Error parsing XSLT file: \xslt\FacebookOpenGraph.xslt Our Fleet Test Drive: Honda CR-V - 2nd Report Update
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Our Fleet Test Drive: Honda CR-V - 2nd Report Update

Date: 24 July 2007   |   Author: Guy Bird

Have we told you how comfortable our long-term Honda is?

24 JULY 2007
Mileage 4652
Forecast CPM 38.6p
Actual CPM 42.4p
Two recent long hauls have made us realise just how comfortable the CR-V is, with the soft but supportive leather seats, smooth ride and adaptive cruise control all proving their worth.
12 JUNE 2007
Mileage 3524
Forecast CPM 38.3p
Actual CPM 42.8p
We’re used to satnav re-calculating when you know a sneaky short cut, but the other day it packed up altogether citing “unreconcilable differences”. Could it have lost the signal?

30 MAY 2007
Mileage 3278
Forecast CPM 38.3p
Actual CPM 42.8p
Previously, we’ve lamented the second parcel shelf’s inability to tuck out the way when not in use, but we’ve now been told it does, sitting on top of the existing flat floor with little lost space.

Main Report

Excuse the quick love-in (there are downsides later) but Honda's engineers and designers really do deserve a massive pat on the back for their ability to get so many details right - especially on the inside.

Many carmakers can make things shut correctly these days - hell, even Kia's doors now close with a satisfying 'clunk' - but not so many come up with genuinely clever solutions that quietly make daily life easier.

Honda_CRV-LTT.gif

Take the CR-V's centre console, handbrake and associated box unit. A flat floor means there's no transmission tunnel to encroach into the cabin space - walk through if you fancy [1]. In its place is a big storage box where a small but perfectly formed handbrake handle protrudes [2]. Curved to fit a hand - rather than showily aircraft-inspired like versions from Vauxhall and Renault - it neither gets in the way nor shouts its designer presence. It just works, with no need to reach back too far, or yank up too hard to get the car to stay put.

Nestled within the same unit are cupholders, a place to put coins, a deep storage box for a dozen CD cases, with a moveable carpeted tray above for storing other valuables [3] all topped off with a security-conscious sliding cover [4]. Even the glovebox gets a thoughtful makeover. It has two openings. The top one has a rubber surface ideal for small stuff that would otherwise swish about or get lost in a big glovebox, while the lower area can take larger items [5]. Other carmakers have dash top boxes of course, but few are as solid or as well executed.

The boot is similarly split with a second solid parcel shelf for loading under the tonneau cover. But in our experience - with more need for storing rugged prams than flat art prints - it's spent most of its days in our front room.

Unless I've missed a trick, a way of storing it easily within the car when not needed would be neat - like the Accord Tourer's superb under floor tonneau cover clip-in slot perhaps?

A minor gripe is the light tailgate on our long termer - it's easy to pull down, but doesn't always oblige by shutting first time. The otherwise easy-to-use satnav has also played up on several occasions, steering me down roads that have bollards or no-through road devices that look as if they've been there for a good few years. Sure, I suspect this may be more a supplier mapping problem than a Honda issue, but I know it would shock those same Honda boffins who obsess with getting so much of the rest of the car right. I told you it wasn't all love-in.



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