Honda Unveils New CR-V, Prepares for Higher Volume

DETROIT – Honda pulls the wraps off the new fifth-generation CR-V at an event here, announcing the next-gen CUV will get a turbo engine and confirming it will have three production plants to meet expected higher demand.

“We’re not going to artificially entice customers,” but the addition of CR-V capacity at Greensburg, IN, means Honda can fill dealer pipelines more easily, John Mendel, executive vice president-American Honda, tells WardsAuto here.

While Honda is having its best light-truck sales year ever, it has said volumes would be higher if it had more capacity.

Honda announced in January the Greensburg plant will begin building the CR-V next year, while retaining production of the Civic sedan. Honda’s Guadalajara, Mexico, plant, currently building the ’16 CR-V, will switch to HR-V subcompact CUV production in 2017.

WardsAuto data shows CR-V days’ supply in late September was 54. While that was up from 51 days in late August and 46 days in September 2015, it was below the industry-average 65 days’ supply for light trucks last month.

In addition to Greensburg, which up to now only has assembled the Civic and the Civic-based Acura ILX, Honda will continue building the CR-V at its East Liberty, OH, and Alliston, ON, Canada, plants.

The new fifth-gen CR-V goes on sale this winter, offering for the first time a turbocharged engine, the 1.5L direct-injected 4-cyl. from the current Civic. Like that model, the turbo mill will be available only in the higher grades of the CR-V: EX, EX-L and Touring.

The 1.5T in the CR-V is projected to make 190 hp at 5,600 rpm and 179 lb.-ft. (243 Nm) of torque from 2,000-5,000 rpm, compared with 174 hp and 162-167 lb.-ft. (220-226 Nm) in the Civic sedan.

The engine’s boost pressure remains 16.5 psi (1.138 bar), but the compression ratio has been lowered to 10.3:1 from 10.6:1 in the Civic.

The 1.5T, in concert with improved aerodynamics, thanks to a Honda-first automatic shutter grille, should give the CR-V the “highest EPA fuel economy ratings in the compact SUV class,” Honda says in a statement.

The automaker’s 2.4L direct-injected 4-cyl. will continue to power the LX grade of the CR-V, with ratings of 184 hp and 180 lb.-ft. (244 Nm) expected. The ratings are down slightly from the ’16 CR-V’s 185 hp and 181 lb.-ft. (245 Nm).

As with the current CR-V, a CVT will be the only available transmission.

Turn Up the Volume

Garnering a round of applause from assembled media was Honda’s statement the new CR-V will have a volume knob. Honda’s switch to a volume slider for its most recently updated models, the Civic, Pilot and Ridgeline, has resulted in jeers from some reviewers.

Like most of Honda’s latest redesigned models, the CR-V sees a steep jump in technology offerings.

The vehicle’s Display Audio system gets Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. As in the Pilot and Ridgeline, the CR-V’s navigation system is co-developed with Garmin.

Remote-engine start, dual-zone climate controls, heated side mirrors, an electric parking brake, rear USB charging ports and an 8-way power driver’s seat are new optional creature comforts for ’17. Also new is a Honda-first foot-activated power tailgate, similar to those seen on the Ford Escape and Nissan Rogue.

The Honda Sensing suite of safety technologies becomes standard on EX and above grades for ’17, which Honda sees comprising 75% of total CR-V sales.

In addition to forward-collision warning, lane-departure warning and adaptive cruise control, Honda Sensing adds blindspot information, rear-cross-traffic monitor and auto high-beam headlights for ’17.

The CR-V continues to have a MacPherson-strut front suspension, but changes from a double-wishbone rear suspension to a multilink setup. For quick turn-in and flat cornering, Honda says the CR-V is using tubular front and solid rear stabilizer bars.

Honda describes the new CR-V’s look as “windswept” up front, noting its wing-shaped LED daytime running lights and narrower A-pillars. The thinner pillars are said to also improve visibility. The CR-V’s wheelbase grows while its rear overhang shrinks for a more “athletic presence.”

Inside, a soft-touch instrument panel and “more intricately stitched seats” can be found. Also present on two CR-Vs here is faux, matte-finish wood.

Honda’s chief compact-CUV rival, Toyota’s RAV4, has been enjoying growth this year largely thanks to its new hybrid powertrain.

Mendel says Honda too will have a hybrid variant of the CR-V, but not soon.

“Not in the near-term, but we anticipate this will get better mileage than their hybrid,” he adds without expounding.

The all-wheel-drive RAV4 Hybrid is rated at 32 mpg (7.4L/100 km) combined. Nissan’s new Rogue Hybrid tops it, with an EPA-estimated 34 mpg (6.9 L/100 km) in a front-wheel-drive layout and 33 mpg (7.1 L/100 km) in AWD Rogue Hybrids.

While Honda awaits EPA figures for ’17, the ’16 CR-V achieves 29 mpg (8.1 L/100 km) combined in FWD models and 27 mpg (8.7 L/100 km) in AWD models.

Despite increasing sales of Toyota’s RAV4, the CR-V remains the best-selling CUV in the U.S. this year, with 263,493 sold vs. the RAV4’s 260,380. However, Toyota intends to sell 400,000 RAV4s in the U.S. next year.

Honda has inferred Toyota’s fleet sales will help give the RAV4 an edge. Honda lacks an in-house fleet program, although Honda dealers may sell to fleets.

Toyota Div. doesn’t release fleet figures for models, but last week said 177,000 of its 1.536 million U.S. sales through September were to fleets, down about 6,000 from year-ago.

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