6 July 2012
New car report; Return of a pioneer
It’s the largest growth segment on the new vehicle sales ladder at present and they were one of the pioneers of the sector back in the mid ‘90’s, but with little or no product to sell and pricing that’s been out of kilter with the competition, Honda has fallen off the light SUV radar in recent times. However, change is in the air and Honda has much to shout about in bringing the new CRV to market.
For the first time in quite a while, pricing is at least competitive with the others, so it’s likely that the CRV will be back on the shopping list. And hot on the heels of the announcement that the Civic Hatch is about to return to our market, perhaps the company that was once seen as the premium Japanese brand but has been out in the cold in recent times, is about to emerge from the dark, with sunnier times ahead.
Honda New Zealand Managing Director Graham Seymour admits “We’ve been on the ground for far too long.” He says “We’ve been short of product, had no light SUV for the best part of 12 months and been out of the second biggest sector, the small hatch segment, for years. The 2012 CRV will set the benchmark for quality, power, space and value for money” and predicts the future looks bright.
That’s not to say that any sales records are in his sights. At its heady peak, Honda sold 1,200 CRV’s annually in New Zealand, but those were the days when there were only a couple of players in the segment, so aspirations are a realistic 700 units for the first full year.
Two models are on offer. There’s a 2WD 2.0 litre 114kW/190Nm CRV S and an on-demand 4WD 2.4 litre 140kW/222Nm CRV Sport. Both engines are mated to a conventional 5 speed automatic transmission, with the Sport offering manual paddle shifters too.
Neither of these are real powerhouses by today’s standards and when much of the competition is running a 6 speed auto or double clutch affair, a 5 speed auto is a bit last century in comparison, and perhaps this accounts for the relatively ordinary fuel consumption, which is said to be 7.7L/100km for the S and 8.7L/100km for the Sport.
Honda doing what it does best
But when it comes to space and practicality, there’s nothing in class to touch the CRV. There’s a truck load of luggage room behind the rear seats when they’re in the upright position and while the seats don’t quite give a flat floor when folded down, it’s close enough to level and the loading area is huge.
Honda is marketing the 60/40 folding rear seats as “magic seats” which is something we’ve praised before in the Jazz, a little car that allows the seat to be folded entirely out of the way, giving a floor to ceiling loading area. However, although the seats do fold easily and neatly (sort of) out of the way, they’re not quite magic in the way they are in the Jazz.
All models get three ISOFIX seat attachments, along with the usual array of safety features, and while there’s no ANCAP or Euro NCAP safety rating yet, the CRV has been awarded a 5 star NHTSA (US) Safety rating. Also across the range is a reversing camera, 17 inch alloys as well as Bluetooth and all the interfaces and connectivities we’ve come to expect.
Added to the reasonable spec level of the S, the Sport adds leather seats, rain sensing wipers, body coloured bumpers and door handles, front fog lights, a glass sunroof, remote open and close window and sunroof operation, auto dimming mirror and electric adjustment for the driver’s seat.
NVH levels are said to be improved, although during our launch test drive route, some surfaces did seem to produce a bit more noise than we had expected – perhaps a result of the 17 inch wheels. There’s also a bit more hard black plastic in the cabin than we’d have liked too.
Priced at $39,900 for the 2.0 litre S and $48,900 if you upgrade to the 2.4 litre Sport, the CRV is within cooee of its main rivals, the Mazda CX-5, Hyundai ix35, Kia Sportage, Holden Captiva, Volkswagen Tiguan... the list goes on.
No diesel option and the 5 speed auto might hold it back from being truly class leading, but it certainly holds its own in enough areas to be a contender.