6 Reasons Why the 2024 Honda CR-V is Best-in-Class (What’s New?)

[Music] the new Honda CRV is one of the easiest crossovers for me to recommend but it's more than just the automotive equivalent to chicken tenders and Fries so today I'm going to explain why that is what they could improve and what's new for 20124 the only real change for 2024 is the addition of a sport L trim it offers a nice compromise of features between the sport and the Decked Out Sport Touring that means we have three turbo and three hybrid trims now and if you want the electrified model you better have a taste for aggression as you'll be stuck with the admittedly tame Sports specs now the first of many reasons as to why the CRV makes a whole lot of sense are the available powertrains now the 1.5 L turbocharged inline 4 is nothing special the power output the torque are pretty average for the class in the past I found this engine to provide great mid-range passing power Honda says they've improved it slightly for the New Gen they've tweaked the design of the turbo so that the air pressure comes in at a different angle along with a few other things that should help this have less lag and this is hooked up to a continuously variable transmission just like it was in the previous gen now the power plant that really sticks out to me is the hybrid so this uses Honda's inline 4 it is direct injected only it runs a modified Atkinson cycle so the engine on its own not super powerful but when paired up with the electric assist we have a little over 200 horsepower and 247 lb feet of torque plus Honda rethought its transmission it sounds very similar to Toyota's ecbt it has a separate motor generator that effectively changes the gear ratio for the engine on the fly it also allows for a direct drive lock up at low and high speeds to further improve gas mileage and make for a more natural feeling and that's what this does better than any type of CVT that I've driven in a while which make no mistake this shares nothing nothing mechanically with a CBT like you would find with the turbocharged engine the second motor is the actual Drive motor and that provides plenty of juice this helps the CRV get to 60 in about 7 Seconds more importantly passing power is reassuring though it becomes less impressive as the speed climbs as does the efficiency but around town you can get 40 MP gallon a big improvement over the turbo you can also still get it in an all-wheel drive has an actual drive lane connecting the front rear it's not like Toyotas where it's a separate motor front-wheel drive is about $1,500 less this hybrid has a couple tricks up its sleeve one it does a good job of mimicking shifts and it doesn't disrupt the acceleration as the engine switches gears the electric motor continues full thrust with the hybrids you also have a sport mode which sharpens your throttle response but on top of that adds in Civic Type R engine [Music] noises which gives the car a sense of humor now racy Dynamics have never really been a strong suit to the Honda CRV but versatility has and still is and that's the next reason that I would pick one up the cargo area is second to none in this class it's very tall it's about 6'4 in length when you have the rear seats folded and it's well shaped and wide the only knock the Hybrid models don't have a spare tire only the turbos get it you also have ludicrous leg room in the rear and the back seat is actually comfortable too good thigh support you have standard console Vents and it reclines quite a bit up front even at 6 three I am able to find a comfortable driving position with plenty of storage Cubbies and Nooks to fit whatever you have while the space is immense the handling is what really caught my attention that's the next reason why this is a standout from the class the steering I think is well- weighted it actually builds up a little bit as you're going through corners too it feels predictable and natural just like what you would get with a Mazda in fact the steering weight could maybe be a little heavy for some folks but inspires confidence nonetheless there's not a whole lot of steering field but but there's like no vagueness on Center and it does actually use a dual pinion steering rack which typically makes the steering all around better underneath this does ride on the same Honda Global architecture that underpinned the previous model and 10th and 11th gen Civic this is a great platform and as you'd expect they've added things like stiffer mounting points rigidity to the Chessie and retuned the suspension and a lot of times that's just PR talk but after driving it I was really impressed with how much body control this has for a 3900 lb compact crossover whether you're taking Corners at a little higher speed or on a rough twisty Road it feels surefooted and composed from my experience only the Mazda CX5 outperforms the CRV in corners or twisty onramps but it doesn't just handle well it rides well now it's not as soft and forgiving as Vehicles like the Subaru Forester or even the Rav 4 over the worst of Roads you feel some of the small to mediumsized imperfections but really none of them are harsh and even hitting some larger potholes it doesn't jar you you can tell that they really wanted to ride that middle ground between sperm and sportting it's also reasonably quiet it's not going to fool you into thinking it's an Acura but on the highway it's Pleasant so I'll also label ride quality as an advantage to the CRV but that's mainly because it manages to still be comfortable while also handling remarkably well the next reason why I think this justifies it's higher than average cost for the segment which I'll talk about more here soon is the premium factor or the oh it's got a nice interior it's really just the same Honda look that we get with the HRV and the Civic as well and there's actually less soft touch materials here than in that cheaper HRV but the build quality for the price is remarkable I mean everything has a sturdy construction the things that you interact with like the steering wheel and the climate controls all feels satisfying plus there's just that undated design to it yeah the infotainment system isn't anything to really write home about but it's pretty