Honda CR-V (2018 – 2023) Review

The Honda CR-V is a hybrid SUV that arrived when there were only a handful of petrol-electric alternatives available. Now almost everyone will sell you a hybrid SUV, and many have more advanced technology and a flashier design. Despite that the big Honda still holds plenty of rational appeal, as our Honda CR-V review details. 

The Honda CR-V has always been one of our favourite no-nonsense SUVs - and an easy car to recommend to people. While the current model may not look massively different from before, there were actually some significant improvements that make this a big step up from its predecessor.

For starters, there's no diesel engine. Instead there's one petrol or a hybrid version (with the petrol being dropped entirely part-way through its life). Honda is of course no stranger to hybrid power, but this is the first time it has featured in the CR-V. And the results are hugely impressive. So much so that the CR-V Hybrid is one of the best family SUVs around, regardless of the engine type.

Honda has succeeded in making a practical and spacious SUV that has genuine performance yet is comfortable and decent to drive. And all that in a package that includes a hybrid system. Sounds too good to be true? Well it's not - the Honda CR-V Hybrid is an extremely competent SUV.

The downside is the cost. List prices for the CR-V now it's hybrid-only start at more than £32,000 and rise to over £40k - pricing it above a number of key competitors. There's also no seven-seat option with the Hybrid as there was with the short-lived petrol. But if you compare it with the also hybrid-only Toyota RAV4, it's competitively priced.

If you can't stretch to the Hybrid, then on the used market the 1.5 VTEC petrol is still a good choice with decent performance and the choice of manual or a CVT automatic gearbox. Claimed economy is reasonable in the two-wheel drive model but drops below 40mpg if you go for the 4WD.

Regardless of engine, the CR-V drives well with nicely weighted steering, little in the way of road noise and decent stability in corners, but it lacks the body control of a Mazda CX-5. Its forte is the ride quality which copes with rough and poor quality roads with ease.

It makes for a very comfortable and relaxing car, and with Honda's reputation for reliability, plus a practical and solidly put together interior, it's one we wouldn't hesitate recommending despite glitzier rivals on the scene. 

Perhaps its closest rival is the RAV4, but along with the CX-5 other alternatives include the Volkswagen Tiguan, Ford Kuga, Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage. 

Looking for a second opinion? Why not read heycar's Honda CR-V review.

Honda CR-V 1.5 VTEC Turbo 2018 Road Test

Honda CR-V Hybrid 2019 Road Test

A longer wheelbase and details such as an electronic parking brake (now pretty commonplace of course) help the Honda CR-V feel considerably more roomy than before. And the old one was hardly cramped...

It's a practical cabin with lots of useful storage areas - the huge box under the central armrest is great - plus larger door pockets and deep cup holders. The Honda CR-V's boot capacity is close to 500 litres on the Hybrid model, but bigger by 60 litres on the petrol. The rear seats cleverly fold flat too, with a one handed operation.

Rear passenger room is excellent with loads of legroom, even with the front seats pushed all the way back. Headroom is generous, so it's ideal if you have fast growing teenagers. There was the option of a seven-seater on the petrol models, the rearmost seats folding flat into the floor when not needed. Good luck finding one on the used market, however, as it wasn't very popular. 

Those in the back can also take advantage of two high-capacity USB charging ports at the back of the centre console - handy if the kids run out of battery on their iPads. 

One mention must go to the impressive seats which are comfortable but supportive, making the CR-V ideal for motorway journeys or long road trips.

In terms of exterior dimensions the Honda CR-V is 4,600mm long, 1,855mm wide and 1,689mm tall, making it slightly larger in every dimension than a Mazda CX-5. 

The Honda CR-V's build quality is pretty faultless. Sure, you don't get the plushest of trims and exciting material combinations, but there's enough soft-touch areas for it to feel fairly upmarket. 

Most importantly, though, everything feels built to last and designed to stand up to years of hard use. While some rivals impress more immediately with their tech and finishes, we're not convinced they'd age as well. 

For all the qualities of the Honda CR-V interior, the elephant in the room (or should that be cabin) is the infotainment system. This was a weak point in the previous CR-V and, despite improvements over time, it's still annoying to use and dated in this generation.

It's very much at odds with the quality feel of the rest of the CR-V. Compare it to the system used by most, if not all rivals and it's clunky, slow and unintuitive. It's not a deal breaker, but it does stick out a bit like a sore thumb. True, it does have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but overall we'd expect something much slicker in a car launched in 2018. By 2022 it seems awfully dated. 

In 2022 the Honda CR-V is priced from £32,815 in base S form, rissing to £34,990 for the SE, £36,580 for the SR and £40,910 for the top-spec EX model. That's among the upper tier of family SUV pricing, but still cheaper than its key rival, the Toyota RAV4. 

You can blame the hybrid system for the outright cost, but a Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage hybrid are cheaper and just as well-equipped. Leasing prices for the CR-V are pretty competitive, however, starting at around £340 a month for Honda's example deal. 

