Honda CR-V | The Japanese Compact Crossover

Nowadays there is a lot of demand for premium crossovers and SUV. Customers prefer big, brawny SUV over the elegant and sophisticated sedans. There was a time when sedans were more common on roads and only elite class would want the SUV. This is where the SUV or crossover trend started. Well, Honda CR-V was one of the few to start the trend and still maintain that to a large extent.

Honda CR-V | Insights

The trend began in the starting of 2000 with very fewer cars in the market. Either they were way too big, or proper full-grown SUVs with off-road in focus. This is where the compact crossover jumped in the market.

• The car made its debut in the year 2001, though it was available in Indian this Honda was an import. That is the cost of the CR-V was significantly high. Due to this only rich people thought about buying one. But the-then new crossover surely turned heads with it big yet compact appeal with bold stance.
• Though the car that came to India was the second global generation, the first generation worldwide came in the year 1996.
• Through its generation, to date, the compact crossover from Japan has seen a couple of generations and some facelifts. Let’s check out the car.

2nd Generation in India | 2001

The first-ever CR-V to set foot on the Indian roads was based on the seventh generation of the Civic.

• At that time the car was offered with really good specs, which includes the engine, the suspension setup, the interiors, safety and features.
• For starters the car was powered by a K24A1 engine, it was a 2-litre motor capable of producing 160hp of power and about 190Nm of peak torque. Though the car for south-east Asia was detuned and it produced 150hp of power and same torque figures.
• The engine was mated to a manual as well as an automatic transmission. the Features include a cassette and a radio player, dash-mounted automatic gear selector knob. The car offered electronically adjustable ORVMS, night and day INRVM. Besides, the car came with dual air-bags, ABS for safety.

1st Facelift in India | 2005

The 2005 Honda CR-V doesn’t have many changes. To be specific there were just some cosmetic changes which included new coloured bumpers, an updated music system, and some variants got steering mounted controls.

3rd Generation Honda CR-V | 2006

Just after some time, Honda brought the next generation of their compact crossover. This car had many changes, including a whole new exterior as well as the interior.

• One of the most noticeable changes were on the outside. Unlike the previous generation, the spare wheel had gone under the car and the tail-gate got the lift-up hinge rather than side opening.
• The CR-V somewhat entered the new generation as the car got projector headlamps for better illumination of the road. Though it was powered by the same K-series engine the power was bumped up to 166hp and the torque increased to 220Nm.
• On the transmission front, the engine was equipped with either a 5-speed automatic transmission or a 6-speed manual.
• On the inside, the car got tremendous upgrades starting from an all-new dash. The dash featured automatic climate control, dual-zone climate control, integrated CD-player with the integrated gear lever.
• Talking about the safety, the car had 4airbags, ABS, EBD, TC, ESP, and child iso-fix mounts.
• This generation was also offered in 4×4 for a little bit of offroading.

4th Generation Honda CR-V | 2013

In 2012 Honda discontinued the CR-V from the Indian market and relaunched it next year with a new generation. The new generation CR-V finally stepped into the future car. It was thoroughly updated, inside and outside to provide everything the customers desired.

• With its new generation, the crossover from Honda finally came to India as a CKD unit instead of an import. This significantly decreased the price of the vehicle.
• The car was powered by a 2.4-litre petrol engine producing about 185bhp and nearly 220Nm of peak torque. It was equipt with a 5-speed automatic transmission. This car comes with the real-time AWD system.
• On the inside, the major changes were the addition of a new screen on the centre console to control the infotainment system. The car also got features like cruise control, voice command and an additional touch screen.
• There too was a small display in the instrument cluster which showed a whole lot of information.

  

5th Generation CR-V | 2018

This was the last generation of the vehicle, like the previous vehicle this time too the car got an overhaul.

• The exterior, interior and the engine all got a major upgrade over the previous model.
• The most visible change is that the Honda CR-V did grow in size. With that, the car was offered with a whole lot of features than before and some first in class features, like all-LED headlights and a panoramic sunroof. The car also offers all-digital instrument cluster.
• A third row is also offered in this generation. Frankly which was suited best for children.
• The CR-V is powered by a 2-Litre petrol engine producing 154hp with 189Nm of peak torque. The motor comes with a CVT automatic transmission.

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