Item: Used Honda CR-V 2012-2018
Rating: 4
Author: What Car? Team

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/tiguan/estate/used-review/n938">Volkswagen Tiguan</a> can’t quite match the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/honda">Honda</a> CR-V’s reputation for reliability, but its interior is more intuitively laid out and feels higher quality, too. The Tiguan is also more enjoyable to drive than the CR-V, although it’s similarly pricey to buy.

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/toyota/rav4/4x4/review/n130">Toyota RAV4</a> should be just as reliable as the Honda and has plenty of space inside for passengers. However, it also comes with a rather drab interior and its engines aren’t the most refined.

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/ford/kuga/4x4/used-review/n895">Ford Kuga</a> has a nice range of engines at an attractive price and it’s also quite agile for such a tall SUV. The cheap-feeling interior, slight deficit of space against competitors and an unsettled ride do count against it, though.

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/hyundai/santa-fe/4x4/review/n68">Hyundai Santa Fe</a> has a strong, economical diesel engine, the benefit of seven seats in some versions and generous standard equipment. However, it’s quite noisy and its interior feels a touch on the brittle side next to the Honda’s.

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<h3><a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars/honda/cr-v?nearlynew=true&amp;used=true&amp;yearTo=2019">Find a used Honda CR-V with What Car? &gt;&gt;</a></h3>

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What is it like?

Ownership cost

Advice for buyers

Our recommendations

Alternatives

<h3>Brake discs</h3>

Examples built between 18 December 2012 and 20 March 2013 may have been fitted with brake discs that were too small, which could compromise braking performance in an emergency situation. All CR-Vs affected by this recall should have been seen to by now, but it might still be a good idea to check with your local Honda dealer to make sure the correct size brake discs have been fitted to your car - particularly if it is an early one.

<h3>Unintended braking</h3>

The software for the automatic emergency braking system fitted to some models produced&nbsp;between 30 August 2012 and 15 October 2014 might be a bit overzealous when identifying objects in front of the car that it needs to avoid. This might pose a problem for following traffic or occupants inside the vehicle if the car suddenly starts braking to perform an emergency stop. Any Honda dealer will be able to update the software used in the system to fix this issue.

Hondas have in the past earned a reputation for reliability, and the CR-V is no exception. Having said that, in recent years this generation has slipped into a middling&nbsp;spot in the large SUV class. Honda as a brand is presently in 10th&nbsp;place out of&nbsp;31 car manufacturers.

If you would like to see the full reliability list, head to the<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/2020-what-car-reliability-survey/n20042"> What Car? Reliability Survey</a> pages for more information.

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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

The fourth-generation Honda CR-V was a&nbsp;benchmark for&nbsp;practicality and now makes a very solid used buy.&nbsp;

Used Honda CR-V 2012-2018

Front-wheel-drive versions&nbsp;offer the lowest fuel consumption, with the manual&nbsp;1.6-litre diesel managing a combined figure of&nbsp;64.2mpg (NEDC). However, early 2.2 i-DTEC cars still offer relatively good economy (50.4mpg) if your budget cannot stretch to a 2015 or newer&nbsp;model. Petrol cars struggle to achieve 40mpg, especially when paired with the old-fashioned five-speed automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive.

Road tax costs vary considerably;&nbsp;the&nbsp;2.0-litre petrol&nbsp;is the worst culprit with emissions of 179g/km of CO2 if it comes with an automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive. The 1.6-litre diesel, on the other hand,&nbsp;emits only 115g/km. The 2.2-litre diesel&nbsp;falls somewhere in between with 149g/km, but beware that the automatic version&nbsp;pushes emissions&nbsp;up to 180g/km. If you're looking at an example registered after 1 April 2017, it'll fall under the current flat-rate system, rather than the CO2-based system that applies to older cars.&nbsp;To find out more about the current <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/buying/car-tax-changes-in-2019-%E2%80%93-what-do-i-need-to-know/n1153">road tax costs, click here</a> for further information, but the current rate stands at £150 a year.

Used Hondas that are older than three years of age&nbsp;can take advantage of fixed-price servicing costs. Prices for petrol cars range from £170 for a basic 12-month service to £275 for a&nbsp;more intensive one that replaces the air filter, pollen filter and brake fluid.&nbsp;Diesel models are a little more pricey at&nbsp;£190 for a basic 12-month service, or £295 for the more in-depth one. If you need to have the diesel fuel filter replaced as part of the service,&nbsp;budget for an extra £116 bill.

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The fourth-generation Honda CR-V was a benchmark for practicality and now makes a very solid used buy. 

Prices for a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/honda">Honda</a> CR-V&nbsp;start at £6000 for one with a higher mileage, but we'd look to spend between £7000 and £9000 on a car with an average mileage for the year, from 2013 or 2014. Spend between £9000 and £11,000 on a good one registered in either 2015 or 2016, and around £12,000 to £14,000 on a 2017 or 2018 model.

Entry-level <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/honda">Honda</a> CR-V S models&nbsp;are poorly equipped and are best avoided because they come without basics such as Bluetooth. We would suggest that you go for at least an SE, as it comes with everything you’d expect, and&nbsp;unless you must have an abundance of gadgets, buying anything above this version&nbsp;is not worth doing unless it’s a very good deal.

