The CR-V is Honda's most important SUV product, and in China, it was once a benchmark for reliability and practicality in private cars, but it is hard to find a car in the private car market. In the U.S., together with the Toyota RAV4, it ushered in the era of "urban SUVs".
 
The Honda CR-V is known to be a "best-selling SUV", but its popularity is still underestimated - it is not only the world's best-selling SUV, but also the world's best-selling SUV for many years, and until recently it was slightly surpassed by the Nissan X-Trail with its sales advantage in Europe. In the U.S. market, the fourth-generation CR-V's dominance has lasted since its launch in 2012, and after the launch of the fifth-generation CR-V, it is almost impossible to see it return to the top of the annual sales list in the United States.
 
In fact, the fifth-generation CR-V has just come out with a lot of halos, the North American evaluation agency Autoguide gave the title of "SUV of the Year" to the fifth-generation CR-V, and the North American automotive magazine "Car And Driver" believes that the new generation CR-V is the best model in its class, and there is no one.
 
The fifth-generation CR-V is divided into a 1.5T turbo engine version and a hybrid version of the 2.0L engine, the 1.5T model uses the L15BL engine, the engine compression ratio is 10.3, and the maximum horsepower reaches 193 hp at 5600 rpm; it is very different from the previous Honda VTEC, the fifth-generation CR-V has reached a maximum torque of 243 Nm in the range of 2000-5000 rpm, and the vehicle weight is about 1.5 tons (two-wheel drive) to 1.6 tons (four-wheel drive), which is much lighter than the 1.7 tons of the 1.5T crown, so the power of this engine is more abundant on the CR-V 。 The difference between the CR-V's L15BL and the 10th-generation Civic's L15B7 is also obvious. First of all, the shape of the top of the piston is different, which makes the CR-V 10.3 compressed a little smaller than the Civic's 10.6, which can squeeze more power out of the 92 petrol, and the other is the turbine blades, which have 11 turbine blades compared to 9 in the CR-V, which increases the air flow and also increases the power output.
 
The 1.5T CR-V's official 000 acceleration time is 9.6 seconds, and it can run around 8.3 seconds in measurements, and in some cases it can even run in 8 seconds. The CVT transmission equipped with the CR-V does not support ejection start, and the start will not output all the power, and the entire power output will be biased towards the middle and rear sections, so the performance of this powertrain will be better than the book data. The 1.5T CR-V's 100 km/h braking distance is reported by consumers in the United States at 41.75 m (137 ft) on dry land and 44.5 m (146 ft) on wetland, compared to 39 m to 40 m in China. This result is good in the same class, but the CR-V's electronic brake foot feel is slightly flawed, in a small part of the front of the brake, you will feel that the strength is not enough, you need to step a little deeper, but the braking force is too large, not linear, for mechanical brakes or other models with earlier braking force feedback, it takes a certain amount of time to adapt.
 
The gearbox of the 1.5T CR-V is an analog 7-speed continuously variable gearbox, which is as good as ever in terms of smoothness, with the L15BD engine, it can be said to be the benchmark of the same level in terms of power matching, and the D gear is very sufficient to cope with the power demand of daily driving, when power is needed, you can decisively use the S gear and L gear, the speed of the S gear will be slightly higher, and the L gear can continue to output at the highest power point, but the tuning of the CR-V is always biased towards economy, although the power is abundant but there will be no intense feeling. The shortcomings of CR-V in driving, in addition to the slightly sluggish power output of the L15B series engine, are that when following the car slowly, there will be a very slight setback, coupled with the slightly soft braking in the front section, it will be a little uncomfortable in traffic jams, and you can focus on this aspect during the test drive.
 
The suspension of the CR-V adopts the configuration of the front MacPherson and the rear multi-link, and the setting of the entire suspension system is very tight, and the body shaking is also controlled within a reasonable range when making continuous sharp turns, and the body attitude is maintained very well, and the limit is relatively high. The suspension system of the fifth-generation CR-V has been improved compared with the previous generation model in terms of premium, and the bushing is used between the frame and the subframe to reduce the fine vibration, which is worth giving praise, but the walking system is more general, and it is necessary to ask what kind of tires are equipped with when testing the car, like the two-wheel drive Yokohama, the four-wheel drive low-profile Dunlop, the tire noise suppression is more general, plus the noise of the 1.5T engine at start, the noise of high revs, the driving experience at this time is very Honda, Only the four-wheel drive high-end is Michelin 3ST, and the tire noise will be relatively smaller, but the engine sound will also be quiet when it falls to low turns. Honda's delivery is characterized by high tire pressure, which also has a great impact on the feeling of driving, many car owners will feel more bumpy after getting the car, on the one hand, the adjustment of the rear overhang is a bit hard, and the other point is that the tire pressure is too high, which needs to be lowered appropriately.
 
