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The CR-V Sport comes with standard, 18-inch, black, alloy wheels.By Lee Bailie for Toronto Star
Man, this car seems kinda blah! Finely crafted, reliable, and eminently practical, yes, but not exciting. Not even a little bit.
These thoughts bounced around my mind during much of the time I spent behind the wheel of a 2024 Honda CR-V Sport.
But that’s not a criticism. I quite enjoyed driving the CR-V. But it doesn’t exactly get a driver's pulse racing.
I mean, look at it! It’s a box on wheels. Pizzazz? Nope. Not ugly by any means, but it doesn’t make you want to take the long way home, what with all that cargo space and its upright stance.
That said, sometimes it’s good to drive a car that doesn’t ask much of you as an driver.
It’s good when you don’t have to get down low or climb high to get into a vehicle. Normal seats, not the over-bolstered kind that make you feel like you need to be a F1 driver to fit into them, can e quite welcoming.
And once you’re belted into those normal seats, there’s lots of room to get comfortable. And you can actually see … what’s in front, behind, all the way around. No squinting through a tiny, gun-slit rear window or gazing out over a long hood that stretches out into an infinite horizon. See and be seen, indeed!
Those are just a few of the merits the solid, reliable, built-in-Canada, CR-V has going for it. It’s been a perennial bestseller for more than 25 years, chiefly because it appeals to a sense of logic and fair value. If it was called the Honda Common Sense, you couldn’t really question it.
Now in its sixth generation, the CR-V is sold in two basic configurations: gas, and gas hybrid.
The one I’m piloting, a Sport grade, sits right in the middle of Honda Canada’s CR-V lineup. So, it’s well-equipped, if not fully loaded. Among its many standard features are heated front seats, heated steering wheel, 18-inch black alloy wheels, LED headlights and tail lights, and … a lot more.
As all gas-powered CR-Vs do, the Sport uses a 1.5-litre, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine that produces 190 horsepower and 190 pounds-feet of motive torque. The engine is bolted to a continuously variable transmission (CVT), and all-wheel drive is standard.
A two-row, five-seater, the CR-V has an upright profile that provides a great deal of room for occupants and their stuff. With rear seatbacks upright, cargo volume is an expansive 1,113 litres, and grows to 2,166 litres when they are folded down.
The Sport trim has cloth, not leather, seats, but the steering wheel is wrapped in the latter. It feels good in my hands, and I appreciate the heating button located on the steering wheel hub. No hunting around for a feature most Canadian owners will use frequently.
The same common-sense approach applies to the rest of the cabin, which looks good and has a quality feel, but isn’t designed to wow. Yes, the backlit, metallic climate knobs are tasteful and backlit, but they aren’t dazzling.
The cross-hatched insert that runs the length of the dashboard has an interesting texture and feel, but it isn’t striking, especially with a black finish. The digital displays are clean and easy to read but lack flashy animations common to such panels in other cars. Even the dashtop multimedia display is unremarkable, and, at seven inches, one of the smaller units available.
But the appeal here isn’t flash; it’s logic. Buttons and switches are where you expect them to be. Look, there’s a console shifter that everyone knows how to use! Round knobs are there for the radio and climate controls. Buttons for the windows and locks are where they should be, on the door armrests.
There’s no need to re-learn anything. What I’m describing here might seem mundane, but these design choices are a form of reassurance. They inspire confidence. You know this car. It has been modernized and is brimming with advanced tech, but you still recognize it. The CR-V fits well within your conception of how a car should look, feel, and operate. It doesn’t push you beyond your comfort zone. This makes it naturally appealing.
And that feeling flows through to its driving character, which is about as serene it gets for a gas-powered car. Acceleration is smooth and linear, both from rest and at speed. It’s not fast, but the 1.5-litre turbo hustles the CR-V along quite well, and the engine feels quite peppy, especially in sport mode.
The engine can be a bit buzzy under hard acceleration, but is much quieter at cruising speeds. Generally, the cabin is very quiet. Wind and tire noise barely intrude, and the ride is comfortable. Steering and general handing feels responsive, for an SUV, but the CR-V’s default is set to comfort. This, to me, is the core of the CR-V’s appeal. It’s relaxing.
But, compared to its competitors, a case could be made the CR-V is a bit too ordinary. Others may have sexier styling, snappier powertrains, and more attractive content packages. Certainly, there are less expensive options, a reality that applies to Honda writ large these days.
How much these factors matter will be up to individual buyers to decide. But the big bet Honda has placed on quality, reliability, and value continues to pay off. Style does matter, but so does substance. And the CR-V Sport is substantial.
来源链接：
https://www.toronto.com/life/wheels/when-does-ordinary-become-a-good-thing-in-a-car-should-this-thing-be-called/article_61eb9857-ada3-56ef-be82-611d13490d28.html
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