quick and easy to use I just wish that they had Wireless Apple car plane Android auto on the lower specs and you didn't have to spend $36,000 to get it pushing that aside at least you have good seats with Lumar control on most models they are a touch firm but support is good bolstering is present and you have nice elbow rest there is no soft touch for where your knees are and there are a lot of hard touch Plastics in most of the Interior this isn't as well padded as something like a Mazda product but if you look at a lot of like entrylevel luxury Vehicles that's also the case and really I think if this had an Acura badge and came out a couple years ago I wouldn't have added much of an eye I also like that they have matte finish Plastics and basically all the areas that you're actually going to touch so it should look good for a long time and be pretty easy to clean there's also some details as you crawl up through the trims like an acoustic windshield and acoustic front glass if you spring for the top Sport Touring that kind of thing is nice out on the highway and if you care the Adaptive Crews and Lane centering work really well now the last reason is a bit of a Honda cliche and honestly the CRV hasn't always been a vehicle that I'd recommend to people that high highly prioritized reliability but based off of the previous generation and how much this shares with that car this gets the knot of approval there so when it comes to issues from the previous generation the most notable is the oil dilution problem with the 1.5 L turbocharged in line 4 Honda says this is because people were driving it in cold climates and not far enough therefore the engine never got warm enough to burn off gasoline blowby which is when fuel gets past the Rings and into the crank case a little blowby is normal when an engine is cold but a fair number of people experienced an excessive amount this will cause the oil levels to read high and also the oil becomes less effective at its job which can lead to some big engine issues and while many people did report that in the first model year complaints started to drop off after that and owner satisfaction rates for the CRV have been great so most people with the previous generation weren't running into problems and if they did they were seeing other things like air conditioning issues really just would be first model years along with some some electrical and wiring issues like even with the rear view mirror there was a problem that would necessitate a wiring harness replacement but it could like debilitate the rest of the vehicle we also have some people reporting easily cracking windshields cheap stock batteries and scant reports of injector failure too again most people were happy with their CRVs longterm so overall if you prioritize reliability the Honda CRV gets my recommendation but there are some real downsides to the CRV well really just one big one that's going to be the price this is not an affordable car I mean I think it does justify the price with its competence but it's going to alienate a lot of folks especially if they're trying to keep their budget under $35,000 and they have certain features in mind I mean even at 31 Grand you're getting steel wheels with hubcaps front-wheel drive and a kind of embarrassing four- speaker audio system I'm all for a stripped down entry model but a 4x4 LX is 4 grand more than a base Subaru Forester with with similar features the x is still fairly well equipped but if you get that with all-wheel drive you're already 35 Grand and that also reminds me the tech in here does lag behind a little bit again with the 9-in touchcreen I'm perfectly satisfied but like half the trims come with a 7-in system without Wireless carplay and while I do appreciate the nostalgic and cool speedometer the partial Digital dash doesn't really display a whole lot I have a few other minor grievances stuff like the lack of soft touch materials for where your knees rest it would also be nice to see things like a 360 View Camera ventilated front seats or a head-up display on high Trims and while it's a pipe dream I really missed the quirky features like how you could fold the seats into a bed or use the cargo floor as a picnic table in the early CRV gen Additionally the hybrid's 145 horsepower engine and up to 3900 lb curb weight means that if you're traveling up Mountains on a highway and the battery doesn't have enough juice to assist it'll probably get lethargic this also doesn't prioritize off-road ability the ground clearance is respectable but you know the approach and departure angles and the all-wheel drive system aren't really geared toward that like most others in the class this can just send 50% of torque to the rear axle and without a good off-road mode that uses the brakes to redirect torque side to side the CRV struggles to power over obstacles it's for snow driving and getting to the occasional camping spot this car was not about off-road it cares much more about how it handles and it does that well it has efficient and capable powertrains an interior that can actually impress real people with good visibility that also helps it feel like an older Honda and further improves your confidence and it's also practical enough to accommodate a family or a wide variety of hobbies if someone told me that they're looking for a 35 grandish crossover the Honda CRV is the first one that's going to come to mind thanks for watching if you enjoyed the video then please leave a like and help me take over the YouTube algorithm subscribe and hit the notification Bell for more fun detailed car content without fluff check out my patreon for an additional podcast and I'll catch you in the next one

Channel: Realistick

Views: 27,986

Keywords: cx5, cx-5, reliability, review, car reviews, suv, crossover, cuv, new cars, new suvs, 0-60, mph, toyota rav4, honda crv, crv, subaru forester, forester, subaru, mazda, cx-50, mazda cx-50, 2023, 2024, suvs, crossovers, cars, awd, turbo, 1.5, hybrid, cr-v, honda, cr-v hybrid, cr-v 0-60, cr-v reliability, toyota, nissan, rogue, 2024 honda cr-v, 2023 honda, common problems, oil dilution

Id: tp2hYXD2pWs

Length: 11min 10sec (670 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 02 2023