2005 Honda CR-V EX review from North America

Check engine light at 2,000 miles. Dealer's computer not updated yet to include 2006 models, so they were unable to pull the code. Reset check engine light, and it's remained off.

I previously owned a Subaru Forester which I was happy with, except for the room in the back seat. The Forester was in an accident and totalled, so my qualifications for looking at a new car were: more room in back seat, good gas mileage, manual transmission, AWD, among other things.

According to the data, the CR-V had a slightly larger back seat for my three kids, so this was my reason for buying it in the end, even though my gut told me to go with another Forester.

The more I drive it, the more I dislike the CR-V. The gas mileage on the highway isn't as bad as some of the larger SUV's, but not nearly as good as the Forest. I'm averaging about 24 MPG on the highway with the CR-V, compared to about 30 MPG with the Forester.

The AWD doesn't seem to help much either, at least with regular driving. It handles and feels more like a Front Wheel drive, which I dislike.

Acceleration with the manual transmission, especially going into 1st & 2nd gears is choppy. I could understand if I was a beginner driver, but I've been driving manual for almost 30 yrs now. Car seems to hesitate when accelerating.