Overview & Reviews

When the original Honda CR-V debuted in the late 1990s, its mission was simple: to offer a distinct alternative to more mainstream mid- and full-size large SUVs. With its car-based design, economical four-cylinder engine and sedanlike ride and handling, the CR-V was an instant hit. Priced competitively and offering plenty of passenger room and cargo capacity for most people's needs, the Honda CR-V has long enjoyed strong sales numbers and much loyalty from consumers.

Today, the compact- or small-SUV segment has grown to include more than a dozen different models, with varying philosophies of what constitutes the perfect blend of size, power and capability. While some models offer more powerful upgrade engines and others can deliver true off-road capability, the Honda CR-V remains focused on its more practical aspirations. True to form, it is one of the best choices available in the all-important areas of being both easy to drive and family-friendly.

Current Honda CR-V
The Honda CR-V is offered in familiar LX, EX and EX-L trim levels. Even the LX comes pretty well equipped, while the EX and EX-L get additional convenience and luxury features. The EX-L is also eligible for either a navigation system or a rear-seat entertainment system. You can't get the navigation and the DVD systems together, however.

Powering all CR-Vs is a 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine that's good for 185 horsepower and 163 pound-feet of torque, mated to a five-speed transmission. On all models, front-wheel drive is standard and all-wheel drive is optional.

The newest Honda CR-V's list of merits is a long one. Its interior is intelligently thought out and boasts strong fit and finish. Its ride is more comfortable and quieter than before, and handling and steering remain high points. Its major shortcoming concerns passing power in certain circumstances. We've found the CR-V's acceleration peppy enough around town, but somewhat sluggish during merging and passing maneuvers on gradients. However, as long as your beaten path doesn't include many steep roads or overly heavy loads, the Honda CR-V should provide all the room, refinement and performance you will ever need.

Used Honda CR-Vs
The current, fourth-generation CR-V was redesigned for 2012. Changes were of the more evolutionary sort, as its size, basic interior packaging and engine were similar to the previous model. Key alterations included a quieter and more comfortable ride, additional features and a backseat that flipped down from levers in the trunk.

The third generation of the Honda CR-V was produced from 2007-'11. Compared to the previous-generation CR-V, this one had few key improvements, including a new liftgate (instead of the previous side-mounted door with an outside-mounted spare tire), improved handling and steering, and the option for a navigation system for the first time.

Trim levels included the traditional LX and EX, plus the EX-L -- the L signifying leather upholstery (along with heated front seats). CR-Vs from 2007-'09 made 166 hp versus 180 hp for the following two years. A five-speed automatic transmission was standard across the board, and all trims could be had with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. Those looking for maximum luxury in a CR-V should know that the EX-L gained a power driver seat, automatic climate control and a premium stereo for 2008. An SE trim level, which slotted between the traditional LX and EX trims, was made for just the final year of this generation.

In reviews, we've found this CR-V to be a very well-rounded model. High points included a comfortable and sensible interior, top crash test scores and agile handling. Elevated amounts of road noise might be a problem for some shoppers, as would be the engine's modest power, but overall this CR-V should be a great choice for a used small crossover SUV.

Produced from 2002-'06, the second-generation CR-V boasted a number of improvements compared to the original CR-V, including more power, more interior room and improved passenger protection. It was available in base LX or uplevel EX trim. The EX had more features, as well as standard antilock brakes and side airbags for the entire run (the LX didn't get them as standard until 2005), so picking an EX might be a wise idea. Notably, stability control and side and side curtain airbags became standard across the lineup in '05. The Special Edition model, available only in 2005 and '06, included exterior styling tweaks, a hard spare tire cover and heated leather seats and mirrors.

Power came from a 2.4-liter four cylinder rated at 160 hp, though this number dropped to 156 hp in 2006 due to a revised rating procedure. The LX had standard front-wheel drive and optional all-wheel drive, while the EX was AWD-only until 2006, when a FWD version was also made available. Both LX and EX initially came standard with a five-speed manual transmission, but from 2005 onward the manual was limited to the EX. The other transmission, an automatic, had four speeds until 2005, when it was upgraded to five.

