, and we’re glad to find a couple of physical buttons and dials for the climate controls. However, reach a bit lower down and you’ll find scratchy plastics along the central console and on the door bins. There’s also a large infotainment screen on top of the dash, and while the system isn’t the best, it’s certainly much better than the old Honda infotainment system!

There are two engines to choose from. Both are 2-litre 4 cylinder petrol engines, and both are hybrids. The plug-in hybrid comes with the a single electric motor to drive the front wheels, like the self-charging hybrid has two motors and offers four wheel drive. Despite this, both cars have the same 148hp power output.

So does the new CR-V have what it takes to compete with the best? And is it worth the £46,000 starting price? You’ll need to stick with Mat and see for yourself!

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:50 Design
02:02 Price
02:57 Interior
06:15 Back Seats
07:41 Boot
09:18 5 Annoying Things
12:05 5 Cool Things
13:54 Engines
14:44 Town Driving
16:55 Motorway Driving
18:28 Country Road Driving
19:34 0-60mph
20:48 Verdict

[carwow]

09:23 “The Honda CR-V’s anti-pinch system is homologated to EU regulation. The use of a banana isn’t representative of the test process the system would have been exposed to during its development. The maximum force a power window is allowed to exert on any object is 100N, compliance with this limit must be monitored and enforced in a range of 100mm to 4mm from the top window frame. Structurally a banana is not consistent with that of a human or animal extremity, the window would have immediately operated in the reverse direction should such be present.”

[blazzz]

£54k for a Honda CRV. What a time to be alive.

[kencullen]

Great to have an actual car review with a normal car! The races are getting tiresome now. More of this please

[uzairhaider]

2 things I would like to point out: 1. The blind spot monitoring camera can be turned off from a button on the indicator stalk, personal experience suggests it is easy and never confused me while driving through a round-about. 2. The reverse gear selector (in my opinion) is actually quite intuitive, I immediately got used to the button for forward and pull back for reverse.

[DaveDVideoMaker]

£54K for a 2WD mainstream crossover is crazy money!

[whendidiask]

Holy cow. The new CRV’s here in Australia starts from $45, 000 to the top of the range at $60, 000. Converting the currency it is £23, 000 to £31, 000.

[carwow]

14:19 We think you mean 184hp, Mat... 🤦

[NewHandle_]

54k for a 200hp, heavy, CVT running Honda?!! Has the world gone mad

[three-minute]

Since Honda left the UK the costs of all models (not just the civic)have gone crazy …

[acrain]

Thought you'd find this interesting: the North American CRV, HRV (the ZRV is called the HRV in North America; it's the same car), and Civic all have traditional shifters, even in their hybrid configurations. The bizarre button based shifter layout seems to be a UK specific design.

[gstevenson]

I’ve always liked Hondas, owned a few and worked for them for a few years. But the pricing is mental, £54k for this, £50k for the Type R (I remember when it was £17k), even the Jazz is so expensive now. I understand inflation and everything has become so much more expensive, but I feel like they are pricing themselves out of the market, as for those prices people can afford a car with a higher status brand (my last two Audi’s have been cheaper than those prices).

[drunkenhobo]

8:20 - Those plastic pieces are actually designed to be lost by the first owner, in order to annoy anybody who buys second-hand cars.

[himanshusoni]

The lane watch camera from Honda is very effective and we don’t need it for the lane on the driver’s side as the side mirror on that side has a lesser blind spot, if any.
The lane watch gives a real time, ‘all or none’ information and not like blind spot monitoring on other cars which can malfunction and give false negative information

[jhunt]

I'd understand the pricing a bit more if Honda wanted to try to become more of an "upmarket" brand, but they skimp out on loads of things which are fairly standard in Economy cars, (I.e using Halogens STILL regardless of trim, limited drivetrain options, poor-average sound insulation, average sound system integration, average material choice, etc.) There are many things that they can do to better justify the price a bit more. For £45K-54K it is a massive ask.

[chadrossouw]

These "ordinary" car reviews probably don't do that well in terms of views, but glad to see they're still being done on this channel

[ChoccyThunder]

I know the price of these seem pretty crazy but according to Car Sales the top of the line CRV Sport in 2004 cost about $38, 490, here in Australia. Adjusting for inflation that's around $60, 000 nowadays so the price has stayed relatively consistent. Nevertheless, fk inflation.

[Ternesio_Terys]

Unlike other cars the crv will operate still good after 15 years and you cannot say the same about different car brands without changing the engine and other weird parts.

[pabloestradagutierrez]

I love the the fact that matt has reviewed a bugatti chiron super sport and also a cr v for us common people😂

[zcat]

Honda should not price themselves out of the market with only "adequate" product.
Matt's professionalism is so smooth, it's a lot like a great actor making their role believable.
Much respect for your talent, Matt. Thank you. Also, I'm guessing a lot of this video was shot on your property?? Nice!

[MuhammadAli-hrbj]

I have a top spec 2008 CRV, had it for 12 years. Still going strong.