2023 Honda CRV
Accord me the honor introducing to you the new 2023 Honda CRV that was recently launched in the US. This is a very famous crossover here in Kenya being one of the best in terms of reliability and efficiency. This new redesign showcases boldness with lots of versatility and comes along with new and improved hybrid powertrains for efficiency and engaging driving experience. Let’s delve in and find out what Honda has in store for us.
Exterior
The front facia of the new Honda CRV gives a bold statement with the grill dominating the front design. We can also take note of the thin headlights that enhance that bold design and a bold front bumper with a grill at the center and silver ‘exhaust-like’ inserts on either side for the top trim model. I personally like this front design and I love the design language Honda has employed here but there’s more to come. The rear design takes the cake for me actually but before that, moving on to the side we can see that Honda has kept it a bit simple with just a few character lines flowing to the tail light.
We also have body colored side mirrors on the lower trims and blacked out side mirrors along with integrated side mirror turn signals on the Sport Touring. The New Honda CRV comes in four trims namely; The EX, EXL, Sport and Sport touring hybrid. All in all, will have to wait for further confirmation whether these are the same trim levels that will be coming to Kenya. The LX trim will be getting 17 inch steel wheels while the sport and EXL get 18 inchers. The touring then gets the flashiest 19 inch wheels. The new Honda CRV has also grown in size and is now 4694mm long, 1864 mm wide, 1692mm tall and has a wheel base of 2700mm. This means that it has grown to be 69mm longer, 10mm wider, 2mm taller and the wheel base having increased by 41mm from its predecessor.
The increase in size here not only means that occupants will have more space but also news have it that it makes it possible for Honda to slot in a new model dubbed ZRV which will go in between the HRV and the CRV and is expected to be quite identical to the American HRV. Well, as always, only time will tell.
The CRV’s suspension system comes in a Macpherson strut setup at the front and a multi link setup at the rear. As usual, this setup always delivers but we can only wait for a more conclusive find soon.
Coming over to the rear design, we can see just how well Honda designers expressed this new model. A nice slopping rear hatch with sculpted LED tail lights quickly stand out along with a shark fin antenna at the top. The tail light design well proportionately covers the rear real estate giving the CRV a premium feel. Can’t imagine how nice those tails lights will look at night. Unfortunately, the turn signals are incandescent bulbs not the LEDs we expect. The Touring trim adds real tail pipe ends well integrated into the rear bumper adding to the sporty design. I have to give it to Honda here for not faking the exhausts as it is with even luxury brands today. Kudos Honda. We can only hope to see this trickle to lower trims in time.
Interior
The interior of the new Honda CRV comes in blazing with premium quality materials and to quite an extent, mirrors the interior of Honda’s well known Civic sedan. Starting with what carries most interior attention these days; The screens. We have a 7 inch digital gauge display for the driver and another 7 inch touch screen infotainment display. For higher trims we get a 9 inch infotainment display with wireless apple car play and android auto. Wireless charging and navigation are also included on higher trims with the touring getting a 12 speaker Bose audio setup. The dashboard sports a long honeycomb mesh strip running the width of the car ‘hiding’ the location of the AC vents. This being one of the design cues that’s also seen in the Civic.
As standard we get heated seats and dual zone climate control with air filtration system. We also get a heated steering wheel that is leather wrapped along with perforated leather seats that are power adjustable for the driver and passenger. The increased room pays some serious dividends for rear seat passengers and a panoramic moonroof brightens the interior giving the cabin a bright, open and airy feel. We also have ample USB A and C charging ports front and rear.
For luggage space we have the new CRV offering 1028L when measured to the top and on the turbo version, this can be expanded by an extra 85L by lowering the boot floor. Folding the rear seats 60/40 way balloons the storage to 2166L. Most notably, the models we’ll be getting here in Kenya will be seven seaters or five seaters depending on your selection. Markets like America only get the five seat option.
A suite of driver assistance systems is also available with components like blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist and new features like traffic sign recognition, traffic jam assist and driver attention monitoring.
Engine and transmission
In the US, the base engine is a revised version of the 1.5L turbo charged four cylinder engine with 190 horse power output. The horse power figures are the still same as last time but this time the engine generates it at 6000rpm which is 400 rpm higher than before. This engine will be utilized in the lower trims.
The sport touring trim will get an improved 2.0L Atkinson cycle four cylinder hybrid engine giving out around 203 horse power and the electric motor providing 335Nm of twist. This engine has been upgraded with direct injection with the two motors having been repositioned to sit side by side to give way for the fitment of a larger and more powerful traction motor. This hybrid system is mechanical in nature. This means there’s actually a drive shaft turning the rear wheels as opposed to Toyota’s rear motor drive only system.
Both engines are available with an all wheel drive system that can send up to 50 percent of drive torque to the rear wheels. Buyers have the option of choosing front wheel drive alone but this is not yet clear for the Kenyan market.
Surely Honda has done quite an interesting job with the new CRV. Its is unclear when this car will be available for shipment to Kenya. More information will be added here upon reception.
