Honda CR-V review

If the CR-V is anything like the outgoing car, expect strong resale values, partly due to the less generous discounts that Honda dealers offer.

Officially, the 1.5-litre manual model gets NEDC average fuel economy of 44.8mpg, and we managed 39mpg on the test car with some fairly considered driving. The Kodiaq 1.5 TSI 150 is claimed to manage nearer 45mpg while emitting an identical 143g/km of CO2.

Adding a CVT gearbox and four-wheel drive drops the CR-V's overall economy down to 39.8mpg, which isn’t great in this day and age. Both the front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive versions of the hybrid achieve much more palatable fuel consumption figures of 53.3mpg and 51.4mpg respectively.

Use our True MPG calculator and see what your car really does to the gallon

The CR-V range starts with S trim, which comes with 17in wheels, LED headlights, electric lumbar support for the driver and adaptive cruise control. That seems like a lot of equipment, but we’d recommend you spend a bit more for SE trim, since this will add an upgraded 7.0in infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera.

Going for the pricier SR adds a bit more safety kit along with leather seats, while top-of-the-range EX gets you 19in alloy wheels, a fully electrically operated driver’s seat, keyless entry and a powered tailgate.

Honda has one of the better reliability records, finishing sixth out of 32 manufacturers in our most recent survey.

That’s on a manufacturer level, but the previous CR-V was less credible in its own right, with a fairly average 38 faults per 100 vehicles; the Mazda CX-5 had 28 and a Mitsubishi Outlander just nine. Hopefully, this new version will improve on that.

Honda’s default warranty is three years/90,000-miles, including breakdown assistance.

Honda is confident that it has engineered the new CR-V well enough for it to achieve a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. We’ll let you know if that’s the case as soon as it has been crash tested.

Automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition and lane-keeping assistance are all standard on the CR-V. Further up the range, SR gets you blindspot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert to warn you of approaching vehicles when you're reversing.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here