Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
Options
Comments
Ricklund - A few owners swear by the Sylvania Cool Blues. Many of the bright whites that are on the market do a good job of focusing a bright white beam directly in front of the vehicle.
I myself purchased a more "standard" high powered halogen. The CR-V's lamps are designed to throw a good bit of light to the sides. I got the Sylvania Extra Vision 9004's based on the recommendation that they improved visibility up front and to the sides. There is a noticeable difference, but it doesn't compare with the true HIDs that are in my wife's TL.
I've never driven with the Cool Blue types, so I can't say how good or how limited they are.
Quite often, the coloring used by the bulbs to achieve the color (including white) acts as a filter and actually reduces light output.
However, there are certain brands out there that do employ designs that allow them to burn brighter than standard halogen bulbs. Examples of these are Sylvania Xtra Vision, Cool Blues (Xtra Visions with a blue tint), Hella Premiums and Philips Vision Plus. I've found that the Philips are the brightest stock wattage bulbs available.
Ken
I too saw it at the NY Auto Show. Yes, it's sized like the Escape, etc., but I'm sure the US-spec Freelander's "amenities" will be more in keeping with the upscale Land Rover, than with the more mainstream Escape, CRV, etc., thereby commanding a premium price tag.
Bob
Jeep advertises that the new Liberty starts around $18K. I haven't seen one under $22K.
Bob
Honda, ever so conscious of their image, may opt not to have a door-mounted spare this go-round. Acura did away with the door mounted spare on their new MDX. Could the CRV be next?
Bob
Bob
Realistically, what do you expect as on-the-road prices to be? When someone walks into a Land Rover showroom, what kind of prices are they going to see?
Bob
The Freelander was locked up, but I look forward to trying it on too. Tribute is the other ute I am cross-shopping.
The biggest problem I have with the CR-V is the back end, whick I think is super ugly and only makes the vehicle more girlie-looking than it otherwise would. (No guy wants to drive a girl car.)
The ugliness is mostly a function of the taillight design. I appreciate the functionality of mounting the lights up high, but there is a naked area where the taillights should be, and it really bugs (as they say in Cali.).
If they fix the taillight design and add a liftgate, without messing up the attractive front and sides, Honda will have a handsome ute.
Ankleroom: the car-based cute utes in this price range are pretty much all girly cars. Most RAV4, Foreseter, and CR-V owners are in fact female. Nothing wrong with that - females are actually far more practical than males when it comes to buying a car.
If you want the manly ride, stick with the XTerra or Liberty. Both have the tough image and the hardware to go with it, even if they're a little harder to live with (ride, price, gas mileage) than car-based models.
-juice
Bob
The spare tire design was an attempt to make the CR-V look more rugged. Most utes employ body cladding, roof racks, rub strips, and other accessory-looking elements. Take a look at the old Sidekick for an example. Honda opted not to go to that extreme and simply used the spare to give it the necessary "manliness" to look the part of a sport ute. Without it, the CR-V looks too "wagony" for the US market.
Style-wise, the MDX was designed to be completely different. They were going for a clean, unfettered design rather than the traditional SUV look. It was also designed recently. In recent years, the design of SUVs has been stretched farther from the original mold.
http://www.hondapl.org/archiwum/archiwum0301.html
Varmit and Ken, I invite you to post your experiences of your aftermarket bulbs in this topic as well.
Thanks,
Drew
Host
Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
I just got to Glen Burnie for the CR-V meet. The trip was about 380 miles. I'm guessing we got about 27-29 mpg. I have to fill up the tank to be sure.
Some members over on the CRV-IX have acquired OEM-like versions here in the US that actually fit between the hood and quarter panel. Others have purchased the real deal in Taiwan / etc.
Here are better pics of the Japanse version showing this mirror:
http://www.honda.co.jp/auto-lineup/cr_v/image/top_image.jpg http://www.honda.co.jp/CR-V/image/typevariation/type_crv_f_a.jpg
http://www.honda.co.jp/CR-V/
As far as being the class leader, my question is this...Without a plant in the US, can Honda produce enough CR-V's to make the sales lead? Being the leader in quality is assured, but Jeep is planning to sell 250,000 (Yes, 250,000) Liberty's per year and Ford will be selling about 175,000 Escape's.
So, as most US CR-V's will be produced in the United Kingdom, is there the production capabilities to beat Ford and Jeep?
Tincup - We met in Glen Burnie because that was where the fella who organized the meet is from. MD is also close enough that southern New Englanders can make it along with folks from Virginia and other pints south. The local Honda dealer there was willing to spend the morning with us and allowed us to use their facilities to hold the meet. They also volunteered a number of gifts to be used as door prizes for the attendees and had one of their service guys hold a seminar on CR-V maintenance.
Most of our other meets are at places like Pismo Beach, The Rincon Trail, Mullet Lake Nat. Park, the Allegheny Nat. Forest, etc... This one is more of a social event with a picnic and road rally.
We also met with a Honda Rep who works down there in Zone 6. He was a great guy, but had to be tight-lipped about the '02 CR-V. He didn't have anything new to say, except that it will be about the same size, will have a V-TEC engine of some sort, and will have "beefier" styling to attract more male buyers. It is currently scheduled to be released on September 15th. He used the same pic that I posted the other week as an example. The guy who found and scanned it was on hand at the meet, so we got a kick out of it.
