| On 2 years ago

Finally here: Long overdue facelift Honda CR-V priced

By Charl Bosch

One of the original compact SUV pioneers, but whose local market popularity has waned over the last few years, Honda has finally revealed the updated CR-V two years after its world debut in North America.

The Japanese brand’s best-selling model with global sales last year of 885 000 units, the CR-V’s exterior tweaks consists of redesigned front and rear bumpers, a revised grille and logo bar, blacked-out taillight clusters and on the top-spec Exclusive, dual exhaust outlets plus newly designed 19-inch alloy wheels.

Inside, the interior remains largely unaltered with the sole differences being matte alloy inserts and upgraded materials. Boot space is also as is with 522-litres available as standard and 1 084-litres with the rear seats folded down.

ALSO READ: Honda CR-V gains new face and Hybrid tech in North America

On the specification front, the CR-V line-up again consists of four models with the features on the entry-level Comfort consisting of the following:

five-inch touchscreen infotainment;
four-speaker sound system;
fabric seats;
Bluetooth and USB;
17-inch alloy wheels;
dual-zone climate control with rear vents;
auto lock/unlock doors;
multi-function steering wheel;
cruise control;
front armrest;
keyless entry;
TFT instrument cluster display;
auto on/off headlights;
rear parking sensors with a reverse camera;
Hill Start Assist;
Vehicle Stability Assist;
LED daytime running lights;
Driver Attention Alert

Upping the ante, the Elegance swaps the fabric seats for leather and the infotainment system for a seven-inch display with added Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It also comes standard with the following:

leather wrapped steering wheel and gear lever;
pair of rear USB and HDMI ports;
heated and electric front seats with memory function for the driver’s chair;
rear armrest;
rain sense wipers;
eight-speaker sound system;
front parking sensors;
folding electric mirrors;
gear shift paddles;

Once again serving as the mid-range model, the Executive rides as standard on 18-inch wheels in addition to getting:

LED headlights with active cornering function;
auto-dimming rear-view mirror;
push-button start;
remote control engine start;
walk away locking doors

Blacked-out taillight cluster the biggest change at the rear

Aside from the already mentioned 19-inch alloys, the Exclusive boasts an electric tailgate and Auto High Beam Assist as standard, together with the following:

tyre pressure monitor;
embedded satellite navigation;
panoramic sunroof;
Lanewatch left-hand-side camera;
Adaptive Cruise Control;
Collision Mitigation Braking;
Forward Collision Warning;
Lane Departure Warning;
Lane Keep Assist;
Road Departure Mitigation

Though available in certain markets with seven seats and a hybrid powertrain, the South African-spec CR-V continues to seat five with the pair of powertrains remaining unchanged.

On the Comfort and Elegance, motivation comes from the long-serving normally aspirated 2.0-litre petrol, whose 113kW/189Nm is routed to the front wheels via a CVT. Top speed is pegged at 193 km/h with Honda claiming a combined fuel consumption of 7.3 L/100 km.

Interior depicted that of the top-spec Exclusive

For the Executive and Exclusive, the 1.5-litre turbo-petrol prevails with outputs of 140kW/240Nm. While still hooked a CVT, only the former keeps the front-wheel-drive layout as the latter is all-wheel-drive. Both will however do 200 km/h with respective fuel consumption figures of 6.7 L/100 km and 7.1 L/100 km.

In total, the CR-V can be specified in a choice of six colours;