2017 Honda CR-V Touring new car reviews

We recently got to spend time behind the wheel of Honda's 2017 CR-V. We then jumped into a 2017 Honda HR-V to see how much they differed.

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Tim Suddard
Publisher Emeritus

With a 190-horsepower, 1.5-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the CR-V is adequately powered and smooth and comfortable in all types of driving.

Cruising down the highway or working through city traffic with the smooth CVT transmission is nearly effortless and confidence inspiring.

While spending a week with this crossover on the bumpy roads of the Midwest, we saw nearly 30 mpg in mixed driving and came away feeling this Honda was the vehicle that fit the needs of most Americans.

Our test vehicle was loaded with leather seating, sunroof, rain-sensing wipers, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, heated front seats and a premium stereo.

While you could argue that the navigation system was a bit awkward to use and the handling, while adequate, was not awe inspiring, the CR-V did what any good mid-size crossover does. It effortlessly carried its occupants and their gear over great distances in complete comfort and safety.

At $34,635.00 the Honda is not cheap, especially considering it is powered by a 4-cylinder—howver, you don’t feel like you need a bigger engine for normal driving.

And now to compare it to the Honda HR-V

While we didn’t get to spend as much time with the HR-V, we quickly noticed that in addition to being much less expensive—$27,140 for a similarly loaded test vehicle—it felt a lot cheaper. Thanks to considerable road noise and a seemingly less sophisticated (yet larger) normally-aspirated 141-horsepower, 1.8-liter engine, the HR-V paled in comparison to the CR-V.

While physically smaller, you don‘t notice the size difference as much as you notice the difference in smoothness and quality that the larger CR-V seems to offer.

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