Test drove 2007 CR-V today

[TMQ]

I went to test drive the 2007 model at a local Honda dealer (Lynnwood Honda). There are about 10 CR-Vs on the lot, all made in Japan. The model that I drove is a FWD EX-L, Whistler Silver color, grey leather.

Exterior: early photos of the CR-V front were disappointing. In person, it looks actually pretty good. I thought the weird front would look better on dark colors, but it looks sharp on light and dark colors. The LX model with the black bar adjacent to "H" looks fine too. It seems to have more character than the Gen2 front - which looks bland. My '02 CR-V has a hood guard and is certainly better :) The back also looks excellent. In some angle it resembles MDX. I hardly ever use the picnic table in my '02, so having the full size spare there is just fine.

My favorite color is probably the Whistler silver. Black would be 2nd. (Judging from the cloudy day.) I noticed that even on EX (not EX-L), the side mirrors are black (not body color); Honda is a bit cheap on this one.

Interior: quite nice, much better than Gen2. Gear shift is compact and at the right place. Still hard plastic on the dash, but the texture is good. The top storage bin looks nice. The steering wheel is comfortable and the instrument display is excellent. Instrument display responds to day time light conditions - an excellent feature. Parking brake is at the location of most minivans - which is fine. One complaint is the strange looking door handle - the hard plastic is also where my left knee leans against - it would have been much to make the area soft.

Driving impression: instead of going on the highway, I took a route with some winding roads (Edmonds Olympic View Drive). This is a road that I've used to test drive several sports sedans (TSX, IS300 etc.). The CR-V handles very nice with little body leaning. Compared to my '02 (top heavy), this is so so much better. At a couple places I way exceeded the speeding limit (which is 20-25 mph), but the car went through the turns with confidence. The level of power seems fine. I guess it wouldn't complain if Honda puts a small V6 into the CR-V. Hard to tell about the noise level - really depends on the road condition. I didn't pay much attention to the audio system (too concentrated on the winding road).

If I had $ to throw at a new car, I'd certainly pick this one up for my '02. If I had time, I'd test drive the RAV4 next week.

[Dragonfly]

I noticed that even on EX (not EX-L), the side mirrors are black (not body color); Honda is a bit cheap on this one.


Baffling, since even on my '06 EX the side mirrors are painted.

[clarion15090]

Here's a couple of neat features I discovered driving mine in the pouring down rain last night. When you put the car in reverse while the winshield wipers are on, the rear wiper automatically makes two swipes.

Also, when you set the intermittent wipers at say the slowest possible setting while sitting still (at a red light), they speed up once you get moving. Then, when you stop again, they go back to the slower speed you originally set. Pretty cool, and smart.

Maybe someone should start a "Neat Features" thread.

[sleeksilver]

I noticed that even on EX (not EX-L), the side mirrors are black (not body color); Honda is a bit cheap on this one.


Baffling, since even on my '06 EX the side mirrors are painted.

It is weird isn't it??? I can understand the door handles not being painted, but the mirrors?


Everyone keeps on talking about a V6. We would get a Turbo 4 before a V6.

[clarion15090]

It is weird isn't it??? I can understand the door handles not being painted, but the mirrors?

Honda did that to sell more EX-L models. Unless you just LOVE leather, there is not a lot of value for upcharge to the EX-L model. But, some folks will more or less get the EX-L just for the colored mirrors and handles, at least that is what will push them over the edge to getting it.

[Skrapiron]

I fail to see any reason to pay a $4500.00 premium just to get colour matched mirrors and door handles....

I can get a set of 17x7 alloy wheels for about $400.00, a can of glacier blue spray paint and primer for $7.00, DVD-Navigation system for $600.00 and an aftermarket power moon roof for $1200.00. If I HAD to have the 'upscale look" I could get it for about half price. The only thing I wouldn't have is the leather. I hate leather. (If you ever had leather you understand why. In the summer, if you're wearing shorts, you need to spray yourself with PAM or take a pancake turner to chip your skin off of the seat. )

[Visiting_Guest]

couple things ive noticed so far, the CRV seems to be geared towards selling EX-Ls exclusively. The LX is so strip down i mean uhhh the first thing that comes to mind is Mail Truck. Even with the EX, there is not much going on, black trim on the frame is a clear give away of low end. Also, what is the story of only putting the subwoofer in on the navigation, i find that odd and frustrating at the EXL price

One question I have is what I would consider a design flaw of the Gen 2.
The Gas Pedal is WAY TOO CLOSE to the the Break Pedal & vice versa. Has this changed? I actually hated driving the Gen 2 because of this, my foot would have to be mashed into the upper right corner to not inadvertantly hit the break pedal, even my sister with smaller feet wouldd complain to me about this.

How is the spacing down there now? I think this is sort of a big deal for some people, it was annoying as ever whenever I would use her truck

[Visiting_Guest]

I fail to see any reason to pay a $4500.00 premium just to get colour matched mirrors and door handles....

