Looking around at the mo, these look comfy, bit, reasonably economical and practical. Does anyone have any experience?

Got one – had it for a couple of years
comfy – more than they look. Live in central scotland, have taken it to yorkshire and back as well as round scotland and up to orkney. fine long distance thing (I’m 6’2″ btw) although the sun visor sits a bit low when flipped down in low winter sun.
big – cavernous. some space in driver’s cabin could be better thought out, but seats down, it’s massive inside. seats up, boot is a bit small, but you’ll have to be transporting giants to hear complaints about legroom
economical – well, umm, not really, not in petrol terms. low 30 mpg’ish which I suppose isn’t bad for the size of it, but I do drive pretty conservatively. However, maintenance is low and last 2 MoTs have have been ok (53 reg, 80k miles now)
practical – yes and dull according to petrolheads. But it works – carries large quantities of stuff, does it in comfort, and does it reliably. So if being “cool” doesn’t bother you and you don’t expect to be first away from the lights – go for it.

EDIT – one thing though, and other cr-v (ex)owners have disagreed with me, so it might just be me/mine – 4WD switches on and off when the car thinks it should. I find that it can kick in unexpecdtedly giving a bit of a power surge.

Have a cdi executive 56 plate, had it since it was 6 months old. Nothing broken or worn out yet. £200 a year tax ,motorway drive fuel consumption Is good but not so when your not in 6th gear. Lots of room inside. Built in sat nav is shit and needs updating. But the dvd update is àbout the same price as a tom tom,
Will prob get another next year.

Thanks.

what year ? I had one for 3 years, there was a “known” issue with water getting in some er.. joint.. made the rear diff make a noise after a while, every six months or so when it went for service they did the same thing to mend it, worth watching.

Fantastic car otherwise… I miss mine, mine was a 2007

Used to drive the latest model at work, (mostly like I’d stolen it) comfy, reliable, bit thirsty, workshops love em, least troublesome car type in the fleet. Ugly though, in my personal opinion, especially battenburged up.

they did the same thing to mend it, worth watching.

drain the fluid and replace it?
two bolts, lower and upper, undo the upper first (in case you can’t later), then the lower, drain and replace with new stuff – diy cost around £10 iirc (read about this on honda forums, hasn’t happened to me, but it’s the only known mechanical issue with them i could find, so stored it away just in case

I drove a friend’s CRV up to Fort Bill and back, bit of a tank I thought kind of lumbers around the corners. And that handbrake on the dash is just horrible to use.

Nearly filled it up with petrol too, so not too rattly for a diesel !!

And as for the awful music coming out of the stereo….

The diff problem is a well known fault and does give quite startling symptoms, usually an awful vibration when turning on full lock. It is easily remedied by changing the diff oil, recommend you do it twice and use the dealer recommended oil. Expensive but worth it. You’ll probably only need to do it twice in the lifetime of the vehicle in normal road use.

, usually an awful vibration when turning on full lock.

or a strange honk from the transmission accompanied by a distinct and disconcerting change in direction whilst hooning around roundabouts on three wheels. To be fair, this only seemed to happen in the older shape CRVs. New ones seem much better at graduated torque biasing.

I’ve had an 02 petrol auto for four years now.
Roomy, comfy, handbrake on the dash a great idea, gives space between front seats.
Not had any issues with 4WD cutting in out and – it just works and is fine for Southern snow!
Very thirsty though – 25mpg around town, bit higher on motorway.
Totally reliable and low servicing costs at my local independent garage.
I’d have another if it ever breaks.

Had a 57 plate Exec version in Diesel.

It did what it said on the tin, been to Alps and back twice in it (once in the snow, once in summer).

MPG less than advertised though. Glass roof a pain as turns the CRV into an oven in the summer.

I was quite happy with it except it isn’t that quick and a noisy engine. I got by rear dif problem sorted under warranty.

Sold it for an A4 – back to having a proper car, though miss the ‘semi’ 4*4 capabilities.

Had a 55 cdti for three years. Great car, loads of space, the diesel isn’t worth the premium and the automatic makes it easy to walk through the car (unless you buy the new shape). The table is used for camping and the spare spare wheel hole for wetsuits. Good in the snow.

There is a reason why you see so many Mark 1s about (compared with Freelanders).

My Mum had a CR-V,2.0 Auto,up to a couple of years ago.Very reliable,well screwed together and safe.My pet mechanic tells me in all the years Honda have built V-Tec engines,none have failed so says a lot for reliability.Looks aren’t to everybody’s taste (Honda Achilles heel pretty in one evolution,pig-ugly the next!)and economy only average.Would buy one myslf all said.

Thirsty by all accounts.

And the thing about V-TEC engines is that the V-TEC variable valve mechanism has never failed – not the entire engine, afaik.