Honda CR-V (2007 - 2012) 2.2 i-CTDi EX 5d Owner Review

I bought this car to tow my caravan and to be fair it does this very well. Using it solo, however, it shows its weaknesses. The car is heavy and its 140 bhp engine just doesn't have enough power. The manual gearbox is a good, smooth shifter but first and second gears are very low - this makes for a good tow car but a frustrating everyday driver, especially around town. The intelligent four wheel drive system works well and has got me out of trouble on icy roads on a couple of occasions but don't expect the car to be a heavy duty off roader - just think of it as being a car that can get you out of a damp, grassy field and you won't be disappointed. I have found the ride a bit too hard and uncompromising but this may be partly because my EX version has the larger 18 inch alloys. The boot is a good size with the back seats in place but the extra room you get by tumbling the seats forward is disappointing as the seats themselves still take up lots of space. I found this a particular issue because my previous car was an estate and just swallowed long loads. it's no good thinking you can put your long loads on the roof either - the fixed roof bar points are quite close together so long planks seem quite unstable when lashed on to the roof bars. My car is the EX version with lots of kit as standard. No niggles to report on this except maybe the twin panoramic 'sunroof', which doesn't open - so what's the point? Reliability has not been a problem. Japanese mechanicals are pretty robust and if looked after will serve you well. Small niggles can be irritating - like a clutch pedal that squeaks like Stuart Little when the weather is damp. Running costs are a tad disappointing - road tax is £220 a year and fuel economy is only low to mid 30's mpg if you do mostly short journeys. On a run this improves to low 40's. Overall I would say this car is pretty dependable and reliable but not very exciting. Would I buy another one? Probably not - there are better cars out there.