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2015 Honda CR-V Pros and Cons at TrueDelta: Owner Pros and Cons by MASTERNC

MASTERNC

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Reviewed: 2015 Honda CR-V

4dr SUV 185-horsepower 2.4L I4 CVT AWD

Why the 2015 Honda CR-V?

Materials & workmanship

The interior quality of this car is a strength of this car. Honda did an excellent job with the quality of the vehicle, including adding soft touches and leather to areas where others did not. In contrast, the 2015 Mazda CX-5 has a lot more hard plastic, including the center armrest.

Fuel economy

The fuel economy is nearly as good as advertised - I have been averaging about 30 MPG in a combination of stop & go suburban driving, rush hour traffic, and highway cruising.

Powertrain performance

Even though the powertrain does not let the engine rev much, it holds the RPMs just right in order to accelerate linearly. You can tell at times there is a CVT under the hood, but otherwise it is unobtrusive.

Audio & nav systems

The sound system is very good quality - not something I normally expect from a main market Honda.

Ride smoothness

The suspension does a good job of handling all the potholes and bumps in my area. Rarely have I hit something that jostled the interior.

Why Not the 2015 Honda CR-V?

Ride smoothness

A common complaint (and the "elephant in the room" for this model) is vibration when idling in Drive. I can attest this does happen, though to various degrees and not consistently. If the engine speed is at 700 RPM, the vibrations are mild and only manifest themselves in the gear shift or steering wheel. However, on rare occasions, when the RPM drops to 600 at idle, the entire seat vibrates. Shifting to neutral or turning on the headlights causes the RPM to rise slightly and the vibration goes away. Interestingly enough, after trying to increase the idle speed, it almost seems the car "learns" to keep the RPMs up, because even if I turn accessories off, the RPMs stay above 600. Adjusting the idle speed would fix this, so I imagine Honda will have to address given the vocality of complaints.

Interior storage compartments

One of my biggest gripes with the interior is that Honda could have done better with front storage. First, when the gear shift is in D, it is easy to bump when lifting a cup straight out of the front-most cupholder (which could cause a spill). Second, there are few storage compartments in the front - there is no tray in the center storage box, and there are few other storage areas besides the glove box.

Audio & nav systems

The touch screen is definitely less than intuitive and can draw attention from the road. What buttons there are off the touch screen are very small.

Front seat support & comfort

The front seat seems a bit thin and does require adjustment for comfort after awhile.

Feature availability

Honda has added a lot of neat safety features, such as forward collision warning, lane departure warning, and adaptive cruise control. However, Honda not only reserved these for its top Touring edition, it failed to anticipate demand for that trim. As a result, the Touring models sell for near sticker and have multi-month waits. In contrast, negotiation room exists for lower trim levels. The safety features should be optional in the EX-L trim (perhaps as an intermediate trim level), as not everyone will want the 18" wheels and navigation system also included in the Touring trim.

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