I can get a set of 17x7 alloy wheels for about $400.00, a can of glacier blue spray paint and primer for $7.00, DVD-Navigation system for $600.00 and an aftermarket power moon roof for $1200.00. If I HAD to have the 'upscale look" I could get it for about half price. The only thing I wouldn't have is the leather. I hate leather. (If you ever had leather you understand why. In the summer, if you're wearing shorts, you need to spray yourself with PAM or take a pancake turner to chip your skin off of the seat. )

the cloth they use in the 07 would make me buy leather even if i was allergic to it. Buying aftermarket items like the ones you have listed, if u can buy 4 17 inch truck rims that r alloy for 400 bucks with a name brand tire, open your own store cuz that is insane. If you want to start doing aftermarket sunroofs, thats another ball of wax, and you def will be lacking the quality and reliability of a genuine Honda product, but to each their own. Not to mention it will look like a hack job of a base model. Ive always found security in spending an extra buck and doing it the right way with Honda, the DVD is a different story I hate the Honda (Panasonic) Stereos

[clarion15090]

One question I have is what I would consider a design flaw of the Gen 2. The Gas Pedal is WAY TOO CLOSE to the the Break Pedal & vice versa. Has this changed?

I don't think so. I only ever drove the Gen 2 in a test drive and never really noticed. On the new Gen 3, I have several times now hit the gas and the brake at the same time when I was trying to apply the brakes.

[Visiting_Guest]

that does not sound good - that was a pretty glaring defect from the Gen 2, basically my biggest complaint because it made city driving very irritating

[Skrapiron]

The ASA JS5 5 spoke alloy 17x7 wheels are available at tirerack.com for $129.00 each. If you poke around, there are a few wheel rebate offers. They end up being about $100.00 each. Why would you buy different tires? Theres no diffence in the tire between the base LX and the top-of-the-line EX-L.

An Inalfa ASi series power sun-roof is $750.00. An Evo series is availabe for $550.00. There are custom shops that can do a professional installation for abour $500.00 more.... Hack job indeed.

[Visiting_Guest]

you are going to take the tires off ur base rims and put them on the aftermarket rims? im sorry i thought u were including tires with ur rims

750 + 500 for installation is a hell of a lot for an aftermarket accessory. My CX-7 i got a 1 touch moon and sun & bose 9 speaker, as a package for 1200 so not sure where that deal lands, if thats considered a deal.

ALl i know is that one of my clients owns 3 car stores and unless you spend top dollar on aftermarket stuff, the quality of those rims and accessoryies is pretty chintzy compared to Honda

[CollegeProf]

Funny, but I never had leather until my last vehicle, a Pilot. We have two small children and I have to say it's been WONDERFUL!!!! I never wanted leather because we live in the deep south where we have NO winter and it's 80-100 degrees year round. Yes, it is extremely hot when you first get in BUT cools off fairly quickly and that far outweighs the aspect of children who might get sick in the car, spill things, etc.

I know, I know, I'm sounding practical now-but, when it came time to look at the new CRVs-I didn't even THINK about anything but the EX-L because I wanted leather. :) Those of you with children know of which I speak!

[TMQ]

..One question I have is what I would consider a design flaw of the Gen 2.
The Gas Pedal is WAY TOO CLOSE to the the Break Pedal & vice versa. Has this changed? I actually hated driving the Gen 2 because of this, my foot would have to be mashed into the upper right corner to not inadvertantly hit the break pedal, even my sister with smaller feet wouldd complain to me about this.

How is the spacing down there now? I think this is sort of a big deal for some people, it was annoying as ever whenever I would use her truck

I've driven the Gen2 for 4 yrs and never had an issue, and neither has my wife. Test drove the '07 and that didn't notice that either.

Regarding the side mirror and door handle, I guess if you get a black LX or EX it will fit just right.

LX still provides a lot of features. Anything else that you want (better audio system, dark glass, alloy wheels) you can get easily. The only thing that may be hard to do is steering wheel mounted audio controls.

With leather, yes you can't be stingy with using AC. In a few years, maybe features like cooled leather seat will become more mainstream.

Again, to me the best part of Gen3 (from my test drive) is the handling.

[bing]

Here's an image of the pedals. Not bad from my experience.

Yeah, I was bummed by the LX/EX differentiation.

Bing

[YummyPork]

I went to test drive the 2007 model at a local Honda dealer (Lynnwood Honda). There are about 10 CR-Vs on the lot, all made in Japan. The model that I drove is a FWD EX-L, Whistler Silver color, grey leather.

Exterior: early photos of the CR-V front were disappointing. In person, it looks actually pretty good. I thought the weird front would look better on dark colors, but it looks sharp on light and dark colors. The LX model with the black bar adjacent to "H" looks fine too. It seems to have more character than the Gen2 front - which looks bland. My '02 CR-V has a hood guard and is certainly better :) The back also looks excellent. In some angle it resembles MDX. I hardly ever use the picnic table in my '02, so having the full size spare there is just fine.

