Honda CR-V

The 2024 Honda CR-V carries the weight of a brand on its shoulders, does this SUV do the company proud?

Honda has renewed the family-sized CR-V medium SUV with more space and increased safety tech across the range.

We test and rank the best three-row SUVs for active Australian families.

This time last year we were certain we'd be reviewing a new CR-V by now, but we're not. Does age diminish the appeal of Honda's seven-seater?

Honda Civic e:HEV awarded a maximum five ANCAP stars, while the CR-V and ZR-V only manage four in the latest round of ratings.

Honda is offering extended warranty to customers who service their vehicles with the brand.

Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert are now available on cheaper Honda ZR-Vs and CR-Vs.

Following its lowest sales result on record, Honda has cut the price of some of its models – while another is now more expensive.

Need a bit more space on a budget? Here are the most affordable seven-seaters in Australia.

If you're looking to drive your dollar further, these are our picks for the for buyers watching their budgets.

The Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 are well-equipped midsize SUVs, and we've put their hybrid variants head-to-head. How do they compare?

Looking to treat yourself? Here are Drive's picks for the class-leading luxury cars in Australia in 2024.

I have owned many different vehicles in my time since I got my licence at the age of 18 and now 63 and my very 1st Honda Scamp was a very reliable vehicle and extra cheap to run and operate and although it was very basic and did not have A/C, Power Steering or a good sound system. So this is my 2nd Honda that I have owned and being a Full-Time 4WD model and thinking that I could go off road up to the snow fields or off the beaten tracks of Victoria as that of my 1996 Mitsubishi Pajero 3.0L V6 Engine - 5 Speed Manual LWB 4WD Petrol/LPG which was cheap to run, but the registration was the killer. So I bought my friends mother's 2003 Honda CRV being a 2.4L 4 Cylinder Engine - 4 Speed Auto thinking that it would be cheaper to run and operate & in fact it has a very poor fuel economy for a 90L tank & taking it up to the snow fields or off road is something I would not ever again attempt as it was a near disaster. The technology of this Honda is quite good & it drive like a real full-time 4WD & there is plenty of grunt from that 2.4L engine and 4 Speed Automatic Transmission. This vehicle has been very reliable, but I think that there are some changes that should have been thought of by giving it a bigger fuel tank or making it more economy friendly so that it gives you more kilometres per tank full. I think that the sound system on this vehicle is very basic considering that it was the top of the range being a Luxury Model as the speakers cannot handle being given loud music & the sound system head unit is not the best & when CD's are inserted into the unit & you hit a bump the CD jumps and the 4 door speakers are very basic. Other than that it has been an experience in owning a Honda for the 1st time, but I do not think that I would buy another Honda.

When thinking of a car to write about today, I dare say I have a few to choose from: My 1973 Mini, which was my first car, for example; my 85 XF Panel van—the best ever car to have as an 18 year old; hell, even my parents’ 2017 Impreza RS would have been a worthy contender. But as I was thinking, I caught a glimpse of my girlfriend’s 2006 Honda CRV Sport out the window and accidentally stumbled upon the solution. This was it, because, unlike all the other cars I could write about, this one is actually terrible. I would even go as far to say it could be the worst car I have ever driven. To begin, I must clarify that I have never been interested in the pocket SUV type of car this CRV falls into the category of. I find all of them uninteresting, cumbersome and rather annoying; why anyone would consider buying one is beyond me, so maybe take this at face value. Speaking of faces… My god, isn’t this thing ugly? The front end looks like it’s in a perpetual state of being horrified at literally everything it comes into contact with. The “sports” badge is unwarranted, or if it is warranted, the sport in question can only be lawn bowls. Beyond that, the overall styling of CRV’s exterior is abysmal. I will admit that this model CRV is somehow, in my opinion, the best looking (apart from maybe the latest two, from 2012 onwards). The first gen car looks like the visual embodiment of the colour brown, while the third generation, the successor to my girlfriend’s car, has a front end that looks like it was designed by Ray Charles. 
The inside of the car shows promise with the inclusion of some good features such as cruise control heated seats and a factory sunroof. The twelve-year-old head unit also still holds up well in our current day. Overall, the cabin is roomy and with the back seats down, the CRV turns into a handy, practical car with the potential to be capable of many handy, practical things. There is also a picnic table in the boot in the spare wheel compartment... I’m not sure why, or who decided to go forward with that idea, but I’m imagining that they were fired for travelling too outside the box on what really measures up to be a car designed very strictly by the book. My biggest pet peeves about the interior are the fact that the fuel gauge only consists of the needle and a weird fluctuating graph thing that tells you how thirsty the car is being at any given time. There is no range estimate anywhere to be seen, which, whilst not something to live by, I find is a lot more accurate and easier to read than the needle—and in 2006, especially on this car, that would not have been a hard thing to include. The driving position and visibility are also horrible beyond words unless you’re a bus driver looking for something to drive when you aren’t on the clock. Harking back to my remark about the car looking horrified at the world, and ignoring the age old “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” yarn, in the case of the CRV, you should. On the road, the CRV is slow to accelerate, almost like the car itself is timid to travel anywhere new—so much so that the CRV also over steers so much to the point where any corner is unsafe. The gearbox feels like it’s just waiting to die and the car shudders for no apparent reason at random intervals when accelerating. When trying to stop, the brakes are also loud and make me nervous. (It should also be worth saying that the CRV was serviced at the dealership about a month ago; the car is in tiptop condition and no issues at all with anything were found apart from a cracked headlight from another story.) Perhaps the biggest crime that the Honda CRV Sport is guilty of is not that it is ugly, uninteresting, slow or a borderline death trap, it’s because it sucks the fun and enjoyment out of driving. Many cars can be any one of those above factors—several even—and still make you want to go out and spend a day driving in them. The Honda CRV, on the other hand, will just make you wish you stayed at home. (sorry Madi)

