Ahead of the launch of the new 2017 Honda CR-V in Thailand on March 24, Honda provided the Thai motoring media with a test drive of the new SUV at the Buriram circuit. Automotive news portal Headlight Magazine has published its first drive report, revealing key details of the fifth-generation offering.
At first glance, the CR-V that will be sold in the Land of Smiles is pretty much identical to the one in the United States, with the same optional LED headlights (forming part of Honda’s corporate Solid Wing Face front end), chunky wheel arches, an upswept D-pillar kink and L-shaped LED tail lights. The turbine-design 18-inch six-spoke alloy wheels are also seen here; lower-end models get 17’s.
It’s on the inside where we start to notice a few changes. Although the basic interior architecture is the same, with a “floating” centre stack, a TFT LCD virtual instrument display and a Civic-style three-spoke steering wheel, the traditional automatic gearlever has been ditched for an NSX-style button selector, with the reverse button deeply recessed to prevent accidental operation.
Of course, the biggest addition is a third row of seats, making it seven in total. Both the second- and third-row seats are reclinable, with the former also being able to be slid forwards and back as before. The second row also tumbles out of the way to provide access to the third row. As on US models, there are are air vents for the second row, but the third row gets its own vents in the roof.
In Thailand, the CR-V is available with two engines. The base unit is a carryover 2.4 litre K24 naturally-aspirated DOHC i-VTEC four-cylinder petrol mill producing 175 hp at 6,200 rpm and 225 Nm at 4,000 rpm. The Earth Dreams CVT from the Thai-market previous-generation facelift (we got a five-speed automatic transmission) has been retained as well.
The new range-topper is a 1.6 litre N16 DOHC i-DTEC turbodiesel from the outgoing European-market model, churning out 160 hp at 4,000 rpm and 350 Nm at 2,000 rpm. The oil burner is paired to a ZF nine-speed automatic gearbox. Both engines are available with all-wheel drive.
The new CR-V range is split into four models – 2.4 E 2WD, 1.6 Turbo E 2WD, 2.4 EL 4WD and 1.6 Turbo EL 4WD. Available kit includes LED fog lights (in a different design to the US), keyless entry with Walk Away Auto Lock, push-button start, wood trim, leather upholstery, all-round one-touch power windows and dual-zone automatic climate control.
Other features include a seven-inch Display Audio infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, an electronic parking brake with auto brake hold and paddle shifters on diesel models. A powered tailgate is standard on all models, with EL models gaining kick-operated handsfree opening. Missing is the Remote Engine Start function from the Civic.
Safety-wise, all models come with ABS with EBD and brake assist, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) and Agile Handling Assist (AHA) with brake-operated torque vectoring, with EL models also gaining LaneWatch blind spot camera and a Driver Attention Monitor; there are no mention of the number of airbags on offer, however. The Honda Sensing suite of driver assists and Adaptive Cruise Control are unfortunately not on offer.
Available colours include the new Dark Olive Metallic, Lunar Silver Metallic, Modern Steel Metallic, Orchid White Pearl and Crystal Black Pearl. All models get a black interior.
It should be interesting to see what the Malaysian-market CR-V will get, although you’d best not hold your breath for a diesel model on our shores. We’ll more likely be getting the 1.5 litre VTEC Turbo engine from the Civic, albeit tuned for more power to counteract the larger mass – 190 hp at 5,600 rpm and 243 Nm of torque from 2,000 to 5,000 rpm in the case of the US-market model.
UPDATE: Already launched in Thailand, the 2017 Honda CR-V is priced from 1.399 million baht (RM179k) to 1.699 million baht (RM217k). The 1.6 i-DTEC diesel is the more expensive option there.
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turbodiesel 1.6 with zf 9 speeder….
dats premium stuff….
This model if price correctly can take away most cx5 market
Still fat and fidgety like its predecessors.
Honda built quality is an issue. There are noises coming dashboard, under chassis, belt from engine…worst case, it can’t be resolved by their service centre.
world best selling suv
Cx5 is far away in term of look
1.5T & 2.4 NA for Msia ….
Don’t want 2.4 NA. Hope we get 1.5T & 1.6TD
Msia diesel is clean & trusted, just like our pemimpins
True
poor man suv…come on if you want a real suv get a bmw x5 instead but not cheap X
lol bmw x5 is a real suv…best joke of the year!
