[Rehaan]

Mod Note: Our Honda CR-V Review has been taken live at this link. Please continue the discussion over on the new thread. Thanks!

Big shoutout to Suhaas307 for shooting these pictures & his coverage of the Auto Expo. Thanks for sharing!

Highlights:

• Honda has addressed two major shortcomings of the CR-V in the 5th generation vehicle.

• First: it's now a 7-seater. Yes, a 3rd row has been added.

• Second: a diesel power-plant (1.6L i-DTEC) will be offered for the first time.

• The CR-V is expected to launch in India in 2018.

The side profile is very similar to the 4th gen CR-V, but a bit swoopier at the front. Length has increased by 42mm:


Styling changes at the rear are less radical than those made at the front:


Width too has increased by 34mm (and yes, it's noticeable inside the cabin):


The front end has a much busier design than the outgoing generation. In fact, the black coloured car pictured here downplays it a bit:


Headlights are LEDs for high & low beam:


Note the camera here. It's part of the LaneWatch system that displays a video feed on the infotainment screen - helping drivers avoid blind spots:


235/60R18 wheels & tyres:


Matte-black plastic cladding on this soft-roader is christened with some chrome lining:


From the side, the taillights seem to have a similar styling as the 4th gen:


However, from other views you'll see that they are trying to satisfy all the possible design trends at once (Christmas-tree, wrap-around & onto the tailgate)!

[Rehaan]

Interior - Front



The interiors get a significant update - but just like the exteriors, they are still recognizably CR-V:


The texture on the volume button makes it easy to locate by touch:


The instrument cluster has gone completely digital. It doesn't look very exciting when the car is off:


Turn it on, and the colour display brings it to life (image source):


AC vents have moved from their earlier placement on the sides of the head-unit, to the topmost position in the stack:


A 7-inch infotainment touchscreen sits atop the dashboard. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are present:


The automatic gearshift lever has been completely replaced by a set of buttons. They've been laid out in the same sequence for the sake of familiarity:


Center console storage is plentiful:


A sliding cover reveals more storage, as well as an HDMI input, 2x USB sockets and a 12v outlet:


The sliding cover can be completely removed too:


Love the satin/matte finish wood trim. The interiors have really taken a big step up.
Suhaas said this matte wood trim, the taillight styling & the console design reminded him of the Volvo SUVs:


Passenger side gets a central locking switch too. Very convenient for a family-oriented SUV:


Well padded front seats:


Passenger seat gets electric controls:


A cushioned pad has been added to the side of the center console, to keep the passenger's right knee happy:


Engine start/stop button, along with toggles for several driving & parking aids:


Large & well-marked levers for opening the fuel flap and hood:


A holder for sunglasses, and cabin light controls. Do note that strangely a sunroof is missing on the CR-V:

[Rehaan]

Interior - Rear



While the new CR-V looks slightly bigger on the outside, Suhaas307 said it felt a lot bigger on the inside:


.Anshuman (6'3") & Vid6639 (6') pictured here enjoying the individually reclining middle row seats:


2nd & 3rd row AC controls sit above the 2nd row (visible in the pic above). 4 adjustable vents should help keep the rear passengers happy:


2nd row passengers also get the benefit of these vents. Note that the 2 USB charging points back here are an impressive 2.5 Amps, while the ones at the front are 1.5 & 1 Amp:


A peep at the last row of seats - which are a first in the CR-V (all earlier generations were 5-seaters):


Make no mistake, due to the limited space the last row is strictly for kids, or very short distances:


Adjustable cup/bottle holder:


Seats fold flat, though they do so at a level above the boot floor:


Boot space is average for a 7-seater SUV in the CR-V segment, with the last row in place:


Tailgate has the reverse camera, as well as the open & lock buttons. The CR-V gets hands-free operation of the tailgate too (by waving your foot below the rear bumper):


The power tailgate can be set to open only till a particular height (usefull if your parking spot has low ceilings, or if you can't reach too high to pull it back down):

[Rehaan]

Engine

• There will be 2 engine options on offer. The same 2.4-liter i-VTEC petrol, and a new 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel (pictured below).