We would also recommend buying a post-facelift model with the more efficient 1.6-litre diesel engine because it'll be cheaper to run than the earlier 2.2-litre diesel, and you won't have to thrash it quite as much as the 2.0-litre petrol in order to make swift progress.&nbsp;

Our favourite Honda CR-V: 1.6 i-DTEC SE 2WD

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<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Huge boot and excellent practicality</li> <li>Plenty of interior space so you can carry passengers as well as luggage </li> <li>Strong engines to pull a heavily laden car</li> <li>Comfortable ride, especially on the motorway</li> <li>Low running costs for company car drivers</li></ul>

If you’re after bags of space but you don’t want to commit to the van-like dimensions and styling of an MPV, there are some great estate cars on offer that should do the job.

Tricks to look out for include an electric tailgate&nbsp;that opens automatically when you wave your foot under the rear bumper; this is&nbsp;particularly handy if you’re trying to load in a heavy or&nbsp;bulky item. You should also look for handles in the side of the boot itself that can drop down the rear seats; these are much more convenient than having to walk around the side of the car to do it.

There are some terrific estates at most price ranges. The humble Skoda Fabia Estate offers cavernous space for not much cash at all, for example.

Further up the price range, another of our perennial favourites is the Skoda Superb Estate;&nbsp;it’s great to drive and as practical as most people should ever need. Meanwhile, for serious mile-munching ability and a premium, well-finished interior, it’s hard to look beyond the BMW 5 Series Touring.

<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/honda">Honda</a> CR-Vs are most likely to have been bought by families, which means the interior may have been abused in its past life. While Hondas are generally well made, it is worth paying attention to what the inside of the car looks like before committing.

There is the possibility that the vehicle may have been used for towing, which will have put extra strain on the clutch. If the car you are looking at has a tow bar fitted and it looks to have been used, make sure you check how the clutch engages during a test drive, as replacing the clutch and flywheel can get very expensive.

<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/category/large-suv">SUV</a> might stand for ‘sport utility vehicle’, but this&nbsp;fourth-generation Honda CR-V very much traded&nbsp;the ‘sport’ part of that description for ‘comfort’. <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/honda">Honda</a> engineered its family SUV with an emphasis on cosseting, so gave it more comfortable seats than&nbsp;previous-generation CR-Vs. But Honda didn't compromise on practicality, because it's also very spacious inside.

Engines in early examples consist of a 2.2-litre diesel or&nbsp;a 2.0-litre petrol. Both could be had as either an&nbsp;automatic or a manual, with the diesel being the better option because the additional torque makes for a more relaxing&nbsp;drive. The CR-V received a refresh for the 2015 model year, which tweaked the look of the car slightly but consisted mostly of a new 1.6 i-DTEC diesel, replacing the old 2.2-litre engine, to provide a useful decrease in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/honda">Honda</a> also realised that some of its customers might not necessarily need four-wheel drive to tow a horse box out of a muddy field,&nbsp;so the CR-V can be had with two-wheel drive – indeed, many of the used examples you’ll find for sale today are so specified.

If you avoid the S spec CR-Vs and go for the SE,&nbsp;it'll come&nbsp;with useful features such as front and rear parking sensors and a back-up camera; essential on such a large car. SR comes with xenon headlights and a height-adjustable front passenger seat, while top-spec EX CR-Vs have full leather upholstery, a panoramic glass roof and a power tailgate.

As you can probably guess, the CR-V was primarily aimed at those who wished to remain on Tarmac rather than go rock-crawling. To that end, the CR-V has accurate steering and pretty decent levels of grip. But, like&nbsp;other more road-biased rivals such as the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/ford/kuga/4x4/review/n57">Ford Kuga</a>, <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/toyota/rav4/4x4/review/n130">Toyota RAV4</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/hyundai/santa-fe/4x4/review/n68">Hyundai Santa Fe</a>, rather than the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/land-rover/freelander/4x4/used-review/n747">Land Rover Freelander</a>, the ride can be a tad fidgety and there's a bit of body roll in corners due to the tall body.

The CR-V is quite a large car and this is reflected in the interior, which is one of the biggest in the SUV class. The boot is noticeably larger than most of its rivals, except for the five-seat version of the Hyundai Santa Fe (which can also be found in seven-seat form, unlike this generation of&nbsp;CR-V).

The rear seats in the CR-V can also be made to fold flat, although it is let down by the fact that you only get a 60/40 split, whereas the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volvo/xc60/4x4/used-review/n978">Volvo XC60</a> and Santa Fe get a more useful 40/20/40 arrangement. The Honda does at least have handles in the boot to drop the rear seats, meaning you don’t have to go into the vehicle to flatten them.

Downsides are mainly focused on the dashboard and infotainment system;&nbsp;it’s just not as easy to use as it is in rivals, blighted by many confusing buttons, with screens that should be clearer and have long-winded menus.

The CR-V ran from 2012 through to 2018, when it was replaced by an all-new <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/honda/cr-v/estate/used-review/n19839">fifth-generation </a>version.&nbsp;

If you're interested in buying a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars/honda/cr-v?nearlynew=true&amp;used=true&amp;yearTo=2019">used CR-V</a>, or any of the other cars mentioned here, check out our used car classified pages <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars">here.</a>

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Used Honda CR-V 2012-2018 review

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Alternatives

What alternatives should I consider to a used Honda CR-V estate?