In reviews, our editors lauded the second-generation CR-V's comfortable ride and refined powertrains, though the significant road noise at speed was deemed regrettable. Some of us found the four-cylinder a bit meek, but its smooth power delivery and reasonable efficiency were mentioned as admirable traits. All in all, the second-generation CR-V was roundly praised when new and remains a solid choice on the used-car market.

The original first-generation Honda CR-V compact SUV was produced from 1997-2001. It was priced competitively and offered more passenger room and cargo capacity than its peers. A manual transmission was added in 1998, and a welcome 20-hp boost the following year gave it a new output of 146 hp. In 2000, a leather-trimmed SE (Special Edition) model was added to lead the model lineup.

User Reviews:

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  Thumbs down on CRV - 2014 Honda CR-V
  By Chris - January 14 - 5:45 am

  Tinny and unsafe unpredictable driving in New England weather. Slid right through a red light today - braking and AWD useless - no problem though for the little Prius in front of me! This vehicle has been disappointing since day one and is very overrated. MPG is 22.5 at best. Does not hold its value- I owe more than it is worth . Owned Jeeps for 20 years and loved them. Did not consider another one due to Chrysler Corps and local dealership very poor customer backing and service. They do not stand by their customers or honor warrantys so that is why I did not consider doing business with Jeep/Chrysler . Definitely not impressed with Honda though. Probably go back to Jeep - at least I will feel safer while driving in New England winter weather and will not depend on customer backing by Chrysler or dealership.

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  Not that great - 2005 Honda CR-V
  By Lydia - January 13 - 9:09 pm

  I cant say this car breaks down a lot but it was cheaply made. I was borrowing my moms car for a while and I can say right off that my 1998 Chevy Blazer does way better than it. To start with its not that great in the snow. The four wheel drive does fine, but as far as the ABS goes, its terrible. ABS is supposed to keep a car from sliding in the snow, but this one, pfft, it slides anyway and instead this VSA thing they installed comes alive when its not supposed to which is supposed to help the car when its turning. The other thing about it is safety issues. The breaks arent great either, they dont stop as fast as other cars do. I mean if you live somewhere where there isnt a lot of snow, Im sure its not a bad car. It gets you from A to B doesnt have any horrible engine or tranny issues. But I wouldnt recommend it for snow country.

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  Vibration - 2015 Honda CR-V
  By Reed - December 6 - 7:00 pm

  I purchased a new 2015 Honda CRV in August 2015. I had read a review that stated it was the SUV of the year and some other publications seem to echo good quality... However it turns out there is a known issue with the 2015 version of the CRV that causes the car to vibrate. Its a issue with the new CVT and engine combination they used in the 2015 version of the CRV. I only test drove the car for a short time and did not notice the issue but it turns out that if you have the lights on and the AC on full you will not notice as it forces the car to be in a higher RPM range (all the time). I test drove this in the summer and so the AC was on. The day I went in to sign the final paperwork for the car I asked about the vibration issues as I had read some real reviews from real customers complaining about it and was told its nothing to worry about. Well turns out that when it got colder I started to have more and more of the vibrations. I took the car in multiple times to have them try to fix it. None of the fixes completely resolves the issue it just makes them less noticeable. I even had the newest fix done in December 2015 where they had to replace parts of the car... to try and fix all 3 modes of the issue... Still not fixed this car was too expensive to just deal with. A 30k car should be basically perfect, thats premium car price range. If I had been told the about the issue by the dealer I would not have purchased this car. I would have happily purchased the HRV or maybe even an accord. Now I have lost hours and hours of my life researching this issue and taking it in to get it fixed and its still not. I also asked the dealer if they would trade the CRV and they said they would not since they would then have to deal with it. They also just told me to talk to Honda directly. (I am in contact with Honda directly now we will see where that goes...) So to be fair this is in part Hondas issue but it was also the dealer that did not disclose the information to me. Otherwise the dealer did a decent job... price was average and they were nice enough but that does not matter given my car is not what I expected. I cant stand the vibration personally (some people claim to not notice). I am now going to have to take a loss of thousands of dollars trading it in on something else that does not vibrate. Take a look at what people on crvownersclub.com search form for "CRV 2015 vibration" I am not the only one...

