Honda CR-V – 4th generation launched in Malaysia
Malaysia’s favourite urban SUV, the Honda CR-V has been renewed for its fourth model generation, and some 1,000 customers have already placed their names on Honda’s order books before even seeing the car. This strong demand is testament of the CR-V’s brand power in its segment considering the availability by highly competent alternatives such as the Mazda CX-5 and Hyundai Tucson.
Since its debut in 1995, preceding three generations of the CR-V have accumulated five million sales in 160 countries world wide, with 34,000 of them currently plying Malaysian roads. As before, Honda Malaysia continues to assemble the CR-V locally in its Pegoh plant. The new model’s launch appropriately coincides with the plant’s 10th anniversary, with the second generation CR-V being the first model to roll out from it.
For the first time in the model’s history, however, Honda did not develop the CR-V from the Civic’s platform. Instead, the new model sits on an updated version of its predecessor’s platform, which was in turn based on the previous-generation Civic. As such, unlike the Civic which has switched to multi-link rear suspension, the CR-V’s chassis maintains its front MacPherson, rear double-wishbone setup.
New models are typically larger than their predecessors, but in the CR-V’s case, Honda has shrunk the CR-V’s proportions for two successive model generations. Although overall width is maintained, length and height have both decreased. The new CR-V is 20mm shorter than its predecessor bumper to bumper and sits 30mm lower. Although Honda’s quoted overall height of 1,685mm for the new model is a bigger number than the predecessor’s 1,680mm, the former number includes the added height of the vehicle’s radio antenna. Honda’s US website quotes a height of 65.1 inches, which converts to 1,655mm on the metric scale.
But the despite its reduced waist size, Honda was able to maintain a decent volume of space for the CR-V to comfortably accommodate its five passengers and their luggage. Cargo volume is measured at 589 litres with rear seats up, stretchable to 1,146 litres if you put the one-touch split-folding rear seats to use.
For the first time in its model history, Honda will be offering the CR-V with the choice of a 2.4-litre engine, but due to production restrictions (specifics of which were not revealed), the only variant currently available is the 2.0 all-wheel drive automatic. Honda also offers the option of a front-wheel drive CR-V 2.0 in many overseas market, but that variant was not considered for Malaysia as Honda believes that most CR-V customers in Malaysia continue to prefer all-wheel drive. The company is nevertheless open to the possibility of introducing this variant in the future should the market demands it.
Sitting low in the engine room, the R20A single-overhead camshaft mill that powers the CR-V 2.0 is carried over from its predecessor, but tweaked to offer improved outputs of 153hp and 190Nm, compared to 148hp and 190Nm from before. Paired to a 5-speed automatic transmission, the engine also offers improved fuel economy, sipping 8.5 l/100km, down from 8.8 l/100km of the previous model. Helping to achieve this figure is the availability of an Eco Assist system and also a button-activated ECON cruising mode.
Pleasingly, the new CR-V is priced lower than its predecessor, with the cash register ringing in at RM148,800 with insurance but before options for the 2.0 in Peninsula Malaysia. Bookings are open for the 2.4 as well, expected to hit the market in June with an estimated price of RM190,000. Buyers also have the option of specifying the CR-V with four different accessory packages, each with a unique choice of equipment – Alpha (RM153,800), Beta (RM153,050), Urban (RM153,750), and Utility (RM151,350).
Available in a choice of five colours – Twilight Blue Metallic, Taffeta White, Alabaster Silver Metallic, Crystal Black Pearl, and Polished Metal Metallic – ownership of the CR-V is supported by a 5-year unlimited mileage warranty. Maintenance intervals are now stretched to 10,000km, and for the first 100,000km, every alternate service is free of labour charges.
