Should you buy one?

In our experience, this Honda CR-V is an excellent choice for a painless ownership proposition in the family SUV sector. It’s easy and comfortable to drive, has a well made and intelligently designed interior with lots of space, comes with a large boot, and offers impressive fuel economy for a large petrol-powered vehicle.

It’s certainly not the cheapest choice, competing on cost with unreservedly premium models such as the BMW X3 and pricier than some appealing seven-seater SUVs, including the latest Skoda Kodiaq. And though the hybrid technology it uses is smooth and exceptionally efficient, there are much more powerful alternatives on the market as well, not least the Toyota RAV4.

And yet the CR-V never feels anything less than great value. Given the opportunity to seriously consider one of these, we would be placing it very close to the top of our shortlist for the appeal of its all-round practicality.

What we like

The user friendly interior is a breath of fresh air and the boot is cavernous, especially on PHEV models. Efficiency is good, it’s exceptionally well equipped and Honda’s reliability record is great.

What we don’t like

There’s no such thing as a cheap CR-V, and some might find the acceleration is lacking.