Compared with the previous generation CR-V, the fifth generation has increased its measurements, with a length of 25mm, a wheelbase of 40mm, a width of 55mm, and an increase of 80mm in the interior space. The backrests of the front seats are very long, the support for the shoulders is very good, the lumbar support can be adjusted, the space in the back seat is abundant, three adults sitting side by side will not be crowded, the platform is also close to full flat, and the middle passengers in the rear row will not be awkward. The backrest has two levels of adjustment, but the seat cushion is flat and not too long, and the calves need to be extended in the front row when the thighs fit perfectly into the cushion. In terms of trunk, the CR-V follows the design of Honda's low bed, the floor is about the same height as the knee, which is convenient for carrying heavy loads, the electric tailgate is only available in high-end models, and the rear seats support a four-six ratio of reclining, after fully folding the rear seat, a fully flat space can be formed, and two adults lie flat without the slightest pressure.
 
The interior of the fifth-generation CR-V has been significantly improved over the previous generation and has been awarded the Ward Top 10 Interiors. The two-wheel drive fashion version has been equipped with a matte wood grain trim, which is very harmonious with the entire black interior, equipped with a one-button start for the first time, and the tachometer of the LCD dashboard has also been changed to an arc, which is relatively novel but does not necessarily meet everyone's taste, the Apple Carplay and Android Auto of the central control need to be unlocked in a special way, in addition, the top version will have Honda Sensing, and the active safety configuration can be listed in a table.
 
"Car And Driver" compared the fuel consumption of the CR-V with several other SUVs, and the CRV ranked first with a clear advantage. In this test, the CR-V's urban fuel consumption is 8.7 liters/100 kilometers, high-speed fuel consumption is 7.1 liters/100 kilometers, and the combined fuel consumption is 8.1 liters/100 kilometers, surpassing the 9.0 liters of the Mazda CX-5, and leaving behind several other rivals such as the Kia Sportage (new KX5), Jeep Liberty Light, Ford Winged Tiger, etc. The U.S. Consumer Reports believes that the low fuel standard requirements (No. 92) are also its economic advantages.
 
The 2.0L hybrid version uses the same hardware as the Accord hybrid, equipped with the LFA11 engine, in-line four-cylinder, naturally aspirated multi-point EFI, Atkinson cycle, with Honda's latest second-generation in-cylinder direct injection technology, EDT technology and DOHC and i-VTEC technology, the maximum power is 145 horsepower, with the assistance of dual motors, the book power of this i-MMD hybrid system can reach 215 horsepower, and the fuel consumption tested by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is 4.8L per 100 kilometers. The biggest difference between the interior and the 1.5T version is that paddle shifters have been added, and the gear knob has been changed to a push-button shifter. In terms of braking system, the hybrid version is more linear than the turbo version, easy to control, and the noise control of the hybrid version is also better than that of the turbo version, the noise of the turbo version at low speed is replaced by the motor, and the engine will only intervene when the throttle is slightly deeper, and the 2.0L self-priming engine is more responsive than the turbine, and there will be positive feedback on slight movements. If you choose between the hybrid version and the 1.5T high-end or even top-of-the-line version, the advantages of the hybrid version are very obvious.
 
The CR-V is the benchmark for quality in the automotive industry. According to the long-term quality statistics of more than half a million CR-Vs in the U.S. market by Consumer Reports, the failure rate of any generation of CR-V is incredibly low except for the quality problems of air conditioning in early suppliers. The performance of the 10-year-old CR-V is still no different from that of the new car, with no high failure or functional decline, which is indeed a well-deserved quality myth.
 
The CR-V is also synonymous with the safest car, having been rated the highest safety level of its class by the National Highway Safety Society (IIHS) eight times in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. The fifth-generation CR-V has "excellent" test scores in all basic items (frontal impact, side impact, roof impact, headrest and seat), and has also reached the highest level of active safety, but it did not participate in the TSP in 2018 and 2019 because the headlights are only acceptable.
Honda CR-V review report