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  Vibration when you stop - 2015 Honda CR-V
  By Donny genao - November 13 - 10:20 pm

  I bought a crv EX-L 2015 las sep 30 2105 and after 2 weeks l start feeling a vibration when im at the light waiting. I went to the dealership and they say its normal for a cvt transmition .

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  Honda sells a name, not quality - 2014 Honda CR-V
  By hondahater - November 11 - 6:07 pm

  Arrived to dealer from factory with a defective windshield- replaced. Battery leaked acid after 7 months - replaced, stealership tried to charge for battery service - battery leaked acid and it had to be wiped - failed, warranty service. Uncomfortable seats, no arm rest on passenger side, impossible to vacuum debris magnet upholstery, carpet, worst materials ever, plastic is prone to scratches, no hand brake, only parking brake pedal too low, seat height adjustment lever in a bad spot, touch with the thigh every time get in and out, seat lowers and needs to be raised. The more i get in and out the more often it happens. Paint prone to scratches. Radiator is open, no grille, not possible or difficult to custom install, MPG combined stop-and-go bumper to bumper or highway normal conditions low 20s. No maintenance schedule, have to go by the stupid maintenance minder. Nothing like my previous 2004 honda. This one is my last.

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  The vibrations are real - 2015 Honda CR-V
  By John Tully - November 2 - 6:39 am

  I bought a 2015 Honda CRV Touring in December of 2014. I noticed the vibrations shortly after buying the car. I have 12K miles on the car now. The vibrations have gradually become worse, and Im getting extremely annoyed by them. Its not only at idle when the vibrations occur. Its also at any speed while accelerating gradually. The whole car shudders, the vibrations resonate through the entire car, and my entire body. They seem to get very bad at highway speeds (70+ mph). Its to the point where I dread driving this car, and I dread pressing the gas pedal at all. Its by far the worst driving experience Ive ever had, especially for a new car (that I paid well over 30K for). I have finally had enough, so Im going to start voicing my frustration. If I could get a refund on this car, I would in a heartbeat. Im hoping Honda finds a solution, but Im certainly not holding my breath on that. I have debated posting this, because I know all these vibration complaints will kill the resale of 2015 CRVs. So I may be stuck with this lemon for a while, unless I want to take a huge monetary loss on a resale. If Honda cant come up with a fix, or compensate the CRV owners in some way, this will be my last Honda ever. I should note, if not for the vibrations, I would be mostly happy with the car. Since Im here, Ill make a few other comments on the car. I dont like the low beam headlights. They have a very sharp cut-off line on top. It makes if very difficult to see on rural roads, especially those that are curvy and hilly. On some hills/curves, you can only see 20 yards ahead. I dont think this is an issue specific to CRVs though. Other Hondas, and other makes of cars, also have this sharp cut-off line. The Collision Mitigation System (CMS). This is the system that (supposedly) detects a potentially collision, and will warn the driver via an audible warning, light breaking, or heavy breaking. I was driving to work one day, going around a curve to the right on a two lane highway, with traffic coming the other way. Out of nowhere, my CRV beeped, and applied light breaking. It scared the crap out of me. The CMS radar erroneously detected a potential collision, because of the angle of the curve Im sure. If I was on icy roads, this could have sent my car out of control. I was tempted to disable the CMS system (you do have that option via a push-button on the dashboard). I have not disabled it yet, but if this happens again, I will seriously consider it.

