Honda CR-V

[usedto]

Throughout our child-rearing years, the wife has always driven a "substantial" sized vehicle - 1979 Cadillac Seville, 1989 K1500 GMC Jimmy, and her current 2002 Tahoe. Our youngest is in her last year of college, and the Tahoe has about 130K on it, so we have talked about maybe replacing it in a year or so. She happened to mention that she might try something a little smaller, but wasn't sure. She still loves her Tahoe.

Her family had a reunion this past weekend about 4 hours from here in the town where our daughter is in school, so her and her two sisters decided to go together. Her one sister has a 2012 Honda CR-V, but is a little shaky driving on long unfamiliar trips, so my wife offered to drive. I thought it would be a great opportunity for her to try something different for a change. 8 hours behind the seat in 2 days should be a pretty good test.

Her first comment when she got home was "What a piece of crap!" (Wife rarely talks like that). Her first dislike was what she called a "cheapo plastic" interior. The trip entails crossing one set of hills about an hour into the trip, and another just at the end. She said with the three of them in the car and minimal luggage, it would barely keep 60 mph climbing one fairly significant grade. The next part of the trip is fairly flat, but the highway is also used by farm vehicles, so there's occasional bumps. She said the car rode like a horse over irregularities in the road, and the steering was jerky.

Her oldest sister had back surgery some time back, and opted for the back seat so she could stretch out. She said it was one of the most uncomfortable rides she has ever been on. And, not much cargo space with the rear seat up.

So, it looks like when we go car shopping, the CRV will NOT be on the list.

 

[texlle]

It sounds like she appreciates a more numb/comfortable ride. The Honda 4-cylinder CUV was probably quite an abrupt transition from the big, lounge couch V8 SUV she's used to. Maybe look into a lightly used Lexus RX350. Smaller, more efficient, torquey and smooth.

What's your price range? New or used?

 

[Art K.]

I have a 2013 CR-V. Your wife's expereince does not echo mine. I test drove a number of vehicles and chose the CR-V. It's a great car. If she didn't like that one have her try the other compact crossovers on the market. The CR-V is a winner.

Ofcourse it's not a boat like a Yukon or Caddy so if that's what she needs, look elsewhere.

 

[RichPA]

We drove the CRV when we were looking for cars, and chose the Kia Sportage instead. I highly recommend it.

 

[chicks]

I have a 2005 CR/V with 125,000 miles on it, without a lick of trouble so far. I'm told to expect another 125,000 problem-free miles.

No, it's not a luxury vehicle; I've often wished the armrests and seats had a bit more padding. Hard to beat for a SUV that gets decent mileage and can haul just about anything, when required, though. Paid about $20K, 1/2 what some of the big SUVs and crossovers were going for at the time.

Great visibility on this model, though the later, swoopier models may not score as well on that aspect.

 

[Judas Priest]

Of course it's not a boat like a Yukon or Caddy so if that's what she needs, look elsewhere.

I think that´s the problem

As far as the steering being "jerky"; I bet the steering is just direct and doesn´t feel like there´s a sponge behind the steering wheel

 

[hjames]

They must have crippled that thing somehow since the older models - or maybe the automatics REALLY stink.
I have a 2004 CR-V, 5 speed, and it runs steadily at 80, tops 100 with no problem, has 4 wheel discs and stops quickly, and turns on a dime.
Bought it used in 2006 with 30k and now its got just under 130k on it. We came back from York PA when I bought my JBL 4341s (4 way studio Monitors) and had those in the vehicle,
plus two of us and it still ran like a dream. Admittedly, it can be a bit noisy at speed and chatters a bit on rough roads. But its great in the snow with the AWD.

I generally get 24-25 mpg as I commute in it ... but I've loaded it with 16+ bags of mulch and garden soil and had no problems hauling it.
Its great for a small SUV - no complaints.

But if she's used to a Tahoe, she should get another Tahoe ... or something comparable. A smaller vehicle isn't going to cut it for her.

Throughout our child-rearing years, the wife has always driven a "substantial" sized vehicle - 1979 Cadillac Seville, 1989 K1500 GMC Jimmy, and her current 2002 Tahoe. Our youngest is in her last year of college, and the Tahoe has about 130K on it, so we have talked about maybe replacing it in a year or so. She happened to mention that she might try something a little smaller, but wasn't sure. She still loves her Tahoe.

