Item: Used Honda CR-V 2018-present review
Rating: 4
Author: What Car? Team

Stick a pin in any mainstream manufacturer’s product range and you’ll probably hit a seven-seat SUV, so there are many rivals for the Honda CR-V. The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/peugeot/5008/estate/used-review/n962">Peugeot 5008</a> has a far better third row and a much nicer interior design,&nbsp;while the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/tiguan/estate/used-review/n938">Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace</a> has a greater range of petrol and diesel engines&nbsp;and tighter handling.

However, neither of those two are available hybrid, so your choices at the moment are limited to the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/toyota/rav4/4x4/used-review/n844">Toyota RAV4</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mitsubishi/outlander-phev/4x4/used-review/n18054">Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV</a>. As a plug-in hybrid, the latter can be driven for 25 miles on electric power alone, which should dramatically reduce your fuel bills. The RAV4 doesn’t&nbsp;drive as well as the CR-V, but it can tow more and comes with a longer warranty.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the <a href="http://pages.haymarket.com/whatcar/wcar-form.html">What Car? Newsletter here</a>

If you're interested in finding a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars/honda/cr-v?nearlynew=true&amp;used=true&amp;yearFrom=2019">used CR-V</a>, or any of the other large&nbsp;SUVs mentioned here, head over to the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars">Used Car Buying</a> pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.

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<h3 dir="ltr">Fuel pump </h3>

An issue has been found with the fuel pump module on CR-Vs manufactured from the start of production up until 5 March 2019. Check this with your local Honda dealer because a new module will need to be fitted to sort the issue.

In our latest <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/2021-what-car-reliability-survey/n23397">What Car? Reliability Survey</a>, the CR-V impressively placed third out of 21 cars in the large SUV class. Honda as a brand ranked 14th out of 30 manufacturers featured.&nbsp;

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Estate

Honda is a company that doesn’t like to follow the crowd. So, while it competes in most of the traditional sectors of the car market, in each case it does something a little bit different.

The Jazz, for example, might look like just another rival to Britain’s best-selling car, the Ford Fiesta, but it’s actually much more practical than its rivals, with a flexible boot and Tardis-like interior.

The bigger Civic is also a practical choice, but it’s mainly distinguished by having eye-catching, love-it-or-hate-it styling, despite competing in a sector of the market that’s usually more conservative than a blue rosette.

And while it may not seem so radical now, Honda’s large SUV, the CR-V, was one of the first to forego any pretence of being an off-roader and instead focus on on-road driving dynamics.

HONDA

CR-V

Few large SUVs are more practical than the Honda CR-V, and the hybrid version's very tempting

Used Honda CR-V 2018-present

<h3 dir="ltr">MPG</h3>

Since there is no diesel engine, you’ll need to go for the hybrid if you want more respectable fuel costs. A front-wheel drive model is the best at 40.9mpg (WLTP), while the four-wheel drive alternative&nbsp;gets 38.7mpg.&nbsp;

The 171bhp 1.5 petrol CR-V equipped with a manual gearbox gets a combined figure of 36.2mpg (or 35.8mpg with four-wheel drive).&nbsp;The 190bhp version that comes exclusively with&nbsp;an automatic gearbox is the thirstiest CR-V, at 35.8mpg for the two-wheel drive and 32.5mpg for the four-wheel drive.

<h3 dir="ltr">Road tax (VED)&nbsp;</h3>

Every CR-V will fall under the current road tax system and therefore have to pay a flat rate fee, although no version costs more than £40,000 when new, so you’ll not have to pay the luxury car surcharge. The current VED charge for the petrol model is £165&nbsp;a year. Go for the hybrid model and you'll get a slight discount because it's classed as an alternative fuel vehicle. It will currently cost you £155 per year.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<h3 dir="ltr">Servicing costs</h3>

CR-Vs require servicing every 12 months and 12,500 miles, and Honda's servicing costs are higher than those of some other mainstream manufacturers. All&nbsp;examples are&nbsp;less than three years old at the time of writing, so for two-wheel drive models,&nbsp;it’ll cost you £235 for the first year, £310&nbsp;for the second and £290&nbsp;for the third, with an additional £90&nbsp;charge if your CVT automatic gearbox needs a fluid change during the second or third service. Four-wheel drive models cost a little more at £260, £330 and £310, respectively.

