[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by abs182

^
Well to be honest with you I'm at the wits end about this decision of replacing my Corolla with. Nothing seems to appeal and fit my requirements. I need long term durability like my corolla itself which will be 7.5 yrs soon and I also need a proper upgrade as the car will be 60% to 70% chauffeur driven for my dad and rest by me and my wife.

Innova! Nothing else will match all of the above or Fortuner if little more upmarket, but rear seat comfort is not that great. Very honestly an upgrade for an Altis is a tough one to crack, ask my fellow mod Vidyut if you don't believe me.

Rest we can take it in your upgrade thread later

[srikrishna717]

Eddy,
Excellent review. One question about the What you won't like section.
You say "EPS steering stays light at highway speeds. The previous-gen's hydraulic steering is history"
So how big an issue is this and at what speeds ?

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by srikrishna717

Eddy,
Excellent review. One question about the What you won't like section.
You say "EPS steering stays light at highway speeds. The previous-gen's hydraulic steering is history"
So how big an issue is this and at what speeds ?

Well, it will take time to get used to that steering play. It starts getting uncomfortable at 90 and gets scary at higher speeds.

Butttt, not a deal breaker IMO.

[Fullrevs]

Great review Eddy! Deserves 5-stars.

Ive owned a CRV for 3.5 years now (the outgoing model) and I am 50-50 on the new CRV after reading your review. Some of the basic points havent been updated and that is a disappointment.

The 5speed AT transmission seems to be same except for the addition of the paddle shifters (dearly missed on the outgoing model). This is a real disappointment of a gearbox. The jerks are no fun while upshifting and whilst on kickdown mode. Especially with the sophisticated boxes that are available in the market today.

The road and wind noise is again a big disappointment. I wonder how much of this is due to the tyres. The floor seems to be made out of cardboard and the amount of noise levels entering the cabin is severe. You could get a headache after a few hours on a long highway journey.You really have to crank up the audio system to shun this noise.

After 3.5 years, the shock absorbers seem to give up on most of its dampening qualities and this I believe is a natural phenomena in the CRV. I havent faced this problem with my other vehicles (Skoda Laura, Innova, Honda Accord V6) and I am quite keen to know if the new CRV will have this issue. The replacement parts are in no way cheap but maybe since the car is now being assembled here, availability and costs will come down a bit.

Ive sat in the new car and found it to be an overall improvement. The additional features and power will certainly keep current CRV owners interested. I know I wouldnt mind upgrading my 2.4L to a new model...unless I can go and afford a Q7.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by abs182

^
Well to be honest with you I'm at the wits end about this decision of replacing my Corolla with. Nothing seems to appeal and fit my requirements. I need long term durability like my corolla itself which will be 7.5 yrs soon and I also need a proper upgrade as the car will be 60% to 70% chauffeur driven for my dad and rest by me and my wife.

But that's a dilemma for another thread. Thanks for your inputs though. Have almost ruled out the CRV now.

As Jaggu mentioned, replacing a Corolla is a tough task.

The CR-V has the same ground clearance as the Corolla which means it's not really a true SUV. Also, the CR-V will never be able to take the amount of abuse a Corolla can. It's never built for robustness and is best suited to american roads. Going by what Jaggu told me about his CR-V only cemented this point.

If you don't really need a SUV, the Altis petrol CVT automatic makes immense sense as well. You get the new engine with the latest 7 speed CVT transmission. It will give better FE than the CR-V. Rear seat comfort is very good in the Altis. New Altis has a lot more features and the top end has xenon's, smart keyless entry with push start, touch screen audio player. Basically the Altis is even better kitted than the 2L CR-V.

[karpusv]

The previous CR-V had a nifty Conversation Mirror along with the sunglass holder. That seems to have been dropped off. Or did I miss it in the pictures?

[dkaile]

Great Review Eddy. Kudos to our TeamBhp once again for this.

However, the success of the product in question is doubtful unlike the earlier iteration. For 20~25L priced petrol vehicle with a 170mm ground clearance, and no real off-road capabilities, with a eps power steering and poor high speed sound deadening and suspect luxury quotient, I really think better options exist in the Indian market if thought out objectively and without getting blinded by the once fabled Honda moniker.

This product will go the Toyota Camry / Hyundai Sonata way in the 'value for money' conscious Indian buyer...