I bought this vehicle in December of 2017 from a friend of mine and it has been one of my favourite Honda's and owning various vehicles since obtaining my licence all those many years ago, my very first car was a Honda Scamp 2 stroke engine which was very reliable and very cheap to run, but the body of the car rusted but the rest of the car just kept on going. So I had quite a few more different model cars over the years and when this model Honda CRV came onto the market I was made redundant from my job, so my dream car went out the window until now when my good friend was selling his Honda 2003 MY03 CRV LX Sports vehicle which I snapped up very quickly. This model Honda is a vehicle before its time with all the luxury items and more safety features than I know what to do with and It's super quiet, with outstanding performance and its really a fun reliable car to drive no matter where you want to go. I bought this Honda CRV in December of 2017 and it had 250,000ks on the speedo and now I have travelled an extra 7000ks traveling around Victoria and Interstate both on the freeway and off road with no problems at all and I found that although you sit up a little higher than most vehicles, but have the security and comfort of most vehicles on the road today. I am very impressed with this vehicle in more ways than one and it will be my vehicle for a very long time. The engine being a very responsive 4 cylinder 2.4 Litre Engine with a 4 speed automatic transmission and the 4WD drivetrain is real extra bargain as you drive on Front Wheel Drive and the Rear Wheel Differential gives you that extra bit of push as you go around corners or off the road. No matter what people have told me that nits not a true 4WD, but it gets me from Point A to Point B without any real problems and I am very happy with this from Head to Toe.

This is a car the brands you as a breeder, albeit more subtly than a people mover would. After all it is an SUV and that is kind of tough and cool. Since I am on the topic of breeding or family transport, the Honda CRV is a very spacious 5 seater that is immensely practical. Rear legroom and luggage space is massive. The CRV is a solid choice as a family car with excellent engineering and a proven drivetrain. The 5 speed auto is pleasant enough although dated and the 2.4 powerful enough even given its penchant for revs. The paddle shits are amusing in a car like this, someone at Honda has a sense of humour… a sports car it is not. The 4x4 system is part time only and to be frank rubbish compared to Subaru’s superb AWD system, however, for transporting the family around the ‘burbs it is fine. If space and practicality on a budget are top of your list the Honda is well worth a look. If you value driving dynamics and a more upmarket look and feel the Mazda CX5 is a better choice. Other negatives are the Thai build quality is not nearly as good as made in Japan, an Australian built Camry has tighter panel gaps and better finishing. The other major issue with this car is that I has the worst air conditioning performance of any car I have owned… on a hot day you need to crank the fan to full and recirculation on for 10+ minutes drop the cabin temperature below something approaching the surface of Mercury. So, there you have it, warts and all, the 2013 Honda CRV.