2007 Honda CR-V Review

Table of Contents Introduction What We Drove Performance Handling Visibility Fun to Drive Front Comfort Rear Comfort Interior Noise Loading Cargo Build Quality Materials Quality Interior Design Exterior Styling Storage Controls Competition 2nd Opinion – Perry 2nd Opinion – Wardlaw

Introduction

2007 Honda CR-V – Review: Make the right decision, and your kids will likely talk about the CR-V in later years. Maybe they will give it a name, even, and we’re betting that there will be memories tied to various stains that the family will continue to talk about when the kids are grown and the CR-V has been replaced by a sleek luxury sedan. In the here and now, however, if you’re a young family in need of an affordable, smart and dependable vehicle, you’ve come to the right review. The 2007 Honda CR-V, restyled and recrafted, is vastly improved over the outgoing model – and most of the competition.

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What We Drove

As one of the most popular cars for commuters and young families, the thoroughly revised 2007 Honda CR-V is one of those vehicles we simply must review. You will buy this car and count on it to deliver years of good times and convenient motoring. You will put your kids inside, carry groceries, go on vacation, to work and, in essence, live your life. Few things are more important than that, so explaining what’s good or bad about the CR-V – so you can make the right decision – is just about the most important thing we have to do. Our EX-L tester came with Honda’s Real Time 4WD, leather trim, navigation and backup camera. This model sells at an MSRP of $26,595, including $595 destination.

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Performance

Honda fans won’t be surprised to find that this powertrain does best at high revs. The five-speed automatic transmission made gear changes smoothly, though we noticed some slight hesitation from time to time. The transmission is excellent at squeezing the power from the CR-V’s four-banger, the Honda’s Grade Logic works well for piloting the CR-V up hills. The CR-V’s ride is stiff and a bit harsh, and while many people in this market want a softer ride, if you’re a CR-V owner looking to upgrade, you know what to expect. If not, the CR-V’s stiffness is balanced by feeling more connected to the road and with slightly more performance-oriented handling than is common in a compact crossover.

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Handling

The Honda CR-V is pretty nimble for an SUV, but then it’s really not an SUV…never mind. Overall, it’s nicely sure-footed at normal speeds. Steering input is accurately measured and applied – you point the thing where you want it to go, and it goes there. While handling is good for a car in this class, it’s no sport wagon. Drive it hard and you’ll get the kind of protesting you expect from tires and suspension.

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Visibility

There’s excellent side and rear visibility with or without the camera in back. We think the camera is a little ridiculous on an SUV this size, like putting a leash on your pet turtle. The rearview mirrors are big enough, and the greenhouse tall enough not to need the added expense.

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Fun to Drive

A fun to drive, small SUV…it’s possible, though we wouldn’t label the CR-V so much fun to drive as fulfilling, in that it does what it should do remarkably better than the price tag would indicate. Here is the commuter’s favorite SUV, with 24 miles per gallon, enough power to get you home, a more upscale look and an innovative, usable, comfortable interior. If that’s fun, then call me a clown.

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Front Comfort

At this point it’s almost a cliché: the CR-V is comfortable in a utilitarian sort of way. You won’t sink in the seats, but your back will thank you for choosing the CR-V. Firm and supportive, these are the types of seats in which you can log a hundred miles or more and not feel it. To that end, the correct arm rests make a big difference, and while the driving relationship took a little while to get used to, once we were comfortable it was pretty much second nature. For a small vehicle, the CR-V offers plenty of up front shoulder and legroom.

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Rear Comfort

There’s plenty of leg room in back but not a lot of shoulder room; put a child’s car seat back there and back row room vanishes. Center head rest gets in the way of your shoulder and must be adjusted. Cupholders centered in the middle of the pull-down armrest are hard to use, and, with the armrest down, there’s not a whole lot of hip room for rear passengers. There is plenty of head room, however, and the soft touch arm rests in the back are a, um, nice touch.

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Interior Noise

It ain’t no Lexus, or late-model Hyundai, for that matter. But the Honda CR-V is above average when it comes to handling road and wind noise. In fact, there was very little wind noise during our test, but tire whine and mild chassis clatter does seep into the interior on rougher than average roads. Very little – if any – vibration goes on inside the cabin; any unwanted noise you’ll hear is likely to come from those tires, as the car is tightly built and slips through the air.

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Loading Cargo

The rear seat is 60/40 split, and it’s very easy to fold down. The seats also tilt forward at the front to maximize cargo room, and they slide fore and aft for expanded legroom. It’s really easy to move the seats around, in fact, and the hatch’s liftover height is very low, a big plus for the backs of moms and dads everywhere, but not such a great thing for the neighborhood chiropractor. Another great touch is how the cargo cover can be placed flat on the floor – the mold fits the floor console – though it’s a little cumbersome to put in place. Folding and tilting the seats is as easy as pulling the top and bottom tabs.

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