The 2023 Honda CR-V is one of the most anticipated vehicles of the year. Because it’s popular, because it promises wonders, especially with its hybrid engine, and because we were promised great things, we predicted that the CR-V would be exceptional.
Collaboration Marc Bouchard, Automotive Journalist
After a week behind the wheel, I must admit, the enthusiasm is not as great as hoped. Let’s be honest, the SUV has great qualities and some improvements are worth highlighting.
It must be said, however, that certain details would have benefited from being better reviewed, just to give the CR-V a more endearing personality. Because beyond the improvements made, you should know that this small SUV is now displayed with a sharply rising price, exceeding its rivals. It is therefore expected that the performance will be up to par.
A revised silhouette
The 2023 Honda CR-V, which has grown almost 70 mm in length, still has charm. It changes its angles, incorporates elements found on the Civic in particular, and offers more streamlined optical units. Overall, however, we must admit that its changes are not so radical, and that we would have liked it to stand out more from the crowd in a niche where competition is fierce.
Fortunately, the interior is a little more refined, certainly offering a smaller screen than its rivals, but with pleasant ergonomics, and some rather well thought out decorative elements. This is the case of the horizontal grid line which houses the ventilation nozzles and which stretches all along the dashboard. A nice look!
The central screen is easy to use, and quite complete even if you have to go to the highest versions to obtain wireless compatibility for Android Auto and Apple Car Play.
A good word for the seats, which are comfortable, for the display in front of the driver which happily combines digital and analogue, and for the exceptional soundproofing of the cabin. This is one of the greatest qualities of this new compact utility.
A pleasant ride
If the look is not edifying, it must be admitted that the vehicle offers a reassuring and stable ride. The engine, a 1.5-liter turbo 4-cylinder, releases its 190 horsepower quite easily. It’s true that we would have liked a real automatic transmission instead of the continuously variable gearbox that equips the vehicle, but overall it does a good job.
In brisk acceleration, as on a highway entrance, it does show a little tolerance, but for urban travel, the small CR-V is more than up to it.
Note also the surprising comfort of the suspensions, which one might have thought were a little stiffer, but which do an excellent job. Just like the steering, which is precise and without hesitation, regardless of the conditions.
All-wheel drive and numerous driving aids make riding enjoyable and safe, even if the CR-V will never take you to the ends of the universe. After all, it remains a compact utility, whose dimensions may have grown, but not the capacities.
Small precision all the same: the interior space is more imposing than before, and the loading space is better arranged than on the old generation, thanks in particular to easier access. A detail that is important when you think of an SUV.
I haven’t driven the CR-V hybrid yet. We must admit that the entry-level versions have great qualities, but they lack something to make it spectacular. It doesn’t have the dynamism of a Mazda, or the space of a Mitsubishi, for example. Nevertheless, nothing is lost. The 2023 Honda CR-V will retain its followers, and may even win some, at least those that the price will not put off too much.
In the podcast
A special edition of our podcast this week, as I just got back from the LA Auto Show. The opportunity was too good to present to you the novelties unveiled in Los Angeles, and to encourage you to go to grosdechar.com to see some photos! Good listening!