A U T O     B U Z Z

Honda Motors Philippines has unleashed the new CR-V, better in nearly every way from its predecessor.  

For starters, it has grown in all three dimensions, 25 mm in length, 30 mm in width and 5 mm in height.  Wheelbase and ground clearance (205 mm) are unchanged.  The interior has grown even more: 35 mm in width, 20 mm in height and a whopping 695 mm in length thanks mainly to a shorter engine bay.

Within those dimensions, Honda has been able to fit three rows of seats.  Seating capacity is officially—care to guess?—10 people, in a three front-four middle-three rear configuration.  Indeed, there are three front and four middle row seatbelts.   Rear row knee room is acceptable but still a bit tight, and adults will have to bend forward a bit or their heads might conk the tailgate frame.  For kids or short trips, it seems quite adequate. 

The middle and rear seat fold and flip forward to provide luggage room.   You don't have to remove the middle-row headrests to flip the seat forward.  With middle seat folded and rear seat removed, two 660-mm mountain bikes can reportedly fit in the luggage area with the bikes' wheels intact.  The rear floor has been lowered by 120 mm from the previous model to allow easier loading and unloading.

The cockpit itself is a pleasant array of controls, including a parking brake lever disguised as a console strut and rubberized aircon knobs.

The twin-cam 2-liter engine is now equipped with i-VTEC.  The i denotes an infinitely variable valve timing system, compared to the standard two or three-setting VTEC variable timing-and-lift system.  The system also engages a second cam profile at higher rpm.  In comparison, Toyota's VVT-i has the variable valve timing but not variable lift.  The Honda engine generates 150 bhp at 6500 rpm and 190 Nm at 4000 rpm.  Thankfully, Honda has seen fit to equip this engine with a catalytic converter.

There are two transmission choices, a floor-mounted 5-speed manual and a dash-mounted 4-speed auto.  The auto option frees up front-row floor space to allow a middle passenger.   Drive is to the front wheels only, with no four-wheel drive option available. The suspension uses struts at the front, double-wishbone at the rear. 

Honda is atoning for its past safety sins by equipping the CR-V with dual airbags, 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS, EBD and Brake Assist, and seatbelt pretensioners.

Oh yes, we almost forgot—how does it look on the outside?  The front now has the large-eyed look of recent Hondas, while the taillights are still mounted on the D-pillar and now extend down to the rear bumper.  The black bumpers and fender protectors detract somewhat from the car's smooth shape.  The “Xi” version with body-colored plastics—now, that's more like it! Overall, the new CR-V is a tidy design and is actually more compact than it looks in photos.

The picnic table, rear storage bucket, rear power outlet, flip-up glass hatch, myriad storage bins and pockets, and power-everything features all return.  The glass hatch is now mounted on the rear door, so the door can swing open in one step.

The best part may be the price.  The manual sells for PHP899,000 while the automatic is priced at PHP959,000.  This includes a 3-year, 100,000 km warranty.

Complete specifications of Honda CR-V in our CarChart.

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