Honda CR V SR 45

Honda CR-V SR 1.6 i-DTEC 7 Day Diary

Here are my thoughts on the Honda CR-V SR 1.6 i-DTEC after my week-long test drive.

Day – 1 Honda CR-V SR 1.6 i-DTEC First Impressions

I remember waiting for the Honda CR-V to arrive, I was conscious at the time to see how the updates for 2015 CR-V we’re going to change how the car looked in first person and if they would have improved it from the previous version.

When the car arrived I was sold straight away, it looked great in black on those 18-inch alloy wheels; I was really quite impressed. Taking a closer look at the details of the car, I really liked a lot of features on the front of the car, the new LED running lights, the new configuration of the front bumper grille, and let’s not forget those new alloys designed for the 2015 facelift.

Honda CR-V SR (72)

Taking a seat inside the car, the interior is pretty tidy and as you would expect from Honda it was well put together and pretty practical. Overall it was a pretty damn good first impression of the CR-V. Let’s see how I get on with the car over the week.

Day 2 – First Full Day Exploring the Car

I love exploring and learning about new cars, and after my first day with the Honda CR-V I was starting to get a good understanding for what the car was all about. It was clear from the off that this mid-sized SUV has been successful in the past and with the new facelift and updates it looks like it will be successful in the future too. Driving the car for the first 24 hours I found it extremely easy to drive, very relaxing, and fairly quiet.

Honda CR-V SR (65)

The CR-V has loads of boot space, which was great for fitting all our camera and tripod equipment in, and you can comfortably get five adults in the car. The rear seats automatically fold down with the pull of one cord to make that huge boot even bigger. There is a lot to like about this modern CR-V and it seems well geared for every day practical usage.

Day 3 – Can You Still Have Fun in a Mid-sized SUV?

For some drivers, what makes a good car is commonly the fun factor, but can you still have fun in this mid-size diesel SUV? Even though it’s a mid-sized SUV and it has a fairly small, yet efficient, diesel engine, yes you can still have fun in the Honda CR-V. Although the 0-60mph time of the car is 9.7seconds, the car still has 158bhp and the fun grunt that we need is typically from 20 to 50 mph, the CR-V actually feels pretty quick in that power band.

Honda CR-V SR (66)

The steering response is also good, the car feels very manoeuvrable and there is minimal body roll, meaning that you can still safely enjoy a good blast on a country road to keep yourself entertained every now and then.

Day 4 – What Do Others Think of the CR-V?

Meeting up with some friends one evening I was very keen to see what other people think of the new and improved Honda CR-V. I know in the past they have been arguably a little bit bland, but the latest iteration of the CR-V has really hit back hard with its new shape. The people I spoke to were actually impressed with the design of the car, with the majority being most impressed with the front design and a bit disappointed at the back of the car, which I agree with.

Honda CR-V SR (70)

Inside the CR-V there is nothing not to like. Everything is pretty simply designed and cleanly laid out. A few people did mention that they thought the dual screen setup looked a little complicated, and with my time with the car I would tend to agree, overall though it ticks all the right boxes for me.

Honda CR-V SR (49)

Day 5 – Safety Systems

As tends to happen when you have to travel through the City Centre at peak time, I got caught in a traffic jam or two during my week with the CR-V, and as annoying as traffic is it does give me a good opportunity to go through all the features and functionality of the car. The standout features for me were the safety systems this car comes equipped with, the Driver Assistance Safety Pack, which includes Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Traffic Sign Recognition System, Blind Spot Information, Cross Traffic Monitor and High Beam Support System.

There is a lot going on to protect you from common accidents on the road; in my eyes the most beneficial systems are the Forward Collision Warning and Blindspot Information Systems. The Forward Collision Warning will give you an audible beep from the dashboard if the CR-V believes there is a significant risk of you hitting the car in front, this gives you a heads up to help try and avoid the potential collision. The second is the Blindspot Information System, which detects cars that are in your blindspot and will highlight this to you by putting an amber light on either the left or right mirror. These are both simple bits of functionality but will definitely help prevent a lot of accidents and potentially save lives – great pieces of innovation.

Day 6 – Photo Shoot

Taking the car out for the second photo shoot of the week, we decided to try and get some coverage in the countryside. Honda knows that most of their customers will never actually use the car off-road and I believe that this customer insight is part of the reason why it’s been so successful. Despite this, the car is still designed to be practical in the countryside and is an area where the CR-V operates pretty well. Our objective was to capture some shots of the car in a green environment as a strong comparison to the city shots that we did earlier in the week. Take a look at some of the pictures below, let us know what you think.

Honda CR-V SR (60)

Day 7 – Motorway Run

On day seven I had to do a two-hour round trip on the motorway, and I was quite excited to see how the CR-V got on. The car drives really well on the motorway, the cruise control is exceptionally smooth, and speeding up and down for over taking was no problem at all. But for me, the really great thing about the car was the lack of road noise from the tyres and the smoothness of the entire journey, a pretty relaxing drive.

I was really impressed with the Honda CR-V over my week, and I was very pleased to see that Honda had put great effort into improving the looks of the car, which I think has paid off.

Full GalleryReview

Supplied by: Honda

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