Honda CR-V Long Term Report: October 2013

All our reports thus far have focussed on how the Honda CR-V performs on the road – naturally, since it’s quite definitively a soft-roader. And a very capable one at that. But, believe it or not, the CR-V has become something of a regular at the BIC!

You see, we test there every month – and that calls for a suitable camera car. Well, the CR-V is it. Not only does it have a spacious boot that will comfortably hold a cameraman – sometimes two – but it also handles surprisingly well. We’ve already talked about the sublime ride, and that comes to good use on the track as well – so that the hard-working sod in the boot can continue to wield his magic from behind the lens, even when tearing across the track kerbs at speed. In a car with a firm suspension, you wouldn’t even attempt such a thing, but in the CR-V you hardly feel it at all.

But it’s not all about comfort. The thing is that we need to demonstrate the ability of the cars that we test on the track every month – and the only way of doing that is capturing them on the go, at speed. Now, you can only do that with a machine that’s willing, and able, to keep up with them on the track. Of course, I don’t mean that the camera car has to match the test cars for lap times, but it does need to have the ability to go pretty quick in its own right.

Luckily, the CR-V handles things surprisingly well. There’s not much body-roll and quite a bit of grip. The suspension is able, and willing, to put up with a fair amount of abuse without complaint. The body control is so good, in fact, that you can even shoot mid-corner when lapping at a fair clip – which is exactly what’s required.

So, whenever Honda realizes that they’re missing a CR-V and sends someone to reclaim it, not only will I lose a perfectly capable and comfortable daily driver, but we’ll also have to hunt for another suitable camera car. Neither prospect is one that I’m really looking forward to frankly.

The only downside is the fact that, oftentimes, our camera car uses more fuel than our test cars. But have a look at our short feature on the CR-V 1.6 diesel in this issue if you have a complaint on that front.

For me, I’ve been quite impressed with the revival of this Honda – which virtually started the crossover craze. It’s comfortable, capable, spacious and, as we’ve found out, quite multi-faceted as well.