My favorite color is probably the Whistler silver. Black would be 2nd. (Judging from the cloudy day.) I noticed that even on EX (not EX-L), the side mirrors are black (not body color); Honda is a bit cheap on this one.

Interior: quite nice, much better than Gen2. Gear shift is compact and at the right place. Still hard plastic on the dash, but the texture is good. The top storage bin looks nice. The steering wheel is comfortable and the instrument display is excellent. Instrument display responds to day time light conditions - an excellent feature. Parking brake is at the location of most minivans - which is fine. One complaint is the strange looking door handle - the hard plastic is also where my left knee leans against - it would have been much to make the area soft.

Driving impression: instead of going on the highway, I took a route with some winding roads (Edmonds Olympic View Drive). This is a road that I've used to test drive several sports sedans (TSX, IS300 etc.). The CR-V handles very nice with little body leaning. Compared to my '02 (top heavy), this is so so much better. At a couple places I way exceeded the speeding limit (which is 20-25 mph), but the car went through the turns with confidence. The level of power seems fine. I guess it wouldn't complain if Honda puts a small V6 into the CR-V. Hard to tell about the noise level - really depends on the road condition. I didn't pay much attention to the audio system (too concentrated on the winding road).

If I had $ to throw at a new car, I'd certainly pick this one up for my '02. If I had time, I'd test drive the RAV4 next week.

I too sat in the same car you test drove this past Saturday at Lynnwood Honda (and drove the other leather one they had - kind of a bronze color with a tan interior - not as nice looking as the gray).

We took the same route and ditto on your driving impressions. The 5 speed was very smooth and the power was more than adequate. It came on very smoothly and revved easily when needed... I love the feel of Honda engines.

[sleeksilver]

One question I have is what I would consider a design flaw of the Gen 2.
The Gas Pedal is WAY TOO CLOSE to the the Break Pedal & vice versa. Has this changed? I actually hated driving the Gen 2 because of this, my foot would have to be mashed into the upper right corner to not inadvertantly hit the break pedal, even my sister with smaller feet wouldd complain to me about this.


I wouldn't call this a design flaw, I would call it sporty. Makes heel toe easier if you have a manual. I have SUPER wide feet and I've never had a single problem.


You must really hate sports cars then :roll:

[Visiting_Guest]

One question I have is what I would consider a design flaw of the Gen 2.
The Gas Pedal is WAY TOO CLOSE to the the Break Pedal & vice versa. Has this changed? I actually hated driving the Gen 2 because of this, my foot would have to be mashed into the upper right corner to not inadvertantly hit the break pedal, even my sister with smaller feet wouldd complain to me about this.


I wouldn't call this a design flaw, I would call it sporty. Makes heel toe easier if you have a manual. I have SUPER wide feet and I've never had a single problem.


You must really hate sports cars then :roll:

No, i really hate my foot pressing the gas and break at the same time.

There is a difference between being sporty and unsafe, there just isnt enough room down there, at least for my size 11, the sole of my shoe hits the break all the time, again, just my experience, and I've heard this complaint from many people, and thought it would be a good idea to post while people are looking at these things

Apparently, I'm not alone, see Clarion's Post on page 1, if you read it

[Visiting_Guest]

also, since when did the CRV become a sports car? Heal toe is great, IF, there was an actual manual tranny and or the slightest hint that you were driving a sports car , but its not good when im going down a masssive hill with a full car

[sleeksilver]

I did read it, seems to me that you are a minority in having this problem. You must not have your foot positioned correctly. Try moving your foot farther to the left on the brake.

Manual or not. It is not dangerous. I don't think Honda would design something that is dangerous my friend :roll:

I have a size 11 and have to wear a WIDE shoe. I do not have the same problem as you do. I have not heard of many people complaining about this....

[Visiting_Guest]

go easy with the roll eyes buddy, just a friendly forum exchanging experiences, this is my last post c ya Honda

[TMQ]

..

I too sat in the same car you test drove this past Saturday at Lynnwood Honda (and drove the other leather one they had - kind of a bronze color with a tan interior - not as nice looking as the gray).

We took the same route and ditto on your driving impressions. The 5 speed was very smooth and the power was more than adequate. It came on very smoothly and revved easily when needed... I love the feel of Honda engines.

Hey great minds think alike. Maybe some one could try the same course with VSA off to see how it feels. Anyway, VSA is a must have for a SUV - it supposedly save a lot more lives than the airbags, almost as important as the seat belt. Good thing it's standard.

I agree with the leather comment; the so called "Ivory" leather interior is too bronze. It would be much better to have a lighter version.

[mkaresh]

couple things ive noticed so far, the CRV seems to be geared towards selling EX-Ls exclusively. The LX is so strip down i mean uhhh the first thing that comes to mind is Mail Truck. Even with the EX, there is not much going on, black trim on the frame is a clear give away of low end. Also, what is the story of only putting the subwoofer in on the navigation, i find that odd and frustrating at the EXL price

Honda has led the industry in only offering a very small number of build combinations. I suspect a lot of people have bought Hondas with sunroofs over the years who wouldn't actually pay for the feature.