Well not everybody is Rich or like BMW and for the price is well worth it 26k in the USA EX trim. 1.5T 190HP
Real rich don’t need merc or bmw..honda is fine
Hate that diesel clatter. Dont care how much torque it can provide. Unless its a lorry then different story.
sorry new cx5 interior much better
Mazda playing at entry premium market d…canot compare Honda with them… Compare Nissan, Toyota etc…
Looks way better too!!!
Totally agreed with you, new CX-5 interior is more elegant with “conti” looking.
Sorento interior better dei
So hard to pick:
New CX-5 finally have a well-designed interior(unlike current really dated interior design), but then new CR-V also quite nice.
New CX-5 looks stunning from the front, but new CR-V’s rear looks stylish.
CX-5 still 2.5l, CR-V 1.5T but CVT
Crv is more premium
I think CRV look high tech
If 1.5T comes with this CRV in Malaysia,
bye2 other SUV
Mazda looks very good & stunning, handles good too. Still, its interior too common & too much black. Gonna get bored.
Yet you still kenot afford
It will sell but man it’s so ungainly..I dunno how Honda can get away with such bad designs..Does anyone take a step back and look at their cars before signing? the Civic is another example..it may be sellin well because of the specs but man the looks wont age well… same like the previous gen sonata and the k5…
Advise for those wanna buy this, booked the first day it launch. If not, you wait 6 months for it.
Siapa nak beli?
No roof rails and gunmetal metallic color :(
CRV will get EEV status especially for the 1.5 Turbo, expect price will not hike up so much.
Jonathan,
BTW, how do you think Honda Malaysia will define the range for Malaysia? 2.4L as the base model? Should not be the case as this will increase the price from the current gen.
Offer the old 2L? Not a good idea.
Offer 2 different tuned 1.5 turbo; base model similar to Civic engine and high end model getting the 190hp-tuned engine? Hmm, food for thought.
Another case in which the old model looks nicer
Wow! Rear like new XC60… oh wait..
Every month,we r getting fresh models/facelifts from Honda Malaysia.
After the Sienta,UMW has gone into hibernation mode.
The camry is a top seller 15 yearS in a row in USA.Mr.Akio is so proud of Toyota at the launching of 2018 Camry.
I think he needs to come to Bolehland and kick out the bunch of REBATES KING of UMW.
Toyota is a dying brand here.Toyota Japan…u need to appoint another distributor,if not the sales of Toyota vehicles cant even reach 50,000 units this year.
But for Honda Malaysia,they may even hit 110,000 units.
Honda…..the power of dreams.
The gears are not intuitive. If you need to maneuver in a tight spot at night, you need to start at the gears.
Please bring the adaptive cruise control to Malaysia.
Nice specs that Thailand gets. Wish Malaysia can also get the 1.6 turbo diesel and 9 speed auto. But don’t think Malaysia has ever had a diesel Honda model before. So maybe will not appear here.
the rear design is getting weirder, what inspire the designer to come out with such a design… there’s a very prominent line between the european vs japan style nowadays with the japs looking uglier from one gen to the next gen…
They wanted to change their design from “verticle” back lights to “horizontal” back lights but somehow they forgot to delete the old design in their new ID.
if crv diesel coming here, i will not buy tuscon diesel, just wait n see
noticed that gear lever not available, is it come with paddle shift?
It comes with switch type gear selector. You press the button like Aston Martin have.
Crv is not a sport car. Buat malu je
more interested to know when new 2017 cx5 launched here?
What! No Adaptive Cruise Control??? Shit, this is what
I really hoping for.
Hope our Malaysian version comes with it. Fingers cross.
Honda going is big winner in Malaysia after all new model launching… belief CR-V going massive booking after this.
Toyota-UMW you guys can bungkus d, or be prepare for a big discount to clear your old stock…
Bring here the 1.6 turbo diesel with 9 speeder AWD.
Or better yet bring the 2.0 civic type r turbo motor along with auto 9 speeder AWD.
Sorry to say this Honda, I personally think this CRV does not have the presence compare to say Toyota Harrier or Hyundai Tuson. I hope Honda have upgraded the interior quality to the CX-5 standard.
