CTC Review: 2007 Honda CR-V EX

[CD_Editor]

Picture Gallery:  2007 Honda CR-V EX


Day 1:

Click Image to Enlarge

The Honda CR-V is, believe it or not, Honda's best selling vehicle world wide.  In Canada the CR-V is the second best selling small SUV, second only to the Ford Escape.  The CR-V was first introduced in Canada in 1997 and is now onto its third generation platform and has changed considerably since last years model.  More ...

[Phillyc]

Glad you're testing the CRV, since I am looking at getting one in the near future.  It is actually a beautiful design in my opinion, especially in person.  However, for this price I'm also looking at the RAV4 and the CX-7, both seem like outstanding cars as well.  What a tough choice! 

[Bullet Blue]

I've seen about 4 new CRV's so far and I still can't get over that front end. I thought I would get used to it. Looks great from the side and rear though.

[Anonymous]

What about the infamous parking brake?  I've heard that it was somewhat misplaced and that it gets in the way when you sit in the car.  Would this thing be suited for tall drivers (6' 3")?

[RC]

Wow, talking about overpriced.  I think the new CR-V has priced itself out of the segment for which you could argue it was the pioneer.  I mean I bought one a couple of years ago with pretty much all the same options (EX) and it cost $4,000 less!  I guess the RAV-4 and CX-7 are the way to go now.  The CR-V is a nice car...but come one, $34k?!

[SBC31]

Ouch, $34K is nasty and I think Honda is starting to mess things up with their pricing and what they are offering. I've had 6 Honda's in my life but last Spring I went with Mazda as they offer so much more bang for the buck and have some great models. Honda needs to start offering the Honda Civic Hatch in 3 and 5 doors (hatchbacks of course) and will now need to make a cheaper CR-V like vehicle to compete with other brands.

[serenaray]

Great to see a review! I've had my CRV EX for almost 4wks now and it's been fantastic. It's so true that it drives like a car (reminds me of my old '97 Camry). Fuel economy is stable at 11L/100km for mainly city driving... lots of little convenience features... love the dash colour scheme and one-touch rear hatch.

Only thing that's bothered me is the rattling license plate cover at low rpm's.

My opinion is that you can't go wrong with the CRV or RAV-4. The CX-7... my experience with Mazdas is $$$$ in maintenance/repairs. I think in the long run, the CRV will cost less to maintain compared to either the RAV-4 or CX-7. Of course, I am fairly biased

[atakkar]

I've seen the SRV in person and it looks awesome especially on the interior. However I can not justify spending that much on mini SUV with only a 4 cylinder....Like RC said, CX-7 or RAV-4 are offered with a 6cylinder option too. Many people complain about Mazda having bad reliability, but of all the 4 friends that own Mazda in some shape or form, have had no issues for the last 1-3 years they have owned it...will have to wait and see how this CRV fairs well with others in terms of price..

[jww]

What about the infamous parking brake?  I've heard that it was somewhat misplaced and that it gets in the way when you sit in the car.  Would this thing be suited for tall drivers (6' 3")?

I believe that this revision has moved the parking brake off of the dash, but not sure where it is now  - a pedal in the driver's footwell? At any rate, it doesn't loolk to be on the dash any longer, that's for sure.

I happen to like the CR-V, but the price sure puts me off. Honda premiums are starting to get me down.

[superfreek]

Test drove the 07 CRV, 07 CX-7 and the RDX.  First I am not sold on the new front styling, still looks like the car has a serious under bite.  The rest of the styles looks very nice.  The car handling was excellent, the fuel eco was good, the value is also pretty good.  The acceleration was not that great (maybe I sould not have drove this car right after the Acura RDX).  Overall I was satified, but not blown away.  The RDX on the other hand.. blew me away.  That car felt like stick'em on the road, and the acceleration (due to the turbo) was amazing.  Really fun car to drive.  I am still waiting till Feb to test drive the 07 Mitsu Outlander.. the price is about the same as the CRV.

[mrthompson]

Wing, how bad is the blind spot created by the chunky rear pillar?

[Mr. Meow]

This CR-V is looking less and less like an SUV.
.

[quadzilla]

This CR-V is looking less and less like an SUV.
.

Consider it has never been a SUV   

[serenaray]

Wing, how bad is the blind spot created by the chunky rear pillar?

I posted a couple pictures of the d-pillar here:
http://www.canadiandriver.com/forum/index.php/topic,49498.0.html

takes a little getting used to.

[serenaray]

What about the infamous parking brake?  I've heard that it was somewhat misplaced and that it gets in the way when you sit in the car.  Would this thing be suited for tall drivers (6' 3")?

The parking brake is a pedal to the left of the dead pedal.

[ovr50]

I have that same placement of the parking brake in my '05 Highlander, and I quite like it there. Takes about a day to get used to the location, after that, it's just natural - so much so that I found myself trying the same foot action in wife's Solara, but the parking brake is the centre of console type in that car. 

[Leviathan]

Wow, talking about overpriced.  <snip> I guess the RAV-4 and CX-7 are the way to go now.  The CR-V is a nice car...but come on, $34k?!

CR-V EX, no options, BC taxes, 60 month purchase:
Annual Finance Rate: 6.9%
Total Monthly Payment: $762.83
Total of Monthly Payments: $45,769.80

CX-7, GS + AWD, no other options, BC taxes, 60 month purchase:
Annual Finance Rate: 4.9%
Total Monthly Payment: $752.74
Total of Monthly Payments: $45,164.40

CX-7 is currently a little cheaper to buy 

[Blueprint]

attakar, CX-7 comes only with a premium-fuel loving turbo four (the larger CX-9 comes with a 6, but that thing is Pilot-sized).

We owned a '99 CR-V LX 5-speed for 5 years (wife's car) and we loved it. It could not take 3 child seats, so it had to go in '04.  The wider new model could maybe accomodate our 3 kids, but first '07 wife sees : "it's so ugly!  What ? No more manual ?".  So, my wife being prime market for the new CR-V, and who badly misses her '99, hates the new one.  At such a price level, and with no stick optiion, we'd get another Odyssey and get much better value.

[Ernie]

I test drove the 2007 CRV multiple times and loved it, until we got to the price. The Honda dealer was not willing to negoatiate any more than a few dollars off the MSRP ($34,500) and when I point out that the U.S. MSRP is so much cheaper ($22,850) he couldn't give me an answer.

So I'm posting this question to the experts...why are the Canadian prices so much different. I can't see adding kilometers and bilingual manuals would add that much.

thanks.

[airbalancer]

I test drove the 2007 CRV multiple times and loved it, until we got to the price. The Honda dealer was not willing to negoatiate any more than a few dollars off the MSRP ($34,500) and when I point out that the U.S. MSRP is so much cheaper ($22,850) he couldn't give me an answer.

So I'm posting this question to the experts...why are the Canadian prices so much different. I can't see adding kilometers and bilingual manuals would add that much.

thanks.

US vs Canadian pricing

Please do a search