Honda CR-V review

Take a peek at Honda’s website, and atop the list of things it makes is a statement: ‘Dream machines to make you smile.’ Absolutely, if you’re thinking of a new superbike, a thumping great outboard motor for your slinky new speedboat or the fabulous Civic Type R hot hatch. But the rest of the stuff on that list: the lawn mowers, the generators or the CR-V… Really?

The CR-V has never been the kind of car that would have you dribbling into your pillow at night. But, to be fair, neither would many of its rivals, which include the Skoda Kodiaq, Volkswagen Tiguan (and seven-seat Tiguan Allspace) and Peugeot 5008.

What’s important here is not the dream but the reality: is the CR-V a great – or even the greatest – large SUV you can buy from a driving and owning perspective? Read on and we’ll let you know.

Just be aware, though, that this review is for the 2019 CR-V, which is available with both a traditional petrol engine and now a hybrid system. As a result, we’ll be updating this review regularly over the next few months when we get to group test it and find out how it compares against its rivals.

If you can’t wait and need an SUV now, head over to our New Car Buying page, where you’ll find top deals on pretty much every new car available.