That pic of the yellow CR-V is a current model with custom paint and a body kit. You can buy one if you like it. It's also about 3 years old.
The SE model will most likely go awat for a little while. Honda brings out SE packages when a model is getting long in the tooth. This helps them to compete with the new competition without having to completely redesign the car. When the new CR-V is a few years old, they will probably bring it back.
The UK plant (Swindon) is poised to produce CR-Vs for Europe and the US. The Honda Rep at the meet said that both Japanese and UK plants will supply CR-Vs to the US. The Swindon plant is supposed to supply them for the East coast while the West coast continues to get theirs from Japan. I'd be skeptical of the quality o CR-Vs produced in the Swindon plant, but since the CR-V has been the most reliable car on market, I don't think that even bad production practices will make it a lemon.
Honda is releasing a hybrid gas/electric Civic in the next year or so. If it sells well here in the states, they will consider introducing a similar powertrain in the CR-V. This has been in the news for some time and was repeated by the Rep at the CR-V meet.
Have new leather seats in my ride along with a bunch of other goodies. I'll post pics when I have more time.
I had to miss the meet due to family obligations, and I live in Parkville. So close and yet so far.
I hope Allan pick a nice scenic local for the fall. Maybe a meet along skyline drive for the foliage.
Kpatten, I have two kids in carseats and no dog. You might want to go bigger if you need to carry the kids, their stuff (stroller), and the dog. I can fit a double stroller in the back and still have room for more, but I don't know how well a big dog would do back there.
We have been shopping and have test drove practically everything in the small SUV class, but all seem to fall short in one area or the other. I'm anxious to learn more about the 2002 CRV. I'm hoping for more horsepower/torque as well as a bit more room and better color selections. My questions to everyone are, what will the price be for the 2002 CRV's? In September, how hard will it be to obtain one? AND will there be dealer mark-up if there is a production shortage as has been discussed?
Thanks!
When going on family trips, like to Southern Cali, or up to the Lake Tahoe area, the wife's generally required to give me a good reason to take the Caravan over the 'V' (ie. excessive luggage for the 3 females in the family).
INKY
Who cares about the shifter. If it is an auto, why not have it up out of the way? Heck, I learned on a "three on the tree" on a plumber's van, now those stink!
I would also like to see a low range gear, limited slip rear end, and one of those semi auto shifters would be neat like Porsche, Hyundai Santa Fe, and some Chrysler products have.
Also, please throw on some bigger tires. Maybe start with 235/75R15 and have optional 30X9.50R15 or 31X10.50R15
And please add a towing package and cold weather/heavy duty package.
Then, I'll take a test drive. I love Honda quality.
160/165 sounds good for a 2.4. Should add a lot of oomph.
I wouldn't hold my breath for low range, but a granny gear 1st could see the light of day (they had this in the old Civic 4wd wagon). Not likely though.
LSD would be nice.
Digger - With production coming from both England and Japan, there shouldn't be too big a problem with supply meeting demand. However, you should expect to pay a premium on any new car if you are going to buy in the first year.
Inky - You may get one of your wishes. Many of the Civic-based cars are getting a dash mounted automatic, instead of a column shifter. Here's an example from the Stream.
Beatfarmer - 1st gear for the 5 speed isn't quite a creeper, but it's close. Last year a fella named Pb posted a comparison of the Grand Vitara's low gears rpm range and compared it with the CR-V's 5 speed. First gear in the CR-V fell directly between low 1 and low 2 for the GV.
Which brings me to my next concern. I see a lot of wishes here, but everybody wants the CR-V to stay about the same price. Dream on. Honda's tend to be more expensive than their competition and when the CR-V first came out, it was no exception. Shane Lawson (the fella who posted about his disappointing trade in value) and I have been exchanging ideas through e-mail. His contacts are telling him that the STARTING price for the next CR-V will be about $23K. Shane has bought and traded about half a dozen Hondas and Acuras in the past few years, so his dealer might be more liberal with info sharing.
Larger tires would be a good possibility since Honda is trying for that "beefier" look that the Rep was telling us about. This means less acceleration off the line, but with extra torque, it should be able to overcome it. An LX model with 15" tires and the upgraded i-VTEC engine should be pretty darn quick.
Even as a station wagon, most of the American buying public wants low rpm torque more than anything else. Why do you think V engines are popular? This applies doubly to SUV's, which are called upon to haul gear up mountainsides (hillsides), and tow things.
I agree about the bigger tires. Make 235/60HR16s optional, at least.
I hate those dash-mounted tranny levers, but I guess if you still want the pass-through, it's either that or the column shifter.
If you buy a CR-V and want to know where it was made, just look at the first character of the VIN. J means Japan, 1 USA, 2 Canada, 3 Mexico. Not sure what UK is, but if it's not J it probably came from there.
-juice
I bet more people would be interested in CRV if it had some towing capacity. Just think how many have to go to something else for this very reason. Many families have boats and campers nowadays.
Squatch - You didn't just imply that the CR-V is an "SUV" did you?
Towing is not a factor in this class. Honda could've built the CR-V with a towing rating of one single pound and still maintained dominance in the market. As it stands, the CR-V has the lowest rating in the class and yet it held 35% of the market for a number of years.