Honda Cars Philippines lent us their new SUV, the Honda CRV 2010, to take out of town and get the hang of driving one of their top of the line sports utility vehicles.
So we head out to Tagaytay for a whole-day shoot, road trip and several rounds of shots (in no particular order). The weather wasn’t cooperating — it was cloudy, a little drizzle here and there and not a ray of sunlight.
Before I proceed, let me just state again that this isn’t a car review and I’m no car expert. This is more like sharing my driving experience and a little bit of tech behind the Honda CRV.
In fact, the very day the car was handed out to me, it took a full 10 minutes before I was able to figure out where the hand brake was (turns out it’s a footbrake). I Googled it to no avail; should have just tweeted and gotten an answer in 3 minutes.
My only experience with driving an SUV is with the Hyundai Tucson I got a year ago so there’s not much to compare the Honda CRV with. The variant that we tested was the 2.4 S-X AT 4WD (Brilliant White Pearl).
Now that all the disclaimer is out of the way, let me just share some of my personal observations after using the new CRV for over a week.
First time I saw the new CRV, I thought the body was a bit small for the SUV category and somewhat had low clearance. The interior is spacious though and there are a lot of storage compartments everywhere.
The cargo area is spacious as well with a second platform that serves as a cover so you can stock and organize more stuff at the back. The seats at the back can also be adjusted to give more room to the cargo area. There are a lot of safety and tech features that came along with the model it’s even a shame to try to compare it with my own car.
The CRV drives comfortably and pretty agile sometimes it feels like I’m just driving a regular sedan. It’s got a smooth ride and not bumpy at all. I especially liked the arm rests that makes it feel I’m seated on a pilot chair.
For an SUV, the 2.4L engine isn’t that very powerful but it’s got more than enough horsepower inside the hood to give it a good kick and decent acceleration when needed. We were driving between 80 to 120kmph on the highway without noticeable effort from the engine. Too bad traffic these days are so terrible we couldn’t even go past 120kmph and sustain it for a minute.
If there’s one thing I found lacking in this unit, that would be the inclusion of a manual mode in the transmission. It’s not really that essential but sometimes, I’d like to switch control to manual especially if I’m weaving thru traffic and want better maneuverability of the vehicle.
Over-all, it was a pretty great ride and we wish we had more time with it.
Honda CRV 2010 2.4L S-X AT 4WD
170 ps @ 5800 rpm max power output
22.2 kgm @ 4200 rpm torque
5-speed automatic
McPherson Strut-Type Suspension with Stabilizer
17″ alloy wheels
Fuel Consumption meter
Anti-Lock Brake System
Vehicle Stability Assist
Electronic Brake Force Distribution
Dual-Zone Climate Control
Price: Php1,525,000
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CR-V has a soft ride and better maneuverability vis-a-vis fortuner and montero. it has a rugged and elegant look which separate the CR-V owners from the rest for their good taste.
I agree with all of your opinions since this is a free country. We’re all open to opinions. Based from the thread, the one who started the blog is just writting down his/her personal experience so maybe other people who plans to buy an SUV/CUV can have different perspective on what vehicle to buy since this costs more than Php 1M..
Hope this could help. Differences between SUV/CUV
1. Suspension system
– SUV are pick up based susp so when you ride the vehicle, you need to take big extra step. As for CUV it uses monocoque body that is being used in luxury car nowadays
Good: You can see everything and good when it’s flooded. (SUV)
Bad: Makes the vehicle more bumpy compared to CUV
– Most SUVs are 7 seater. So if you need 7 seating capacity, then go with SUVs.
– CUV has good cargo space since it has no third row seats.
– Based from my experience, CUV has better fuel efficiency especially in highways compared to SUV.Most traditional SUVs are 4 speed AT compared to CUV’s 5 AT or 6 AT. But it there are still factors to be considered, 1. driving habits, 2. traffic condition, 3. Load, 4. Road condition and 5. engine condition.
Last my opinion about CR-V, it is still one of the best in the market in terms of handling and comfort of both driver and passenger.
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Good day!
Off topic: may i know what’s the song playing in the background in that video clip? thanks!
cr-v is a very decent vehicle. it offers high seating position di tulad ng montero at everest na napakababa. it also offers very flexible seat configuration (sa compact SUV class, ito lang yata ang may fold-and-tumble rear seats at ito ang may largest cargo capacity kahit naka-set ang rear seats). airy ang interior; it does not make the passengers feel cramped. interior plastics are elegantly finished. sedan-like drive and ride (electric power steering kaya sobrang gaan ng manibela at nakakatulong ito sa fuel efficiency; hydraulic power steering found in most vehicles uses more torque and hence it decreases fuel economy.
it’s more formal to classify tucson, outlander, rav4, asx, x-trail, cr-v, sportage as COMPACT SUVs and not crossovers.