• The 1.6L diesel is from Honda's 'Earth Dreams' range. It's a 4-cylinder twin-scroll turbo engine putting out 158 BHP and 350 Nm of torque.

• The diesel engine will be mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission.

• There is talk of Honda localizing the production of the diesel engine to keep the pricing competitive.

• The petrol engine is the same 187 BHP / 226 Nm 2.4-litre engine that's offered on the AWD version of the 4th Gen CR-V sold here.

[Rehaan]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line.

[libranof1987]

Thanks for the coverage, guys!

The CR-V until now has been a fairly good-looking vehicle. Why did they have to do what they've done with the styling?! That rear is awful.

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Highlights:

Wow. 7-seater and a diesel available! If they price both the variants well, a 7-seater CR-V can create serious problems for the competition.

[vanam]

Wow. Honda seems to have ticked the boxes with this one. A 5+2(occasional) seater and an automatic diesel. Hope the pricing is in the range of 25-30 big ones. Else, will take it into genuine full seven seater territory.

[SmartCat]

In about 4 years from now, I think this will be in my garage! In Diesel AT AWD guise.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Why did they have to do what they've done with the styling?! That rear is awful.

I know. That's why I have put the new CR-V rear view photo as my desktop wallpaper so that my brain gets habituated to its weird frowning/angry looks.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Is it going to be the same 9 speed ZF Automatic that would do duty in the upcoming Compass Diesel AT as well?

Originally Posted by smartcat

That's why I have put the new CR-V rear view photo as my desktop wallpaper so that my brain gets habituated to its weird frowning/angry looks.

Why try so hard to like one particular car itself?

In four years, this segment is bound to see a lot of choices.

[Axe77]

Is there any chance of the hybrid version coming too?

I hope they don't go the accord way on pricing. They really need to price the diesel AT squarely head on with endeavour / Fortuner twins and not higher.

[Sheel]

Will this be equipped with an AWD and any guesstimates on prices?

[Waspune]

Not a fan of the recent Honda style cues (CRV included), but being a Honda and a diesel heart it should do well in India. It seems that the CRV would be launched only in automatic trim (7-seater) as in Europe market the manual 2WD version comes with a 120 bhp tune.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Is it going to be the same 9 speed ZF Automatic that would do duty in the upcoming Compass Diesel AT as well?

Seems more like it. The bigger and roomier Honda SUV (read: Honda Pilot) also comes with the same ZF 9 speed.

[vb-saan]

Interiors look pretty good, but someone has done a bit of unwanted overtime work on the exteriors - way too much of chrome bling. 7-seater and diesel option should bring back some customers, but they should have managed a flat floor boot with the 3rd row folded down.

[deetjohn]

Looks good, especially those rear seats.

The 1.6 iDTEC is totally unlike the 1.5 we get here. Its apparently very refined - the performance is also good.

But I don't like this below.

Originally Posted by Rehaan

The automatic gearshift lever has been completely replaced by a set of buttons. They've been laid out in the same sequence for the sake of familiarity:
Attachment 1726691

Honda should have given it a shifter instead of these buttons. And if the need was to free up space on the dash, they should have given it a column shifter instead. Would have been a nice throwback to the older generation too.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

The automatic gearshift lever has been completely replaced by a set of buttons. They've been laid out in the same sequence for the sake of familiarity:
Attachment 1726691

This is a move that solves no problem but certainly creates some new ones. It is easier to move the shifter than to look and press couple of buttons.

Or if they wanted to make the center console cleaner they could have done a steering column PRND stalk like some cars.

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Engine

• The 1.6L diesel is from Honda's 'Earth Dreams' range. It's a 4-cylinder twin-scroll turbo engine putting out 158 BHP and 350 Nm of torque.

• The diesel engine will be mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission.

The new king of the 1.6 Diesel segment with regard to output.

Hope it is not the problematic ZF9 speeder.

CRV's main shortcoming has been addressed with the inclusion of the Diesel powerplant and now with the 3rd row it should appeal to more people.