Honda

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Wednesday – Granny Would Have Liked It

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Jessica Honda is not a name I associate with the family car. My grandmother had a Honda Civic years ago purely because front seats could lie completely flat – she had a bad back.

She would persuade gullible grandchildren to drive whilst she lay prone on the passeger seat. From there she would conduct conversations about her advanced driving skills and remind us about her JAM driving rules, Judgment, Anticipation and Manners.

The Honda CR-V is a serviceable, reliable and yes, a comfy-seated car. It is intuitive and drives without you having to spend time working out how to manage clutch or steering. A four-wheel drive that doesn’t feel as large as some of the other SUV‘s on the market.

The Honda is certainly not flash, although it has an intriguing speedo design. There is also a little channel for your iPod wire under the central armrest, a feature which is often forgotten in more expensive rivals.

You get exactly what you are prepared to pay for but you could not go wrong with this SUV. Family, pets and friends with luggage are all easily accommodated in the CR-V.

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Tuesday – Sunny CR-V

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Jeremy Having spent most of the year frustrated by the bad weather, I’m not going to say this current heatwave isn’t welcome. And while in some respects, it would be lovely to own a convertible, I’m actually very happy to be sat in a Honda CR-V.

There have been many soft-tops in the Taylor garage but with temperatures touching 30 degrees today, I can’t understand why anybody would want to sit in an open car and sweat as they turn pink in all the wrong places.

Here’s a fact. The Brits buy more convertibles than Spain, France and Italy put together. Why? Because it is so hot in those countries that you would rather sit in air conditioned bliss than turn lobster in a convertible.

Besides, the glass roof on the CR-V lets in plenty of natural light and when it becomes too warm, two screen glide in from the front and rear to keep the sun out. The Honda is also blessed with one of the most powerful climate control systems I’ve encountered.

The only feature that’s lacking is an air conditioned glovebox to keep my dog’s bottle of water cold…

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Monday – The Rise Of The SUV

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Jeremy Driving back from the Cotswolds today I had plenty of time to ponder on the Honda CR-V and the rise of the SUV in Britain. The CR-V didn’t arrive here until the late 1990s and it was one of the pioneers of the breed. Since then, everybody has started making them, from Porsche to Mercedes and all manufacturers in-between – even Bentley is planning one for 2015!

Car owners demand so much from their vehicles these days that many people, especially families, want a machine that does everything, space, 4×4, practicality and neat styling included. Not everybody gets it right (have you seen the Skoda Yeti?) but the choice these days is mind boggling.

The CR-V does come with an excellent pedigree and being a Honda, it will also holds its value and be remarkably reliable. Our expensive EX model won’t be the best seller of course, many will opt for a lower spec car but apart from some of the average interior trim quality, the Honda feels every bit as good as a BMW X3, or Audi Q5.

Surprisingly, the exterior styling has grown on me over the last few days. It looks especially good from the rear, with privacy glass and the dark blue metallic paint splashed on our test car. The front is less desirable but perfectly adequate. Overall though, this new 2013 model is a step up from the last version and I look forward to driving it every time I have to reach for the key. A good sign with any car…

 

 

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Sunday – CR-V Does Dorset

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Jeremy This weekend we have brought the CR-V on a trip down the A303 to beautiful Beaminster, in Dorset. We’re visiting friends who organise Buckham Fair (www.buckhamfair.co.uk) with their neighbour Martin Clunes.

If you were trying to tell an American how beautiful England is, you would probably end up describing the area around Beaminster. Thatched cottages, local events every weekend and the sort of winding, narrow roads American’s hate!

The CR-V is perfect for this kind of terrain – it’s not a monster like the Range Rover or X5 and can squeeze into passing places on country lanes. There’s a lot of that going, especially in the summer when the tourists descend on the coast area around Bridport.

The CR-V has a really useful reversing camera that lights up the navigation screen when in use. It’s especially good because the CR-V does have some substantial rear pillars that restrict over the shoulder visibility.

And we are getting 45mpg out of the 4×4, which I think is pretty decent too. It’s too hot to have the sun blinds open on the glass roof but in the cooler evenings, the extra light it affords is brilliant.

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Friday – Lights & Action

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Jeremy I’ll be flicking through the CR-V‘s manual again this afternoon, with one eye on Andy Murray‘s semi-final match at Wimbledon. I should point out that the Honda has the largest manual I’ve ever seen – a positive Encyclopaedia Britannica of facts that squeezes into the glovebox!

I’m hoping to find out how to switch off the two display screens on the EX – the one that packs the sat-nav screen, and the other above it that shows the on-board computer readings.

The two fit neatly into the dashboard and are easy to read when driving. My problem came last night when driving home in the dark, I thought there was a problem with the bi-xenon headlights. They didn’t appear bright enough on full beam and at one point, I actually stopped the car and got out to check there wasn’t an issue.

What it turned out to be was the glare from the two dashboard screens, which are so bright it affected my vision out of the car. Consequently, I need to find a way of dimming down the screens, or turning them off!

Otherwise, the CR-V has auto-dimming headlights, so there’s no need to dip when an oncoming vehicle approaches, sensors do it for you. The active-corning side lights also illuminate when you turn a sharp corner – great for getting into a tight gateway.

Hopefully, I’ll find the answer before Murray claims another famous victory…

 

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Thursday – Space, As We Know It

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Jeremy The CR-V has landed and I’ve just been giving it the once over. Push button start, huge glass roof and Bluetooth connected! The EX comes with all the extras you would expect in the most expensive version, including leather seats, navigation and DAB radio (a must for Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and the Ashes next week!).

What is remarkable about the interior is the amount of space – quite Tardis-like. Even with the rear seats in place, the boot measures almost 600-litres – more than enough for Malin the Hungarian Viszla and his best mate Humphrey. Those back seats also drop with the minimum of fuss using a single lever, freeing up 1600+ litres.

Some chunky rear pillars make over the shoulder vision is a bit tricky when reversing, although being an SUV, general visibility is excellent. The giant glass roof on the EX doesn’t open and to keep the sun out on hot days there is an automatic screen that closes smoothly from both the front and rear.

The dashboard is easy on the eye, fairly plain with quite a rash of buttons for the driver to understand. Electric seats on the EX are exceptionally comfortable, with masses of headroom both front and rear. The air conditioning really blasts it out too – good news as we are expecting a heatwave from this weekend…