Front passengers benefit from a 5mm increase in headroom and 16mm more hip room. The tandem distance between front and rear passengers is further improved by 50mm, while a thinner fuel tank positioned ahead of the rear wheels benefits rear legroom by 50mm also.
The opening angle of the CR-V’s rear doors has increased by 6 degrees, which, combined with the increases in occupancy space provide easy entry and exit for passengers, and improved access for the fitment of child seats. A further highlight is the new ‘wrap around’ lower door sill, minimising the likelihood of dirt on clothes during passenger exit.
Petrol models of CR-V are available with the option of seven seats, in which all three seat rows have reclining seats, thus ensuring long-distance comfort for all passengers. Second-row seats slide back and forth by 150mm on the seven seater, to create a large entry aperture and a comfortable seating position in the back. The third row seatbacks fold down and tumble forwards to provide a larger boot capacity when not required.
The new model has the biggest ever loading bay ‘footprint’ in a CR-V. New single-action ‘dive down’ 60:40 split-fold seatbacks, combined with a two stage adjustable cargo floor at the rear of the car, can enable faster, easier loading and a completely flat surface for larger items right through to the second row seats when the cargo floor is in the upper position. These improvements have created a load space with a maximum loading length of 1,830mm on the five seater (or 1800mm on the seven seater) – up a whole 250mm on the previous model CR-V, and big enough to accommodate a 19.5-inch frame mountain bike. Another option for owners is to adjust the cargo floor into the lower position to provide a deeper rear boot space.
The all-new CR-V benefits further from several convenience and technology features.
Cabin occupants in the front and rear can make use of extra-large capacity door pockets, enabled by moving the speakers further up in the door panels. These are large enough to fit a full size tablet device. In the front, a new three-mode centre console adapts to a variety of requirements including a convenient tray for a smart phone, or a large capacity space big enough for a small handbag. Starting from Elegance trim, twin USB ports are available in the rear, providing charging points for phones, tablets and other personal electronic devices. Executive grades also benefit from a hands-free tailgate, complete with the ability to set opening height for use in confined spaces.
First deliveries of the all-new Honda CR-V in Europe are expected in autumn 2018, with a 1.5-litre VTEC TURBO petrol engine available from launch and a five seat hybrid model following early in 2019.