CR-V’s biggest strength and weakness both lie in its cabin. The key weakness is the styling. Even pushing $35,000 in ‘Touring’ trim, the tester was lined with fifty shades of grey plastic and lacking much, if any, accenting or flair. There’s no colour other than black or grey beyond the loonie-sized ‘ECON’ button on the dash, which sticks out like bright green sore thumb. Otherwise, it’s simple and unstimulating.
Do you frequent the cardigan isle at Sears and spend Saturday nights looking up slow-cooker recipes on Pinterest? It’ll work well for you. Do you seek to derive enjoyment from your compact crossover’s dashboard? You’ll need to look at something else.
  2014 Honda CR-V Touring. Click image to enlarge |
But the bland cabin conceals a big strength where functionality and space are concerned. As mentioned previously, there’s huge headroom. Clever door-mounted cubbies, three to be precise, are fitted to each front door. The centre console is elbow-deep and fully covered. I was able to fit an entire multi-lens SLR camera kit inside. You may choose to use it for a large water bottle, purse, small laptop, assortment of children’s toys or the like. So, no issues staying organized on the go here.
Front seats are comfortable and cushy and have great fold-down armrests, and build quality feels solid, dense and of high-quality even if the materials selection won’t blow anyone’s socks off. The high-resolution back-up camera was appreciated, as were the very easy-to-use control pads mounted to the steering wheel. My mom, God bless her technologically challenged soul, would have no trouble finding her way around the CR-V’s numerous systems with ease.
Honda’s ‘Real Time’ All-Wheel Drive with intelligent control system was fitted to the tester, working to ensure quick and intuitive responses in low-traction situations. The whole thing is totally automatic, instant, finds grip when little is available, and uses a computer brain to disengage the rear axle once you’re moving to save fuel. When needed, it re-engages power to both axles in response to a slipping wheel before the average human brain even notices there was one.
   2014 Honda CR-V Touring. Click image to enlarge |
With winter tires mounted, traction was appreciably abundant – even on a late night, four-hour drive when thick, heavy slush plastered the highway after the snow removal folks decided to just salt heavily ahead of a 10-centimetre snowfall and call it a night. Driven as such, your writer found the winter tires and that fancy-pants AWD system are far from the only ways the CR-V delivers what should feel like a very confident winter drive.
The steering is communicative and the CR-V feels light on its feet – so drivers quickly feel a loss of traction right as it begins. There’s no false sense of SUV winter-busting confidence here: if the CR-V is running out of grip, you’ll feel it, right now. The brakes bite positively and with authority from an initial press, and the ABS activates with minimal noise or pedal vibration while turning in straight and drama-free stops on virtually anything, including the worst split-traction surfaces. Even jamming the brakes from 80 km/h with two wheels on slush and two on pavement, CR-V’s nose stays pointed straight ahead.
The stability control system increases dramatically in sensitivity at highway speeds too, often activating its warning light while correcting slips and slides that aren’t even perceptible to the driver.
Should traction be lost, perhaps the result of going to quickly into a slushy bend or powering out of one too early, understeer, or plowing, is the name of the game. This is easily recovered from, as the driver’s natural reaction to ease off of the throttle and (maybe) slightly apply the brakes will typically bring the CR-V right back in line. This is all to do with the way the suspension, AWD and stability controls are calibrated – and shoppers after a machine that feels confident, predictable and stable on slippery roads will appreciate it.
So, driven in nasty weather, CR-V drivers should expect to feel very connected with the road conditions, with the CR-V’s limits, and very well backed-up. There’s even a powerful lighting system with great high-beams that help in inclement weather, too.