Bear in mind too that the Honda CR-V holds its value well on the used market. The cheapest versions are the 1.5-litre petrol model, and we found a 2019 SE with 28,000 miles on the clock for just under £18,000. Hybrids are considerably more expensive, starting at £23,200. 

Official fuel economy figures have the petrol Honda CR-V managing up to 38.7mpg in the combined WLTP tests.  That'll fall to low thirties when you specify four-wheel drive and the CVT automatic gearbox, however. 

On paper the CR-V Hybrid manages up to 42.8mpg on the same tests, although owners are actually beating that in reality. The figure drops by around 3mpg when you spec the four-wheel drive version. 

Insurance costs are a little higher than some rivals, starting at group 22 and only rising to group 25 for the most expensive variant. Tax is relatively affordable in the first year rate for the hybrid, although remember the EX model with its £40,000+ list price will cost another £325 a year in 'premium' car tax for five years. 

The Honda CR-V has never been about cornering ability, and the old model's rather soggy, roly-poly feel on country roads indicated that. This latest model is still far from the sharpest in this class, but it is much improved.

For starters it steers pretty well this time, with a decent amount of weight and responses that inspire some confidence. There's still a fair bit of body lean, but the trade-off is it excels at something arguably more important to family SUV buyers: comfort. 

The CR-V's softer set-up means it irons out rutted tarmac better than a VW Tiguan, SEAT Ateca or Ford Kuga. It's also a stable and extremely relaxing motorway companion, with good refinement all-round. 

Honda is no stranger to hybrid technology, with the pioneering Insight and more recently the Jazz, but the CR-V Hybrid was the first of the brand's new era of hybrid system. The new Honda Civic has since moved the game on even further with an evolved version of the same setup.

In the Honda CR-V it combines a 145PS 2.0-litre i-VTEC petrol engine with a 184PS electric motor that also provides 315Nm of torque. That's standard hybrid stuff at first sight, but the big difference is the gearbox.

Rather than use a conventional CVT, the kind you'd find with most hybrids, the CR-V has a clever single fixed-gear system, resulting in a smoother transfer of torque.

The result is like driving an electric car for a lot of the time. You simply out the car in Drive and it effortlessly pulls away. At a 40mph cruise, the Honda CR-V Hybrid will typically run in EV mode for more than half of the time. Push that up to 62mph and the EV power is used for around a third of the time.

The good thing is, that from behind the wheel, you don't have to be concerned about any of this. All you need to know is that the CR-V is easy, effortless and relaxing to drive. It's nigh on impossible to tell when the petrol engine kicks in, so quiet is the whole set-up.

Often with hybrids fitted with CVTs, you'll get that constant engine drone when accelerating. But unless you weld your right foot to the carpet that's not always the case with the Honda CR-V. In 90 per cent of your driving, you probably won't even notice the engine is there.

It's also worth noting that the CR-V has so much pulling power, you rarely need to do that. In fact it's surprisingly fast, and from 30mph or 40mph will accelerate quickly up to motorway speeds. 

Alongside the standard and Eco settings, there's a Sport mode which genuinely makes a difference to the performance of the Honda CR-V, giving it much more response and a considerably quicker turn of pace. There are paddles on the steering wheel but rather than changing gear, these let you adjust the car's rate of deceleration and regenerative braking.

Hybrid aside, Honda offered 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine for a couple of years. It could be paired with a six-speed manual or CVT automatic gearbox, as well as two- or four-wheel drive. It does the job, feeling eager enough around town, although diesel rivals will feel more up to the job of transporting the entire family or lugging a caravan.

The Honda CR-V has the maximum five-star safety rating from crash test experts Euro NCAP. Scores are strong across the board, although some newer rivals are better at protecting child occupants. 

Standard safety kit is pretty extensive even in 2022, with automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition all offered. You need ST trim and above for rear cross-traffic alert and blind-spot monitoring, however. 

Honda quotes a rather poor 750kg unbraked towing capacity for the CR-V Hybrid. We'd love to tell you if the 1.5-litre petrol is any better, but we can't find any figures for it. 

Standard equipment from launch:

The entry-level Honda CR-V S models come with Honda SENSING - Honda’s safety features which includes collision mitigation braking system, forward collision warning, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, road departure mitigation, adaptive cruise control and traffic sign recognition. You also get LED headlights.

The Honda CR-V SE adds parking sensors and a rearview camera, dual-zone climate control, door mirrors that tilt in reverse and privacy glass. 

Stepping up to the Honda CR-V SR brings keyless entry and start, a leather interior, heated windscreen wipers and active cornering lights, plus blind spot warning and cross traffic monitoring, 

The top-spec Honda CR-V EX further includes a heated steering wheel, a head up display, hands free access power tailgate, heated rear seats and panoramic glass sunroof, blind spot warning and cross traffic monitoring. There's also a wireless phone charger and an electric driver's seat with memory.