As for the engine & transmission, I think U got it spot on.
CRV stands for Crab Rear Vehicle. The new civic and this CRV has a rear which looks like crab.
Button style gear shift? Hard pass.
It will be disappointing if we do not get the 1.6 diesel. With such bulk and when fully laden, d higher diesel torque will be very useful
Actually, the 1.5T is best, hope we’ll get 1.5T not the 2.0 or 2.4.
The 1.6Turbo diesel is not bad, but revs really low it shifts at 4000rpm
The 1.5T sounds great on paper, but check out lowyat forums and you get to hear many complaints about overheating, engine stalling, piston crack etc.
I’m curios with 3rd row seat.Could it be like real 7 seater or just 5+2 seater just like xtrail..Honda should ditch 2.4 engine and just bring vtec turbo and idtec diesel..Less roadtax and more economical than petrol..Moreover more petrol station have euro 5 diesel nowdays.
Everything looks okay n nice but the rear
Hopefully Honda bring 5 seat configuration. Not interested on additional weight of useless third row. A storage cover is a must !!
Paddle shift is a must.
hopefully future civics n city have zf gears and ditch the cvt ^^
I would go for X-trail over C-RV.
a big mistake If they are using the noisy civic 1.5 turbo engine.
I hope the 1.6 diesel engine is able to match the Mazda diesel in term of refinement.
ugly as usual just like the predecessors
Honda Malaysia please bring in the diesel.
Please. Clattery or not, on the move, the torque more than makes up for the clatter.
And the fuel economy too.
Vote for diesel. Euro 5 is easily accessible.
Clattery engine is lorry on the move. LOL
if both cx5 & crv same price
would u buy cx5 or crv ?
It wont be same price…Like one commenter said above..Mazda is now entry level premium d..stop comparing them to mass market brands like T, H and N… the cx5 will probably be hitting 175-200 while this will be priced around the 140-155…unless they ckd it..which they won’t because they are not chasing volume anymore…so if u want the cx5…start saving up more..
The new CX-5 will be CKD..pretty much confirmed by all Mazda salesman I talked to…in fact, there won’t be any CBU unit coming, will be sold CKD from the start…
Only CX-5, because there is volume. Beauties like 6, CX-9 will still be CBU Japan. The tiny 2 and future BT-50 will be CBU Thailand. The mid 3 and CX-3 will go CKD if there is volume.
hmm 7 seater… hope to see more
a lot of Mazda sale man here.
what so special about the Mazda with the cramp rear seat and non adjustment incline back seat.
if mazda compared to xtrail. xtrail will win hang down with the safety package feature and adjustable rear seat + additional 2 seaters at the back.
Only a sales man will describe a car like u just did.why u so butthurt with Mazda? They not competing with Nissan also. Back seat adjustment has got nothing to with premiumness la abang. If they say premium, let the market forces decide la. Xtrail starting to move slowly from the yard is it? Pass by jln kuching can see xtrail as far as eye can see nowdays.
That’s the special feature, it’s crampy. You know la when you enter luxury car then suddenly you say haiya why this mesidis so crampy inside? Hahaha serve you right!
not helping to do sales here, it just as a buyer point of view, go test drive cx5 vs crv vs any other same segment . cx5 do not become king of this segment for no reason.
mazda – passion to drive :)
Cx5 is crampier than alza
Bro, Mazda consistently proven right with their choices. Larger normally aspirated engine is more fuel saving than smaller sized forced induction engines (1.5 to 1.8 T), except the road tax, which is a sore point. Normally aspirated engines are also easier to build, less complicated and less likely to fail compared to forced induction. Their clean diesel produces the lowest NOx among all comparatively sized turbo diesels (without cheating like others). USEPA rates Mazda as the most fuel efficient car…. these are great accolades for a small car manufacturer.
u are talking about X-Trail’s safety package? 2 airbags for a 7 seater? Seriously?
You must be comparing with the mightly Vios.
bring it on honda malaysia..im ready to pay for it
Oh nooo !!! The stick gear become button gear !!! What a joke honda
heard from SA, it’s a 5 seater, arghhh… wonder why HM not bringing Thailand configuration
What puts me off is the gap in spec. There’s no middle ground, either crap spec or fully loaded. Maybe the cheapest with aftermarket headunit is the way to go.