<h3 dir="ltr">Insurance groups</h3>

Insurance groups range from group 22 for an entry-level SE hybrid to 25 for a top-spec 1.5-litre EX with four-wheel drive. These are all lower than key rivals such as the Toyota RAV4.

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Used Honda CR-V 2018-present review

Few large SUVs are more practical than the Honda CR-V, and the hybrid version's very tempting

Prices for the&nbsp;Honda CR-V start at around £16,500 for a 1.5-litre, or around £23,000&nbsp;if you fancy a hybrid version. Spend between £18,500 and £24,000 on good late 2019 cars, a little more on 2020 models. Up the price to around £23,000 to £25,000&nbsp;for a hybrid version.

Nearly new 2022 examples start at around £31,000. To keep up to date with used CR-V prices, use our free valuation tool to make sure you are getting the best deal.&nbsp;

Check the value of a used Honda CR-V with <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/valuations/">What Car? Valuations</a>

Find a used Honda CR-V for sale <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars/honda/cr-v?minManufacturedYear=2018">here</a>

<h3 dir="ltr">Specification</h3>

We’d recommend stepping up to an SE model&nbsp;simply because these give you the option of using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto on the larger infotainment screen. This is&nbsp;much easier to navigate than the awkward software Honda provides. You also get front and rear parking sensors, which are almost a necessity&nbsp;on a large SUV.

<h3 dir="ltr">Engine</h3>

Unless you do a lot of towing or need to have seven seats, you’re better off buying a hybrid version of the CR-V&nbsp;to get much-improved economy figures and near-silent operation at low speeds.

Our favourite Honda CR-V: 2.0 Hybrid SE 2WD

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<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Plenty of space for all passengers</li> <li>Large boot with lots of clever storage solutions</li> <li>Good fuel economy and running costs</li> <li>All-round comfort</li> <li>High-quality interior finish</li></ul>

We define a large SUV as anything longer than 4.5 metres. These cars aren’t usually particularly cheap to buy or lease, so in return we expect a roomy cabin, a lengthy list of standard equipment and excellent cruising refinement. A few models in this class are two-wheel drive, but the vast majority have four-wheel drive for at least a modicum of off-road ability.

The Mazda CX-5 is firmly road-focused, but its 2.0-litre petrol engine is a strong, refined performer, making it looks good value for less than&nbsp;£25k. If you can stretch the budget a fair bit, the Audi Q5 provides a combination of comfort, driving prowess, quality and space that's hard to beat. Unlike some rivals, it can't be had with seven seats, though.

A more affordable, yet well-equipped alternative is the Peugeot 5008. It’s more than capable of coping with family life&nbsp;– and all versions have seven seats as standard.&nbsp;

Large SUV

The CR-V is still a fairly new model, so you should expect any used examples from a franchised Honda dealer to look almost factory-fresh. Even so, check for dents and scratches to the bodywork, kerb damage to the alloy wheels&nbsp;and any rips or stains on the seat upholstery and carpets.

<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-used-large-suvs-for-less-than-pound20000/n23216">SUVs</a> have often been sold to people as the perfect accessory to an active lifestyle. The original <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/honda/cr-v/estate/used-review/n370">Honda CR-V</a> certainly was, because you could&nbsp;get a plug-in shower with it to wash off your shoes after you'd been to the beach. Now, though, SUVs are mostly aimed at families, which is perhaps why the latest&nbsp;CR-V is available with seven seats, making it a sensible used car purchase for those who have large numbers of people to transport.

