Honda CR-V
Perhaps I was underwhelmed by this CR-V because it had a Honda
badge on the front. This is, after all, a very good truck-car hybrid,
with a spacious interior, lots of useful storage space, and
reasonably good performance. But measured by the standards against
which I measure Hondas&emdash;which, I've got to admit, are slightly
higher than the standards I hold most cars to; that's why I drive
one&emdash;it falls way short.
Mostly, it's the dash design that did&emdash;or didn't&emdash;do
it for me. Everything is there, to be sure, but its layout,
especially judged against the ultra-logic layouts so common to every
Honda, seems haphazard and poorly planned. To wit: the power window
switches, instead of being on the door (where they usually are) or on
the centre console (where I don't mind them) are mounted down low on
the dash on the driver's side, and are invisible from view from
behind the wheel. The mirror switch is located beside the heater
vent, and the cruise control switch is mounted all up high by its
lonesome beside a defroster outlet.
What's more, the steering wheel itself doesn't point straight out
towards you; it points towards the driver's door at an angle, which
makes it difficult to find a really comfortable driving
position&emdash;which is a shame, because with its excellent multi
adjustable seats, it's wonderfully easy to find a comfortable sitting
position.
The seating arrangements and the versatility of the interior
appointments are the CR-V's greatest strengths. By removing the front
headrests and folding all of the seats completely down, you instantly
create a very usable, and surprisingly comfortable bed. The rear
seats recline independently, and they fold forward to increase the
rear compartment's already-generous cargo space.
All by itself, the rear compartment is a model of thoughtfulness;
in addition to a large, flat load space, there are covered
compartments underneath the floor, a big well into which you can
throw toools and other detritus, and a lidded compartment in the rear
door with tie-down straps. The floor of the compartment comes out
completely and has a set of folding legs, which allow it to turn into
a usefully-sized picnic table. (Too bad they didn't find some way to
include lawn chairs.)
The new-for-1998 manual transmission really enlivens the CR-V's
performance, though it's certainly no race car. Low gearing helps it
zip around town with relative ease, though you're always conscious of
how much weight the 2.0-litre engine is hauling around. Visibility
for such a high car is good, and it corners realtively flat, though
certainly at speeds a lot lower than you'd take corners in a car.
Still, you learn to adapt, and driving a big car with a small
engine and up-high visibility teaches you to plan better, to look
through traffic for ways to conserve your momentum. The five-speed is
a willing partner, with relatively short throws and an excellent
feel. The brakes are great, and ABS is standard; the steering is
communicative if a tad on the light side.
Honda came to the cute-ute party a lot later than the other
competitiors in this field&emdash;the CR-V came along a year after
Toyota introduced the RAV4, for instance&emdash;and in a way, you can
see it as a bit of a rush job. All of the requisite pieces are here,
from the intelligent four-wheel drive system through the lean,
purposeful styling. But it doesn't feel as much of a piece as other
Hondas do, as if it was engineered in a hurry from items already in
the parts bin in order to get it out in the shortest time.
Maybe for a few thousand dollars less, I could have stomached the
dash design and the slapdash feel of some of the car's other
details&emdash;why are there grab bars on top of the armrests in the
doors?&emdash;but at $25,800, my base-model LX tester, without even a
cassette player, cost $1000 more than an almost fully-loaded Accord
LX, whose dash design and whose ergonomics are just about the best in
the business. If you don't need the space that the CR-V provides, if
you don't need to take a picnic table with you wherever you go, the
Accord's performance and overall higher level of execution make it
the obvious choice.