2015 Honda CR-V: Will It Hang On To Compact SUV Sales Crown?

by Derek Kreindler

Published: September 30th, 2014

2015 honda cr v will it hang on to compact suv sales crown

The Honda CR-V has been the compact SUV sales champion for 7 of the past 10 years. But with competition in the segment heating up, Honda is hoping that their mid-cycle refresh will keep the CR-V attractive to buyers in the fastest-growing segment in the new car market.

Styling tweaks aside, the CR-V gains a new direct-injection 2.4L engine. Horsepower is unchanged, but torque is up 11 percent to 181 lb-ft, while a CVT replaces the venerable 5-speed automatic gearbox. The interior has also undergone a restyling that adds a more modern look and what appear to be better materials.

As of September 1st, the CR-V led the Ford Escape by just under 10,000 units in year-to-date sales. The new mid-cycle changes should help put a bit more distance between the two vehicles, but the CR-V must also contend with new entrants like the Nissan Rogue, Jeep Cherokee and Subaru Forester, which are vying for market share in a segment ripe with conquest sales.

#CompactSUV #Crossover #Honda #HondaCR-V #SUV

Derek Kreindler

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6 of 35 comments

Petezeiss on Sep 30, 2014

They're too damn big now. Even my previous gen '09 feels too damn big now. And the Vezel comes pre-lobotomized with the roofline of a coupe. If I buy another Honda, it'll be a Fit.

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- Jolgamazatlan on Sep 30, 2014
  
  Pete Zeiss if you think the CRV looks too damn big now you should see one of these bloated behemoths lumbering down a 400 yr old Mexican el centro street. It is not a pretty sight. My wife and I have a theory about the bloated Bracket Creep cars that are designed for North America. We think that they are made too big so that the many corpulent customers can fit better in them. Also they will not see themselves as having a girth problem if their car has one too. American clothes are also cheating on sizes. An American small is a medium. A medium is a a large and so forth. That way YOU aren't fat, your clothes still fit, by golly I'm wearing the same size as when I went to college and my "little" CRV is soooo spacious, I feel tiny in it.
  
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- Petezeiss on Sep 30, 2014
  
  @Jolgamazatlan Well, I just meant they're too big for me. Clearly other people need and want vehicles CR-V size and larger. I'm just getting fed up with the size creep you mentioned and how it's taken the "cute utes" like the CR-V and RAV4 into ever bloatier iterations.
  
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- Zykotec on Oct 01, 2014
  
  Actually the CRV has almost not grown at all since it's first version. The trunk got longer when they moved the sparewheel and it has grown a bit wider,and the floor has been lowered instead of raising the roof (sacrificing some ground clearance) In total the 4th gen is .3 inches longer, 1.5 inches wider and 1 inch lower than the first. So it still occupies about as much space as the first one did in 96, while growing lot roomier on the inside. One thing I don't like so much is that the wheels got twice as big and heavy with the 3rd generation, which affects both handling and comfort,and offcourse, tires get a lot mroe expensive to replace.
  
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- Zykotec on Oct 01, 2014
  
  @petezeiss The 5th gen. CR-V has grown roughly .3 inches in total length (but moved the spare wheel inside the trunk)1.5 inches in width, but is 1 inch lower than the first generation from '96 Still, I must admit my 3rd gen still looks massive when parked next to a 1st gen.
  
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Zykotec on Oct 01, 2014

Disclaimer: This is the third time I try to post this comment, so I'm sorry if all of the sudden there are thres coment swhowing up here... On the outside the CRV has grown .3 inches in length, grown 1.5 inches wider, but has lost about 1 inch or more, depending on version, in roof height (and some more in ground clearance), since 1996. It essentially occupies exactly as much space as it did when the first gen came out, but it definitely looks a lot bigger, and it feels a lot more spacious up front too. It's all clever packaging and design.

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