It’s big, it’s safe, it’s kinda ugly and it prints money for Honda: It’s the Honda CR-V Touring. What do you want to know about it?
I’m gonna be borrowing the new Civic in two weeks, and I’ll have loads to talk about I’m sure, but before I have dessert, Honda is going make sure I eat my veggies. It wants me to take a spin in the fanciest version of its’ family-hauling vehicle. I’m all about practical cars, but not a huge fan of the crossover craze. I don’t really have anything against them per se, they just don’t really light my fire (except as an off-roader. This thing rules). But they’re not really meant to excite, they are practical vehicles for practical people.
The CR-V has been in the American market since 1997, and in that time sales have ballooned along with the size of the car. In 2005, Honda sold a still-respectable 150,219. In 2019 the company moved an ungodly 384,168 units. Even in the plague year of 2020 Honda sold 323,502 CR-Vs, according to Good Car Bad Car.
Despite the usual recalls that cars which retail at such volumes usually experience (Honda recalled 120,000 CR-Vs for faulty airbag in 2019, for instance) this car is a very safe choice for practical people and families. NHTSA gives it five stars and it’s an IIHS top safety pick.
The CR-V Touring is, as you probably guessed, the crème de la crème of these very ordinary vehicles. Available in front-wheel or all-wheel drive the Touring trim package comes with features such as heated steering wheel, leather interior, hands-free power liftgate, Blind Spot Monitoring System and 19-inch alloy wheels. All the CR-Vs (well the ones that aren’t hybrid models) come with a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder engine pumping out the same 190 horsepower. Front-wheel drive gets you 28 mpg city, 34 mpg highway for a combine rating of 30 mpg. AWD sets you back a single point at 29 mpg combined.
Other than all that noise, what do want to know about it?
DISCUSSION
I legitimately don’t think there’s anything I’d want to know. It’s such a known commodity already, along with the RAV arguably the standard bearer for CUVs. We already know exactly what it is, who its for, what its good at, and what you get at every trim level.
Is it really worth an upgrade over an HRV? Or a Civic hatch? I guess? Maybe? I don’t know.