UK Drive: Honda’s CR-V brings solid quality and hybrid assistance
The CR-V might be a name which has been around for a little while, but is it still worth considering in 2025? Jack Evans finds out.
What is it?
You’d expect many of those original traits to be pulled through to this latest model, which arrives with hybrid powertrains and plenty of equipment. But is that the case? We’ve been driving the CR-V to find out.
What’s new?
Though a variety of rivals remain in the way of the CR-V’s market dominance – key competitors include Volkswagen’s Tiguan and the Kia Sportage – Honda has equipped it with as much standard equipment as possible to help it keep up.
What’s under the bonnet?
More important is efficiency and with CO2 emissions of just 19g/km, the CR-V PHEV certainly has this box ticked. An electric-only range of 50 miles is impressive, too. Honda claims a combined fuel consumption of 353mpg, but you’d really have to be travelling on electric-only power for nearly all of your driving to get anywhere near this.
What’s it like to drive?
There’s a nice bit of weight to the steering, though and this helps to inspire confidence through the bends. Having around 50 miles of electric-only range also means that you don’t have to call the engine into question all that often and with a 0-100 per cent charge time of two and a half hours when using a home electric wallbox, you don’t have to wait to top it back up again, either.
How does it look?
You’ve also got six exterior colours to choose from, so there’s some good scope for personalisation should you want it.
What’s it like inside?
Rear-seat space is good, too, and there’s plenty of headroom on offer for those sitting in the back as well. Plus, with the rear seats being on rails, you can slide them forward or back depending on the need for more rear-seat legroom or extra boot space. Speaking of the latter, you’ve got an impressive 615 litres of luggage space to play with and that’s more than you’ll get in the standard hybrid version, too.
What’s the spec like?
The real snag is the price. Our test car came in at just £51,000, which feels like a lot of money. Certainly, if you compare one of 2025’s big-hitters in this segment – the £35,165 Jaecoo 7 plug-in hybrid – it does feel like the CR-V is being undercut by many rivals.
Verdict
The CR-V feels a little old-school in places. Naturally, being introduced back in 2023 means that it’s actually been around for a fair bit without any tweaks, but in some areas, it feels a little older than that. However, with its great electric-only range and impressive line-up of standard equipment, the CR-V does enough to still feel relevant today.
The only issue is this car’s price. At around £50,000, it’s an expensive proposition and with many cars doing more – or the same – for less, it feels as though the CR-V is still struggling to make it to the top.
