I was driving a fully loaded 2000 Ford Ranger, until it nearly caught fire. I found myself having to make a decision, buy a new Honda, which I had been contemplating doing at the model year end anyway, or spend a bunch of money, and waste a lot of time trying to get the Ford fixed. So I drove down to my Honda dealer the first chance I got. I refrained from speeding at least! I've been very impressed with Honda's since I met my second wife who at the time owned a 1988 Accord LXi. This was her third Honda. I recognized an incredible value as soon as I drove the car, and experienced its reliability. This would be my third Honda, my first being a Civic, and my second being a 1994 Accord LX which I still own, and I have to say that car is incredible. 170,000 miles and she runs like a top. I'm looking forward to reaching 200/K miles and beyond.

With this knowledge in mind, I had been contemplating either the Pilot, or the CR-V depending on pricing, availability, and what I could get for my dying Ford which I still owed a bit of money on. I looked over the dealers stock and compared prices. At the time the Pilot was very nice, and an excellent value, as all Honda's usually are, but the price would put me out of my payment range so I decided to try for the CR-V. I picked out a beautiful Gold colored LX 4WD one that had just come off the truck. The vehicle had cardboard and plastic on everything indicating its very recent arrival. The LX model has all of the basic features we all love in a vehicle such as Power Windows, Power Brakes, Power Mirrors, Remote Hatch glass release, AM/FM Stereo single CD player, Rear Defroster, Silver accented steel wheels, A/C, Power Steering, and 160 HP 4 Cyl Engine to name a few. The salesman I had to wait to see, as they were that busy on a Monday, obtained the keys and after moving half a dozen other vehicles was able to extract the CR-V from its parking space. After having to raid the service area for some gas (They are shipped with only 1 gallon in the tank), we took a test drive.

Back in the 1998 model year when I sold Honda's for a living, the CR-V as new. It was a very versatile vehicle then, and that trait has not changed. The only point of concern I ever got from potential buyers was the lack of power. Of course we reported all of this to our managers for inclusion in their sales reports to Honda. Honda does listen! The new CR-V has more than enough power with its variable valve timing 160 HP 4 cylinder i-VTEC power plant. The vehicle accelerated quickly and smoothly with plenty of power. I was very impressed. I was also impressed at how smooth the CR-V now drove and how quiet it was. Honda did an outstanding job of updating the CR-V. The 5 speed "Grade Logic-Control" automatic transmission shifted smoothly, and quietly. The transmission up shifted and down shifted as expected, and did not hunt when climbing hills. Steering was smooth, responsive and predictable. When negotiating corners, even at speed, the vehicle felt stable and true. Braking was also excellent with no nosing down or giving off the sliding out feeling you get with larger vehicles of this type. All controls were within easy reach of the driver without leaning or having to move in your seat to reach them. Controls are well marked, and laid out very well. The CR-V has some unique interior design features that at first seem odd. The shifter in the automatic transmission models resembles the old column shifter, but on closer inspection it actually comes out of the dash. The manual shifter is on the floor below the main central control area. The other feature is the parking brake which is also integrated into the dash to the left side of the main central control area and blends in quite well as its opposite is a matching hand grab. Over all I enjoyed the test drive, was happy with the ride, handling, and power of this vehicle.

Fit and finish on the CRV are excellent, which is another Honda standard. The exterior of the vehicle is impressively designed without being gaudy or ugly. The paint was flawless, panels perfectly aligned, and trim correctly fastened. The spare is outside mounted, and comes with a basic vinyl cover emblazoned with HONDA. Door handles are color coded as are the remote dual mirrors. The hood line is low down front and gently swoops upward toward the windshield. The roof sports basic rails to which you can attach various accessories such as tie down rails, or bike racks. The rear glass opens for quick placement or removal of items in the cargo area. The tailgate swings open fully so you can load larger items as desired. The vehicle sports 5 doors over all, one being the rear tailgate. Door openings are large and adequate for adults to enter and exit the vehicle without bumping body parts on the vehicle body. Doors close with a quiet but solid and reassuring thump. The interior is quite roomy, and generally the seats are very comfortable. Leg room is suprisingly abundant, but I am 6' tall and find I could use another 2 or 3 inches leg room to drive long periods comfortably. This is because I cannot streach out quite enough to allow me to just relax my right leg and have my foot end up "at" the gas pedal, it wants to sit on it which requires me to have to physically use my muscles to hold my foot off of the gas at lights. After a few hours, this makes my lower leg hurt. Yes, I'm a two footer. Between the front seats is a nice sized fold up tray that holds small items like cell phones, wallets and other such objects well. The cup depressions, which is an accurate description, are just not quite deep enough to steady a medium or larger drink. All is not lost, as there is another cup holder that pulls out of the dash to use with those oversized drinks. In the main control area there are two nice sized storage bins that will hold a good number of CD's. The glove box is adequate for storing the owners manual and other papers along with a few small personal items. All doors have pockets for storage including the rear tailgate. The rear seat is very comfortable and quite roomy. It is a 60/40 split number with a central arm rest. These seats fold forward up against the backs of the front seats and open up the already sizeable cargo area into a very large full van like sized cargo area. One could easily haul a boxed 52" plasma big screen TV in there. Under the rear most part of the cargo deck area is a folding picnic table which covers a nice sized storage area for hiding sensative items or just getting small stuff out of the way and preventing it from sliding around. This tub is a soft plastic affair, and can be filled with beverages and topped with ice for the tailgate party. (Reviewer tested and approved.) The only thing Honda did not do was put a rubber plug in the bottom for draining it after the game. You'll have to do that with large cups then towel dry. The CR-V comes standard with color matched floor mats which attach in place with buttons. A nice feature. Fit and finish of the interior components was excellent.

