2011 Honda CR-V Sport 2.4
Summary:
Would recommend this car to anyone in the market for a soft roader with a bit more premium feel
Faults:
Nothing so far, but it's new.
The car just came back from its 1000 km check up at the dealership today. I had noticed a couple of things that the dealer has corrected:
1. The wheel alignment was slightly off and was pulling to the left.
The dealer said that sometimes rotating the fronts tyres solves this problem, and apparently it has.
2. The rubber door seals (all around) were slightly loose, and the dealer has corrected this as well.
General Comments:
The car is very refined, and the build quality is excellent.
I traded in my 2008 RAV4 for this. Both were 125kw 2.4L engines. I loved the RAV, and it was a really good car, but I just wanted a change after 3 years.
The CR-V is definitely smaller that the RAV. However, the turning circle of the CR-V is not as good as the RAV. Inside the CR-V is smaller as well, but the fit and finish is of a higher grade than the RAV. The stereo and all the switches and interior lighting give it a premium feel.
The RAV had a 4 speed auto and the CR-V has a 5 speed auto. The gearbox in the CR-V is much more responsive than the RAV. The gearbox is really good for an auto. The upshifts and downshifts are smooth and quick.
I was always pretty impressed with the handling of the RAV. It was quite good considering it was a soft roader, and had some amount of body roll, which is expected in a car like this. However, the CR-V's handling is so much better. There is very little body roll. The suspension is also firmer, but not uncomfortable. I'm hoping to go on a road trip and drive it on some twisties, to see how it really handles. I remember the RAV being a bit of an effort on the twisties, with the constant under steer making it a lot of work.
On the downside, the car comes with same Bridgestones that the RAV came with. They are horrible and noisy. I changed the RAV's around 40,000 km to these Kuhmos, which were much better. So, eventually I think this will also happen to the CR-V.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 25th September, 2011
6th Jun 2013, 07:26
Steering wheel not centered = front wheel alignment issue. The steering wheel must be perfectly centered once the alignment is done.
6th Jun 2013, 07:29
I'd like to add, wheel alignment is never covered by warranty, unless you notice it when driving the car new from the dealer.
An off-center steering wheel can also be caused by a deformed front tire, if alignment is checked correct. Just switch front with rear tires to check this issue.
26th Mar 2012, 21:50
I'm the original reviewer, and wanted to post an update. The car has now done just over 17,000km.
A few issues that I'd like to mention. The driver's side window has a rattle that I've contacted the dealer about, and they said that they'll have a look at it in the 20,000km service that I have booked.
The air-con seems pretty weak compared to my previous Toyotas, and this has been mentioned in several forums that I found.
The steering still does not seem centred when going straight on a flat road. It's always tilted to the right a bit. I have mentioned these in numerous Honda surveys that were sent to me, but have not heard anything back. I even took it for a wheel alignment, and this made it better, but did not correct it all the way.
I mentioned this to the dealer, and the dealer was so rude, and said that Honda will not perform warranty work on the steering if it's an alignment issue, as the car has nearly done 20,000km. He even mentioned that they hadn't seen the car since its initial 1000km service, so they don't what happened to it.
I told them that the 10,000km service was carried out in a different Honda dealership in a different city and state when I was holidaying. I also told him, what does it matter anyway which Honda dealership I take my car to. The guy was just rude and was raising his voice for no reason. I told him that the steering was never corrected by the dealer in the first place, and I'm not going back to the dealer every second day to have the car looked at.
I've had so many cars over the years, and buy a new car every 2 years or less. My last 6 cars were all Toyotas, and I never had any warranty issues whatsoever. One of the reasons of buying the Honda was to experience a better quality of service that I heard about, and that does not seem to be the case, when dealerships try and argue or blame the customer. I'm almost thinking of trading this car in for another Toyota, just to keep my cool, and so I don't have to deal with rude dealerships.