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by dkaile

However, the success of the product in question is doubtful unlike the earlier iteration. For 20~25L priced petrol vehicle with a 170mm ground clearance, and no real off-road capabilities, with a eps power steering and poor high speed sound deadening and suspect luxury quotient, I really think better options exist in the Indian market if thought out objectively and without getting blinded by the once fabled Honda moniker.

This product will go the Toyota Camry / Hyundai Sonata way in the 'value for money' conscious Indian buyer...

I believe this is a good alternative to the D2 petrol luxury Sedans(Accord and to some extent even Superb). While it may not have full Off-road ability, it will certainely fare better in the Indian conditions and the potholed Indian roads than the low slung Sedans which can scrape every other speed bump.
But then again, someone with this kind of dough can splurge a bit more to get the Bimmer!!

[sajusherief]

Thanks for that wonderful review eddy, in fact I was eagerly waiting for this.

I'm a great fan of CRV, especially the previous generation and always dreamed about owning one! But this one is a serious let down to me. Apart from the opinion that the interiors doesn't look premium at all, it gives me a "premium BRIO interior" feel !
Also, I seriously want to see the FE figures with the "ECON" button ON ! Any guess ?

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

I believe this is a good alternative to the D2 petrol luxury Sedans

For the petrol luxury sedan buyer the product needs to hit a sweet spot. Where he is loosing out on fuel costs, most buyers like that to be compensated with space, luxury, comfort and most importantly final price. Only some products have been able to fulfill those requirements and the monthly sales figures are testament to the ones which do. Even slight over-pricing can disturb the fine balance, case in point being the New Camry and even the New Sonata. The recent hikes are making the premium luxury cars even more out of contention to the value conscious luxury car buyer. That was my point of view. Had the CRV been placed in the 15 to 20L bracket, which was expected once it became a assembled product instead of an import, it would have been able to capture the D Segment more comprehensively.

BTW Honda's are infamous for scraping the bottom much more than any other manufacturer with reference to your point made about low slung sedan's.

[himanshu_j]

Just got off the phone with Southend Honda, Jasola in New Delhi. They don't even have a car on demo let alone test drives! And to top it, they are quoting a 3 month waiting period

Anyone here who has booked one or planning to?

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by sajusherief

Also, I seriously want to see the FE figures with the "ECON" button ON ! Any guess ?

Not too different, I would guess. Expect an increase of approx 10% with the Econ button on

[abs182]

Originally Posted by himanshu_j

Just got off the phone with Southend Honda, Jasola in New Delhi. They don't even have a car on demo let alone test drives! And to top it, they are quoting a 3 month waiting period

Anyone here who has booked one or planning to?

I think thats the case across the country. In my city they have a 2.0 L MT on display which will eventually be sold but no test drive vehicles. After my relentless follow up the showroom guys asked my to secretly conduct a half a KM test drive and make up my mind!

The funny thing is that the dealer told me that they've been assigned 3 or 4 cars to be sold and with that in mind they'll get 1 car every 2 or 3 months!

A manufacturer deliberately targeting such low numbers is a big red flag for me. I love the car but these other things is making me apprehensive. Plus its foolish to expect someone to put down 23 to 25 lacs without a test drive. But funny is the ways in which Honda works. Plus I think they want to keep their entire managerial push for the Amaze. Leaves people like us in a limbo.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by abs182

I'm at the wits end about this decision of replacing my Corolla with. Nothing seems to appeal and fit my requirements. I need long term durability like my corolla itself which will be 7.5 yrs soon and I also need a proper upgrade as the car will be 60% to 70% chauffeur driven for my dad and rest by me and my wife.

But that's a dilemma for another thread. Thanks for your inputs though. Have almost ruled out the CRV now.

Since we have already gone with this from the replies that I see above, I too was in that dillemma 2 years back when I was to replace my 2004 Corolla (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...55-000-km.html ). I ended up buying the Fortuner and then the Superb. While it is tough to match the famed Toyota reliability, I would recommend you the Superb over the CRV. Skoda is improving quite a bit on the service front where it was lacking, as per my personal experience. The overall ownership experience is much superior to my previous Corolla.

[sparsh]

CRV looks like a cousin of the volvo SUV's. Unless or until Honda plonks a diesel engine, does a major revamp of the cars interiors. If they can push the envelope by changing the seating to 7/8 seater with 3 row air conditioning. However the CRV has never been a motor enthusiast car, its meant to be sedately driven.