Honda CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC: Test Drive Review

Date: 09 August 2013   |   Author:

Category: Small 4x4 P11D price: £25,000 (est.) Key rival: Toyota Rav4 On sale: October 2013

These figures are why Honda has high fleet hopes for the new addition to the CR-V line-up.

We found the 150hp 2.2-litre version appealing, but not efficient enough to make sense for the business car sector.  The new 1.6's performance is adequate for regular driving, helped by the fact that this engine is 116kg lighter than the 2.2 - a significant amount - which has allowed Honda to alter the car's suspension set-up to improve comfort.

The CR-V is a pretty good all-rounder, coping well with the rutted and bumpy roads we tested it on, but also remaining composed and nimble enough for a car with a high centre of gravity on roundabouts and corners.

The only downside is that there's a surprising amount of vibration and noise when the car's under hard acceleration, and the engine does need to be worked this way to achieve rapid progress, as you'd expect from a car of this size with 120hp. But under conventional circumstances, it's absolutely fine.

The car we sampled was on the larger 18-inch wheels that come with the high-spec SR model, although the 1.6 diesel line-up will start from around £23,000 with the entry-level S trim when prices are announced. All cars gets Bluetooth and DAB digital radio as standard.

The CR-V's practicality extends to its claimed class-leading boot space of 589 litres, 42 litres more than the Toyota Rav4 and 119 litres above the Volkswagen Tiguan. The split rear seats also fold easily, and there's adequate space in the front for oddment storage.

As prices haven't been confirmed, whole-life costs aren't yet available, but Honda is expecting them to be a selling point for the new diesel, with which it is hoping to entice drivers out of lower and upper medium vehicles as well as rival small off-roaders.

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