Her family had a reunion this past weekend about 4 hours from here in the town where our daughter is in school, so her and her two sisters decided to go together. Her one sister has a 2012 Honda CR-V, but is a little shaky driving on long unfamiliar trips, so my wife offered to drive. I thought it would be a great opportunity for her to try something different for a change. 8 hours behind the seat in 2 days should be a pretty good test.

Her first comment when she got home was "What a piece of crap!" (Wife rarely talks like that). Her first dislike was what she called a "cheapo plastic" interior. The trip entails crossing one set of hills about an hour into the trip, and another just at the end. She said with the three of them in the car and minimal luggage, it would barely keep 60 mph climbing one fairly significant grade. The next part of the trip is fairly flat, but the highway is also used by farm vehicles, so there's occasional bumps. She said the car rode like a horse over irregularities in the road, and the steering was jerky.

Her oldest sister had back surgery some time back, and opted for the back seat so she could stretch out. She said it was one of the most uncomfortable rides she has ever been on. And, not much cargo space with the rear seat up.

So, it looks like when we go car shopping, the CRV will NOT be on the list.

 

[icenine]

Mine has 248,000 miles on it and I plan on hitting 300,000. Shows no signs of slowing down as of yet. 2002 Model paid 13,000 for it.

 

[Art K.]

We drove the CRV when we were looking for cars, and chose the Kia Sportage instead. I highly recommend it.

The Sportage is nice. We liked it and the Mazda CX5 as well as the CR-V and in the end it was a toss up so we went with the better resale. The Sportage and Mazda were a bit sportier in their handling and the CR-V was more comfortable. Pick 'em.

 

[El Pee]

Just because the CRV didn't float her boat, doesn't mean she won't like all small cars. The CRV in particular has made sacrifices for sportiness and economy over comfort and brute force...

A VW GTI has a much nicer interior (no plastic-y crap) and more torque and a very solid ride (It's no Tahoe, but you knew that)

A Honda Accord is small compared to the Tahoe and will have plenty of comfort, plenty of room inside and plenty of power, particularly with the V6.

I have heard nothing but good things about the new Ford Focus.. but you can't go into it expecting it to compare favorably in terms of interior size and engine power with a Tahoe, it's apples and oranges.

 

[RamblinE]

I feel like the Mazdas are some of the best affordable crossovers on the market at the moment along with the completely redone Ford Escape.

 

[BruceRPA]

I have a 2013 CR-V. Your wife's expereince does not echo mine. I test drove a number of vehicles and chose the CR-V. It's a great car. If she didn't like that one have her try the other compact crossovers on the market. The CR-V is a winner.

Ofcourse it's not a boat like a Yukon or Caddy so if that's what she needs, look elsewhere.

Nor does it echo our experience. My wife has a 2009 CRV with 75,000 absolutely trouble free miles on it just like my Ridgeline, her previous Accord V6, a Civic Si, and an Element. She really loves it. She has never had it let her down and always gets her home in snow and bad weather. I find that it drives and handles quite comfortably. It motors right along through the mountains of Central PA without any trouble. Its not a Shelby Mustang but is plenty fast enough. And it gets 30 MPG. Not too bad for an all wheel drive vehicle. If I have any complaint about it, it would be that it is a bit buzzy when it is accelerating for my taste. If I were to drive one every day, and I may in the future, I would seriously consider upgrading to the Acura RDX V6 AWD. Oh, and the size is perfect too. Not too big and not too small. Not too low and not too high. That makes it easy to navigate crowded streets and parking lots, plus its easy to get in and out of. My sister just ordered one last week too. :thmbsp:

 

[usedto]

Her first car was a '72 Celica, so she's driven smaller cars before. She also drove my '70 Corvette until pregnancy hampered her gracefully entering and exiting the car. She also drove a '70 Dodge Dart with a slant 6 for a bit, as well as her late mom's 2000 Buick, so she's not just used to "boats", as some of you call them.

The biggest issue was the lack of power. I've even noticed that with my daughter's 2007 Chevy pickup with the 4.8 V8. The power curve is dialed in to the weight of the vehicle, period. Once you toss in 500-1000 extra lbs, they seem to die.