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  When a five year old asks what wrong - 2015 Honda CR-V
  By Nancy D - October 19 - 1:09 am

  2015 CRV had it sense May 2015 Took to get checked twice nothing wrong but u do need to change the brake fuild what! Is a new car but to get back to the shaking my five year saids my teeth is shaking Iam sick of it this is the 2nd CRV I have had the 2013 had a starter noise it was loud! I will do something different when getting the next car but u know the Honda repair saids. Oh theres no anything wrong ! Wow u drive it then .

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  CR-V Vibration Issue Continues - 2015 Honda CR-V
  By Nic - October 15 - 8:04 am

  Purchased our CR-V two weeks ago and immediately noticed significant vibrations both at idle as well as under way (typically under 2200 RPM). Trips to two different dealers with recommended software updates, rebalancing of wheels and alignment checks have not resolved the issue. A Web search shows that the issue seems to be fairly common with this years model with no solution in sight. Honda has actually issued the following Youtube video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEJ45wX9ycI) acknowledging the problem. We are now stuck with a defective product with no accommodation from the dealer. Recommend not purchasing this vehicle given a number of better options (i.e. Mazda, Hiyundai, Ford, etc.)

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  Vibration Issue - 2015 Honda CR-V
  By nscalfarotto@hotmail.com - October 6 - 7:53 am

  Just purchased a 2015 CR-V expecting, based on Hondas reputation, a positive experience. Unfortunately, I began noticing a vibration at idle. This vibration becomes much more pronounced between 60 and 70 miles / hour. Assuming that the cause might be a wheel out of balance or an alignment issue, I brought the car to the dealer for service. Alignment and balancing were found to be within specs, however the mechanic confirmed the issue. A service bulletin was discovered regarding the issue indicating that a software update was needed. That was performed with no change to the condition. Honda Technical Service was called and the issue was acknowledged and an investigation has been under way. I am now left with a defective product with no resolution in sight.

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  If you plan to test drive one, do these things - 2015 Honda CR-V
  By Mark - October 5 - 10:40 pm

  The 2015 CRV is plagued with vibration problems. Honda admits this but has no solution. If you feel you still want to test drive one make sure you do the following: Turn off the audio, turn off the fan, turn off any a/c, turn off any headlights or wipers. Make sure you drive the car until it is warmed up 10-15 minutes. Windows up. After warm up, stop car in D, foot on brake, car will vibrate. Might do it in reverse as well. If you take along a cup of water and place it on the center armrest, it will be obvious. Next accelerate up to ~ 2200 rpm. Car will vibrate between 1800-2200 rpm. More like a buzz as if something was loose in the back, something metallic. If you maintain the rpm range at around 2000rpm, the vibration will remain constant. The first vibration described is called mode 1 vibration by Honda. The second type described is called mode 3 vibration by Honda. They also reference in their video online a mode 2 vibration which occurs at over idle engine speeds but below the 1800-2000 rpm threshold of the mode 3. Those buyers here who have negatively reviewed the 2015 CRV for excessive vibration are not exaggerating. It does exist. It is admitted by Honda. They have produced two online videos addressing this defect but have not as yet delivered an effective solution. This problem has existed with the 2015 CRV since its introduction. Thats over one model year ago, yet no solution. Like many others, I trusted Honda as I have owned eight in total (3 CRVs). As a result, I did not do these things when I test drove the CRV I bought. I was unaware of the defect. My test drive was with the a/c on, radio on, headlights on, fan on. This will mask the idle mode 1 vibration, these items raise the engine rpm, which mitigates the vibration at idle. The audio and fan noise will, at what I consider to be medium volumes, mask the mode 3 vibration noise as you accelerate through the 1800-2200rpm range. This vehicle isnt ready for prime time at any price let alone what the varying models sticker for. If you buy one you will be stuck with it and likely a significantly reduced resale value for years to come. No new car at any price should sound and vibrate like these things do. Buy something else or just keep what youve got...fair warning.