2000 Honda CR-V EX review from North America

BASICALLY NOTHING!

(Let me think of anything that might resemble a fault)

- Retightened the bolts on the baffold over the catalytic converter? Does that count?

- Regular oil changes?

- Kept washer fluid topped up? Does that count? Um...

- Washed the car every fortnight?

Do any of those count as anything?

OKAY FINE! I'LL ADMIT IT! IN TERMS OF RELIABLITY, THIS CAR IS PERFECT!

EVERYTHING JUST WORKS AS IT SHOULD!

This is one great car. It has provided our family with years of hassle-free miles. 18,000 miles a year proves that this car has been on long trips, let alone two teenagers learning to drive a stick! This is by far, the most reliable car I have ever owned.

For a while I thought that German engineering reigns supreme, especially with build quality in mind. For year we stuck with VW's and BMW's. When we moved back to the USA, we bought an Asian import and it paid off!

The car has a fairly high ground clearance, and is indeed an off-road ready SUV. An average taken over 3 months of weekend trips and commutes everyday also proved it has good fuel economy! (Around 26 mpg, which really isn't bad!)

The Real-time 4WD (which while buying was thought to be a gimmick!) kicks in when you need it, and eliminates the need to pull over and change settings. This feature has pulled us out of a few situations in one particular blizzard. A harshly banked on-ramp was covered in snow and ice, with traffic was creeping along. We saw a Wrangler stop for a second and switch to 4wd. When trying to start up again, the Jeep's tyres despite how slow they were turning only slid sideways down the sloped on-ramp. The car stopped slidding as soon as the wheels stopped turning. Two of the cars (Sedans FWD) behind the Jeep fell to the same fate, only their front ends slid down first instead of all four wheels. Luckily we were far enough behind to not be forced to come to a complete stop when the Jeep stopped, so we just rolled along by them all.

The visual appeal of this car is fairly strong. Our CR-V came with large stock alloy wheels and a dark green deeply reflective paint job. I still prefer this model year over the newer styled CR-Vs.

The car is reasonably powerful, but nothing worth noting. The engine also gives good verbal feedback of the manual transmission (some may say is loud) and proved a good car to learn on. The transmission shifts smoothly through all the gears, even after the teen drivers.

Overall this is a great car that has provided our family with a worry free life, which I hope never ends! An excellent value for money, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!