I think this is a great car, that can take you from point A to point B. You don’t have to be bitter about it, because it is much expensive, and way better than your ordinary sedan or van.
Ang CR-v cross over tawag dyan kc parang kotse/suv siya..
Look and style-wise i still prefer the older 2000’s to 2005’s CRV models.
i’m pretty sure it’s got good driving experience but LOOKS DATED.
When I first heard about the CRV I thought that it stands for “Comfort Room Vehicle.”
Sir Yuga,
Sorry if I made an insult to you in any way. I was replying to Mr. Bogus guy above.
Yep. CUV is a more specific kind of Crossover SUV. Much like the difference between commercial SUV, compact SUV etc. But still it really isn’t really an SUV. Because it is car-based. Much like a car with SUV styling. I believe this is just a marketing hype. IMHO.
An SUV from its origin has a ladder frame chassis. Example: Land Rover Defender, Mercedes Benz G-Class, Toyota Land Cruiser, Nissan Patrol.
Sometimes, generalizing an SUV with CUV’s would create much confusion when it comes to marketing the car. Hence the tendency to compare that they were made equally. This is really a debatable topic like the comparison between independent full-suspension over solid axle suspension. Still they’re both suspensions but then not the same. =)
This could also lead to lawsuits like the Ford Escape that got stuck while fording a flood. They said it was marketed as an SUV and should ford properly.
@rbutchg
I know right. I read the blog. I was merely stressing the idea that people shouldn’t compare a Montero/Fortuner with the CR-V because they weren’t made the same. Thus the SUV vs. the car-based SUV wanna-be – the CUV.
My top 3 dream vehicles, Honda CRV, Toyota Fortuner and Mitsubishi Montero, literally dream lang, can’t afford, kaya I’m stuck with my ever love and loyal 12 year old Toyota Corolla.
very interesting talaga ang reaction ng mga tao dito.. kaya lagi ako nasa yuga
** write your own…
Why don’t you own blogs,.. and put your righteous reviews! Come on. it was disclosed that this is not a review but only a mere experience.
CUV’s are small SUVs, therefore it is still an SUV!
Tanong nyo kay Butch!
SUV – Sport Utility Vehicle.
The CR-V isn’t a Sport Utility Vehicle. It is a CUV… Much like the ASX, Tucson, Sportage, Santa Fe.
The Fortuner and the Montero is a different league. Look at the chassis below it. It is an SUV with its ruggedness and off-road capability. If you look at history car books, CUV’s are mostly car-based. Example, CR-V is based on a Civic platform.
It doesn’t take a dumb person to know one. IMHO.
If you were to think of it. More Honda CR-V’s are running in a day whereas seeing an Outlander or the new ASX or the Rav4 combined.
1.5M isn’t that really surprising knowing that the competition is right at that price. And if you compare it spec by spec against other SUV’s within the price range you’ll see that they tend to differ in features and specs.
@drey — and all along, I thought CUV = cross-over SUV.
@hondafan: hey mr. car lover!!!! suv is suv ano man ang kalse ang itawag…. my point is taob ang honda sa fortuner at montero.. d man ako car genius pero makikita mo naman puro toyota at mitsubishi ang nasa kalsada… DUMB!
@yuga
it’s not a new SUV, it’s better to call it a new model of the CRV.
also, it is wrong to say that it is one of Honda’s top-of-the-line sports utility vehicles, because it is the only SUV Honda sells in the country.
@mr bogus
iba naman na category ang CRV sa Fortuner/Montero. more on RAV4 or Outlander or ASX or Tucson ang kalaban ng CRV.
very ugly face! Looks like lolo without upper front teeth.
gumagawa ang move ang honda natatabunan sila ng fortuner at montero sa sales…………..
i still prefer Toyota vehecles. We just bought a Toyota Innova G last month.
1.5m? I will wait for 15 yrs to buy this second or third hand and mabe the price would be 200k at that time.
My dream vehicle!
since it has a fuel consumption meter, what was the average km/l reading?
CRV = Comfortable Runabout Vehicle
My uncle loves his new CR-V 2010. And it kinda looks like him too, both are have the under-bite jaw. 😛
I agree with the MT option though, the older models were a lot more fun to drive than those with the AT.