Safety is key at Honda. They have always been a conservative company, and that has not changed over the years. The CR-V has dual front air bags, side airbags, and curtain airbags. The front passenger bags are computer controlled. The seats will detect a younger person in the passenger seat and adjust the deploy of that bag accordingly. The CR-V has an automatic VSA Vehicle Stability Control system that detects over steer and under steer conditions, and makes corrections for you automatically. The CR-V comes standard with ABS brakes as well. Security is handled by the Wave Key Imobilizer System which disables the vehicles fuel system if the incorrect key is inserted into the ignition. The CR-V comes standard with a remote entry system as well, and the buttons are built into the keys. This system is combined with the passive anti-theft alarm system. Overall, Honda has done very well in making as many safety options available as standard equipment as is possible.

Needless to say, I was hooked on the CR-V. We decided to deal. What happened next is an indicator of just how popular the new CR-V really is. The vehicle as I mentioned earlier was fresh off the truck. It had not even gone through pre-delivery inspections. We had the books and keys on the desk as we made our deal. It took about 2 hours to get the trade value and go back and forth to work out the perfect deal. We shook on it and the salesman went to tell his GM the good news. Great! The GM went into the computer to mark the vehicle sold, and it was already sold!! Someone else sold the car over the phone while we were making a deal! Hold crap! In all my years of selling cars and buying cars I've never heard of this happening before. To make matters worse, the only other LX 4WD model they had on the lot, a black LX 4WD was also SOLD! Jeepers, I could not get a deal in edgewise. After we recovered from the shock of having the car rug pulled out from under us, I decided on a little over $2000 more to move up to the EX 4WD model. This model also included the beautiful aluminum alloy wheels that replaced the rather bland and basic looking silver accented steel wheels, the Sound system was upgraded from basic to 6 speaker 6 CD changer, there was now a moon roof, and 4 wheel disk brakes. For $20 a month more than our original deal, I got the EX, and no one bought it out from under us, although this was one of two gold colored ones in the EX trim and the other one sold as I bought mine. Wow! I do have to mention that The next day I was called back into the dealership to re-do the contract. The payoff amount I had given was off by a few thousand. I ended up with the EX at the same payment I would have gotten the LX model for. Fate has a funny way of working.

I've had my CR-V now for 3 days, and will do updates here as I get time. I am very pleased so far. I am very confident that I'll have this vehicle 12 years after I bought it, and looking forward to reaching the 200/K mile mark. You simply cannot beat a Honda for value and reliability. You would have to be a very unlucky person to get a lemon in the Honda auto line. When my 1994 ever dies, I will definitely be buying another.


1 Week Update: I've had my CR-V now for a week. I love it even more now that I've been able to adjust to it, being a different vehicle, we all need an adjustment period. It snowed here twice in the last week and I was able to experience the All Wheel Drive system. Having driven a true 4X4, I can tell you the All Wheel Drive is different. Also, being a front wheel drive vehicle also is different. So depending on what your used to driving, you may need some getting used to the change. The CR-V pulls out very well in the snow and if you use common sense, you can get your self around with no difficulty. I even had the opportunity to drive into 7 inches of snow in a parking space and back out of it with no difficulty. With a standard vehicle, you will occasionally feel the rear get a little loose when you start to lose traction. In front wheel drive vehicles this obviously is different as the front end will get loose, so you will need to learn how to adjust your driving habits accordingly. With a traditional 4X4 if the rear wheels get loose, the fronts drag you out and in the direction they are steering to. On a front wheel drive vehicle you basically lose steering control, so its a little unerving if your not used to it. The All Wheel Drive will enhance that a little as you will go where the vehicles momentum was going instead of where the front wheels were ebing steered to. You need to learn to get off the gas and let the vehicle recover and drive you out of the slide. Now I tetsed this by dogging the vehicle to see what would happen. During normal driving, I experenced very little wheel slippage. So far so good!


Amount Paid (US$): 26,395
Condition: New
Model Year: 2005
Model and Options: EX, Roof Tie Downs, Mud Flaps, Oversized Driver Arm Rest W/Storage