 

[chicks]

A VW GTI has a much nicer interior (no plastic-y crap) and more torque and a very solid ride (It's no Tahoe, but you knew that)

I haven't looked at the CR reader survey results for reliability recently, but last I looked VW's had massive reliability issues...

 

[jdrum1]

I think the CR-V's are a great little CUV for what they are.

My (soon to be) ex-wife had a '97 that was about to roll 200k miles...until someone ran a stop sign a couple weeks ago (I loved that car). The only repairs were a radiator, starter, and distributor (all done by me).

She replaced it with an '09 just a few days ago.

One thing about little Honda engines is that they develop their power at high rpm's. That's especially true with their VTEC engines (which the '12 CR-V has). If you want to get it moving or get it up a hill, you can't be afraid to let it rev (thus engaging the variable valve timing).

Now, if your are accustomed to V8 power, then of course you may be disappointed (the tradeoff comes in efficiency). With the exception of the Celica, everything else will feel like a boat compared to the stiff Civic based chassis of the CR-V.

Now, I'm not keen on the styling of the latest CR-V. May favorites are the 1st and the 3rd generations.

For me, the biggest benefit of having a Honda is this; you don't talk about needing to replace it at 130k. It's just getting warmed up!

 

[John James]

Her first car was a '72 Celica, so she's driven smaller cars before. She also drove my '70 Corvette until pregnancy hampered her gracefully entering and exiting the car. She also drove a '70 Dodge Dart with a slant 6 for a bit, as well as her late mom's 2000 Buick, so she's not just used to "boats", as some of you call them.

The biggest issue was the lack of power. I've even noticed that with my daughter's 2007 Chevy pickup with the 4.8 V8. The power curve is dialed in to the weight of the vehicle, period. Once you toss in 500-1000 extra lbs, they seem to die.

A loose rule of thumb on the drag strip is for every 100lbs. you lose a 10th of a second. Add enough weight and anything slows down.:sigh:

 

[dr*audio]

I have a 1998 Toyota RAV4. When we went shopping for that car, we drove a CRV as well and found that the RAV4 had much better performance. I had 4 people in the car so we could see what it ran like fully loaded. It may be that the RAV4 still has better performance. You might want to check one out. Also Car And Driver recently did a test of 3 small SUV's; Mazda's (can't remember the model), RAV4 and Toyota Forester. They said the Mazda had the best performance.

 

[jdrum1]

I have a 1998 Toyota RAV4. When we went shopping for that car, we drove a CRV as well and found that the RAV4 had much better performance. I had 4 people in the car so we could see what it ran like fully loaded. It may be that the RAV4 still has better performance. You might want to check one out. Also Car And Driver recently did a test of 3 small SUV's; Mazda's (can't remember the model), RAV4 and Toyota Forester. They said the Mazda had the best performance.

In later years, an optional V6 was added to the RAV4 lineup (not sure if it's really necessary for a compact CUV).

The Mazda (I think it's the CX-5) is a good looking little truck. I think it's my favorite looking compact CUV on the market right now.

 

[Rodzilla]

i'm not surprised by the numerous recommendations for mazda along with honda and toyota...but look carefully into the cost of various parts and repairs first and you'll soon see why you should drop mazda off the list...now i like mazda,i really do,they make a nice handling car and are often the polar opposite of honda's rev happy motors with lots of low end torque,but i've owned a couple and had to fix them....it's not that they break down any more than other cars,but never EVER again will i pay those kind of parts prices.

aftermarket Mazda parts often cost as much or more than OEM for honda/toyota and Mazda OEM was often double that...it's ludicrous...when i owned my MX-6 a few years back i had a system,i would look in our Honda parts catalog[i worked in the parts dept then]i would price out the same or similar parts for an accord...then i would double it and add 20 bucks...and THAT formula as often as not would put me in the ballpark for what the mazda guys across the street would tell me...true story!

 

[frankbooth]

We just bought a 2013 CRV on Saturday for my fiance.
Toss up between the Honda and the Subaru Forrester. I liked the Subaru better because it felt as if it had more torque, she liked the Honda better because...well, I don't know why. She's driving it, so her choice.
I felt that the power was lacking a little, but as someone mentioned you really have to lay into the gas to get it to really move. Nice car, sure it's got a plastic interior but $24K for a small SUV aint too bad. Especially when the new Golf I was looking at is over $20K.