Unlike most other large SUVs, this CR-V can't be had with a diesel engine. In the UK, we're only offered a turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol engine with 171bhp or 190bhp if&nbsp;paired with a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/which-type-of-automatic-gearbox-should-i-buy/n17022">CVT automatic gearbox</a>&nbsp;or a hybrid system&nbsp;comprising a 2.0-litre petrol engine and an electric motor for a combined power output of 181bhp.

The entry-level S model gets&nbsp;LED headlights, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, automatic emergency braking, traffic sign recognition and electric lumbar support for the driver’s seat. SE gets a bigger infotainment screen,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/owning/what-is-apple-carplay/n1193">Apple CarPlay</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/owning/what-is-android-auto/n1194">Android Auto</a> smartphone connectivity&nbsp;and front and rear parking sensors. SR cars have blindspot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert and leather seats that are heated in the front and get adjustable lumbar support. Top-of-the-range EX has heated leather seats all round, a panoramic sunroof and a powered&nbsp;tailgate.

If you want sporty handling, you’ll be better suited looking at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mazda/cx-5/estate/used-review/n947">Mazda CX-5</a> instead, because the CR-V is a big, softly sprung thing that rolls a bit in corners&nbsp;and generally isn’t up for being hustled. It copes okay, but it can start to lose grip&nbsp;and carry&nbsp;straight on - before the safety aids cut in to sort things out -&nbsp;more so than some of its rivals if you misjudge your corner entry speed. Furthermore, the steering is a bit slow and&nbsp;requires&nbsp;more lock than you might expect when you're directing the car around an obstacle.&nbsp;

A word of warning for anyone who wants to tow with their CR-V:&nbsp;you’ll need to pick the&nbsp;1.5-litre petrol with the&nbsp;manual gearbox. This is because it can handle a braked trailer of 2000kg,&nbsp;whereas the hybrid can pull a maximum of only 750kg. To put that into context, the&nbsp;four-wheel-drive&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/toyota/rav4/4x4/used-review/n844">Toyota RAV4</a>&nbsp;hybrid can tow 1695kg.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The CR-V is pretty spacious inside, with a considerable gulf between the front seats and lots of adjustment to get comfortable - although the backrest is controlled by an imprecise lever mechanism on every version other than the top-spec EX, which gets electric adjustment. You’ll need to be very tall indeed to run out of head&nbsp;or leg room in the second row, but third-row accommodation isn’t great in the petrol model and nonexistent&nbsp;if you go for the hybrid.&nbsp;

You don't get any of the usual clever Honda engineering tricks from the folding rear seats; they just split 60:40 rather than the more useful 40:20:40 of rivals like the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/peugeot/5008/estate/used-review/n962">Peugeot 5008</a>. Regular five-seat models have a pretty commodious boot, but cargo capacity is significantly reduced in seven-seat CR-Vs, and due to the batteries that live under the boot floor, you can't get seven seats at all in the hybrid.&nbsp;

If you're interested in finding a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars/honda/cr-v?nearlynew=true&amp;used=true&amp;yearFrom=2019">used CR-V</a>, or any of the other large&nbsp;SUVs mentioned here, head over to the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars">Used Car Buying</a> pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.

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Used Honda CR-V 2018-present review review

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Looking for alternatives to the used Honda CR-V 2018 - present? The expert What Car? review team guide you through some great options.

Stick a pin in any mainstream manufacturer’s product range and you’ll probably hit a seven-seat SUV, so there are many rivals for the Honda CR-V. The Peugeot 5008 has a far better third row and a much nicer interior design, while the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace has a greater range of petrol and diesel engines and tighter handling.,However, neither of those two are available hybrid, so your choices at the moment are limited to the Toyota RAV4 and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. As a plug-in hybrid, the latter can be driven for 25 miles on electric power alone, which should dramatically reduce your fuel bills. The RAV4 doesn’t drive as well as the CR-V, but it can tow more and comes with a longer warranty.,For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? Newsletter hereIf you're interested in finding a used CR-V, or any of the other large SUVs mentioned here, head over to the Used Car Buying pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.,Page 5 of 5

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Used Honda CR-V 2018-present review review

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