Car Advice - Honda CR-V?

Nomad

It's looking like my beat up old Land Rover is coming to its sell-by date, so I'm considering replacing it. Looking for a 4x4 that is decent in the snow and can manage dirt tracks without having bits fall off - no serious, or even slightly-serious off-roading. Something that's quieter and can cruise at more than 55mph on the motorway would be nice. Need decent crap carrying space in the back. Not bothered about diesel or petrol, and I can live with around 30mpg average.

I'm thinking of a Honda CR-V from around 2004 onwards, up to maybe £3K.

Are they any good? What about reliability?

Any other similar cars worth considering?

ICBM

Suzuki SX-4 - they do a 4x4 version. Smaller than the CR-V, but much more economical and drives much more like a car on tarmac. We've got an SX-4 (1.6 petrol), it was great in the snow last winter even on ordinary summer tyres. A friend of mine has a CR-V (diesel) and it drinks fuel - it has a good high driving position, but other than that it doesn't feel as nice to be in as the Suzuki, it doesn't ride and corner as well. Suzukis also tend to not hold their value as well as other Japanese brands for some reason, which is good if you're on a tight budget.

strumjoughlamps

We have a 02 CRV and they are superb, you are certainly looking at right ones according to CRV forum. 00-06 classed as best RE chain drive, shape, interior, reliability etc.. but then again most Hondas are known for being a great system.. we paid 2485 for ours which is classed as slightly above book price by the condition, fully stamped book one owner and 54k miles seemed worth the extra couple of hundred. 

My Wife absolutely loves it and did from the first minute it caught her eye, which is priceless.

Nice colour too, it’s the snazzy model with the headlight washers and camping table.

stimpsonslostson

I use my mum's CRV whenever I need a car. It's comfortable to drive, reliable and roomy (I have two spawn to carry along with the associated paraphernalia). It isn't as economical as it could be, but it's by no means awful for a car that size. It handled the snow fine, but id never consider it suitable for anything more challenging than that .

Stevepage

Mum has a 2008 CRV that She bought new. Really reliable car, never once broken down.

One thing to keep an eye on is the air conditioning on the 2008-2012 models. The condenser destroys itself and costs around £500 to replace. It was a known fault by Honda but they never told their customers about it. They would only replace it if they came across the problem when having them service the car.

Very shitty of Honda to do that but aside from that they're great. I even considered one myself but the Mondeo estate I have suited my needs better

57Deluxe

Attitude...

http://www.honda.pl/content/dam/central/cars/crv-2015/02_honda-cars-crv-blackedition-2090x1176-3.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/fb.jpg

RaymondLin

My parents has a 2010 model, it's alright, surprisingly comfortable and quiet with good amount of kit.

randella

My parents bought a dealer demo on a ‘51 and ran it to 180,000 miles - they maintain it’s the most reliable thing they’ve had. 

I seem to remember it used a bit of juice mind. 

BigLicks67

We've got two. They are bullet proof for reliability, however they are not serious offroad vehicles.

hywelg

Roof rack mounts are highly suspect on these. A mate of mine had a windsurf board on a roof rack and it came detached on a dual carriageway. Could easily have killed someone. The whole rack pulled off with the board attached and went across 3 lanes. Write off.

Fault was with the mounts on the vehicle, not the rack itself. They bent and allowed the rack feet to detach.

Be warned.

Axe_meister

I had a 2005 model with the 2.2l Diesel. The best engine out of the lot. Drove 15 hours to South of France and it felt like 2.  Yes it is a softroader with part time 4 wheel drive but I'd say best in its class.

Sporky

BigLicks67 said:

We've got two. They are bullet proof for reliability, however they are not serious offroad vehicles.

For dirt tracks and snow a soft-roader/crossover will be fine - it's the ground clearance and tyres that make the difference. You don't need low range or locking riffs for that sort of work. Add a set of all-season tyres and it'll be unstoppable in that use. 

BigLicks67

Sporky said:

BigLicks67 said:

We've got two. They are bullet proof for reliability, however they are not serious offroad vehicles.

For dirt tracks and snow a soft-roader/crossover will be fine - it's the ground clearance and tyres that make the difference. You don't need low range or locking riffs for that sort of work. Add a set of all-season tyres and it'll be unstoppable in that use. 

Locking Riffs sounds like a good thing to have. : >

Sporky

Damp you, afro courgette! 

randella

Sporky said:

BigLicks67 said:

We've got two. They are bullet proof for reliability, however they are not serious offroad vehicles.

For dirt tracks and snow a soft-roader/crossover will be fine - it's the ground clearance and tyres that make the difference. You don't need low range or locking riffs for that sort of work. Add a set of all-season tyres and it'll be unstoppable in that use. 

This is true - parents had theirs on winter tyres during the worst of the winter and it never let them down.  They live in the rural north-east (and I do mean rural) up a bloody great big hill and they went yomping all over in the Honda.

The AC compressor gave up at about 130,000 miles and they had a problem with the rear brakes binding at one point, but that was pretty much it.  They finally got shot after 15 years and the aforementioned 180,000 miles - it was still running fine, if a little wheezy by then.

randella

If you're not aware of Honest John, he's always worth a read.

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/honda/cr-v-2002/

jellyroll

My wife has a 2009, owned from new. Petrol, automatic. Very reliable, no issues whatsoever. Used as an urban cruiser though. The most "off road" it has been is the gravel car park on Hampstead Heath.

maltingsaudio

Subaru Forester end of discussion

RobDavies

Don't discount the Toyota RAV4.  

jd0272

RobDavies said:

Don't discount the Toyota RAV4.  

Love mine. 06 plate currently 153000 on the clock. Bought it when it had 27000 on the clock, only issue had been the injectors. 

Nomad

Thanks all. I think I've decided on a CR-V for now - I'm mainly after a boxy estate car with decent ground clearance that can do well on snowy roads. The CR-V seems to fit the bill, and there are plenty to be had.

I've found a fairly cheap one that the dealer tells me is a cat D (which makes it cheap). I'd like to do an HPI check on it, particularly to try and find out more about what led to the cat D (was it damaged & repaired or stolen & recovered, basically), as well as a general verification of things like number plate, mileage, mot history, etc. For what it's worth, I'm fine with a cat D if the car's legal and roadworthy (resale value isn't a big factor), although I'll check that the insurance people are okay with it.

For an HPI check, hpicheck.com seem to be the official place and charge £20, but the AA are asking £15. Are the AA just bulk buying the same check?