18th Sep 2014, 11:55
OP here again.
The car continues to impress. Economy remains 35-40 MPG - fantastic considering I've stopped using the 'econ' button altogether. The car is far more driveable without it engaged and - probably because I'm a gentle driver - it hasn't made any difference to the economy. And of course the petrol engine's much quieter and smoother than a dirty diesel.
Have (at last!) noticed a glaring build quality fault. The top of the window frame on the ROS door is 1 or 2 mills lower than the front door and rear quarter panel, meaning that what should be a continuous 'line' across the top of the doors, isn't. And it's not a matter of door adjustment because the waistline is perfect. The upper door has simply been manufactured inaccurately. For a company that sells on quality and reliability, that's not great. Of course, this makes no difference to the drive and most people wouldn't notice it - I didn't for a couple of months.
Have now used the heating as well as the ventilation, and it all works perfectly. You can turn the A/C off and still use the dual zone climate control, which in winter is useful as you may not need the extra cooling. It's simple to use and I just can't fault it!
This may be common to all SUVs but I've noticed that it's far more stable than anything I've had before when hitting standing water on the nearside. The 'drag' on the CRV steering wheel is almost non-existent, whereas other cars I've had really pull to the left. Whatever, it feels really safe and stable, as does the whole car.
Very good so far!
30th Dec 2014, 13:03
OK, I'm now 6 months into this CRV - enough time for the snags to surface! By snags, I mean built-in annoyances; not things that may be unique to one particular CRV.
Happily, there aren't many of them - not enough to dull the pleasure I have out of driving this car, but...
1. The driver's seat height adjuster is a lever that is placed too high. This means that when you get in or out, you CAN press it downwards with your leg. So the seat keeps getting lower for no apparent reason! Not a huge problem as you can train yourself to avoid hitting it, but a design 'fault' that could so easily have been avoided.
2. The driver's clutch footrest - why do most makers continue to fit these in automatic cars?! They take up space which would be nice to put your foot in. Having pulled the carpet up a bit, I see it's a hard foam (or similar) moulding which seems to be glued to the underside of the carpet, as opposed to a metal bracket welded to the body (can't do much with that). Come the better weather I'll be investigating a spot of surgery on the moulding/carpet. Have done this before on other cars with great success. Any cuts to the carpet can be covered by neatly gluing a shaped piece of ribbed rubber matting over the affected area, not forgetting to replace any sound-deadening in the gap where the footrest went. As my car isn't on finance or anything, I don't mind doing this!
Has to be said, though, the CRV footrest isn't the most obtrusive I've encountered, so if it turns out any more difficult than I suggest, I won't bother!
The single front armrest is definitely a step backwards. Yes, I can rest my left arm on it (and it's comfy enough), but I can only JUST reach the steering wheel while doing it. The old type separate armrests were far better, in my view. The US cars have had them, so why not GB? Although do I see the 2015 US model CRV's are going to the single armrest as well...? Perhaps this'll mean we get their separate armrests!
Can't think of anything else, and despite odd niggles I still very much like this car!
16th Feb 2015, 12:07
Just to add to the footrest thing...
Have now pulled the foam moulding off the carpet (easily replaced using a bit more glue) and filled the 'gap' with sound-deadening material glued to the floor. Then the carpet just goes back down without any cutting etc.
I glued the affected area of the carpet to the insulation as it lies a bit creased otherwise, but the whole thing was very easy. Only waiting for the various layers of contact adhesive to dry causes any delay. And when I sell the car, it's totally reversible!
Worth doing? Matter of opinion, but it's made the car that bit more comfortable for me.
10th Jun 2015, 09:14
OP back again, with 12,500 mile on the clock.
Have just had the 2-year service at a cost of £210, which seems reasonable for the type of car it is. Similar services on mid-range Suzukis have cost me £250, so not too bad at all. No additional work was required, with plenty of brake pad and tyre life remaining.
Funnily enough, I've replaced the clutch footrest, which I previously moaned about and removed. On a long run, I found that my foot was a little TOO 'flat' to the floor without it, causing ankle-ache, whereas having it at least gives the choice of foot angle. A smaller footrest would be the ideal - and not difficult to fabricate - but for now I can't be bothered!
Otherwise, the minor annoyances which gradually surface with any car haven't dulled the good points. At some stage I'll be rounding these up, but none are deal-breakers (for me).
31st Jan 2016, 16:39
Another 7 months on and the CRV continues to impress!
Only one thing to report - on a motorway some months ago the tyre deflation warning went off. Cripes, I exclaimed (or something similar), and pulled over to the hard shoulder. A quick glance revealed nothing obvious, so I continued slowly and turned off at the next junction, where I put a pressure gauge on each tyre. Nothing - they were all fine. I then had to get the manual out to find out how to reset the warning light/gong, which I did, and there's been no repetition since. Doing a bit of research, I find it's a known fault and there's a software update to fix this. Will be having it done on the next service.
It was a bit of a frightener at the time, I must admit, but at least I know now...
Otherwise, no problems at 17,500 miles and 2.5 years old. Quite honestly, it still drives like a new car!
Oh, I've reached a happy compromise with the footrest and replaced the polystyrene block with a foam one which squashes to wherever I want it to be! Easily reversible when I sell the car and has proved comfortable for the last 6 months. Anyway, I imagine everyone's sick of hearing about it now!
Will probably need some front tyres in the next 3-4k miles; otherwise I've spent nothing on it except for routine servicing.
So, it's not the perfect car, but I'd buy another when the time is right.
20th Jul 2014, 12:07
Having just done about 700 miles on a holiday up north, I was amazed to find that the first tankful gave 39.7 MPG. That included a cruise up the A1 at 63mph (I'm never in a hurry!), plus some motoring around the Yorks Moors. The second tankful, all around the Dales, gave 35 MPG. This was by brimming the tank, dividing the recorded miles by litres added, and multiplying by 4.54.
Not believing either result, I checked the mileometer against a handheld GPS over 150 miles, to find that, for every 100 recorded miles, the car had actually travelled 99. So for 400 miles, it's actually travelled 396 - and this could be down to the fact that I like to have my tyres 1lb/sq ft under pressure rather than 1lb/sq ft over!
Whatever, the mileometer is near enough, which means that the car really IS that economical. I didn't buy it for economy, but it's certainly a bonus!
The previously-mentioned cabin rattle occasionally surfaces, but the car is so good otherwise that I can almost forgive it! I'm sure a bit of research will track it down, but it doesn't happen much so might be tricky...
To summarise for now, if you dislike driving, buy one of these! It cruises along like a dream...