Everyday Driving Review: 2007 Honda CR-V

Full Model: LX 4WD AT
Price When New: ~$22,000
Engine: K24Z 2.4 liter I-4 with iVTEC
Power: 166 HP @ 5800
Torque: 161 ft/lbs @ 4200

I have had plenty of chances to drive this vehicle in multiple weather conditions and situations but only lately have I had the chance to take it out and get some real impressions on it.  The CR-V has always been the odd one out in the cute ute market.  While essentially every single one of its competitors offers a V6 engine, the CR-V offers only one engine in the US market, a four cylinder.  Recently it's been the K series that is the base engine in the Honda Accord.  With the 3500 pound curb weight and AWD, you'd think that would be the receipe for a ridiculously underpowered vehicle but surprisingly you would be wrong.  The CR-V never feels underpowered.  You will need to grab a downshift or two when you go to climb hills like every other four cylinder on the planet but you'll really be surprised when you put your foot down.  Obviously it's not going to be like a RAV4 V6 that is the rocket of the cute ute market, but it defintely feels like plenty of oomph even when loaded down with four people and luggage.  While recording I made a left turn and put the pedal down.  After the left turn the vehicle had already gone to 2nd but the 100% throttle commanded it back to first and right to around 4,000 RPM, right where the motor loves it.  The normally hard-to-notice four cylinder "VTECed" and trumpeted out a proud tune.  Working through 3 gears I let off around 90 which is plenty for a Civic on stilts.  I was curious though how it would perform from a stop given that it has AWD so I found a back road, held the brakes, brought it up to the stall on the converter and let it fly.  It started out kind of sluggish but picked up a bunch of power around 4,000 RPM again and started to scoot.  It likely would have launched just as easy without the AWD.  I've never been one for "good enough" power but this vehicle fits perfectly.  I honestly think that V6 power would be too much for this little thing.  It must've been good for a lot of people because in 2007 it outsold every single one of its competitors and has been selling at or near 200,000 copies per year since 2007, consistently 30 to 60 thousand ahead of RAV4.

The CR-V really shines in everyday use.  It is incredibly easy to drive at any speed and in any weather including snow.  Where my Mazda would be spinning tires everywhere and I'd be fighting to keep from getting stuck, the CR-V drives on ice like it drives on dry pavement.  Credit that mainly to the AWD system that adjusts power from the front to the back quickly when needed.  However I never noticed it doing it unlike some AWD vehicles that I've driven where the tires slip before the power is adjusted.  In almost every other situation besides ice and snow the AWD will never really kick in, the vehicle doesn't have enough power to need it the rest of the time.  One could save money, fuel and weight by just going with the FWD model in areas that don't get much extreme weather.  It doesn't wallow around like many minivans that I've driven and transmission operation is invisible.  It could use more vertical cargo room but it's a cute ute, you can't really expect a ton of cargo room.

For the 2012 model year the CR-V was slightly redesigned.  They made the VTEC cam more aggressive and bumped the redline so the engine makes close to 190 horsepower now but essentially the same level of torque.  The K24A also sees a bump in fuel economy to get it just over 30 on the highway.  The CR-V also gets bigger while losing some weight.  The changes however are meeting some critical disapproval due to the fact that Honda did little to redesign the vehicle when it was starting to get a bit stale but sales had not dropped off on the CR-V at all, so maybe Honda made the right choice.

Cute utes are not for me, I would never own one.  However the CR-V impressed me to the point where I didn't find it offensive and for an SUV, that means I approve.