Honda CR-V review - page 2 |
Engine and transmission
The engine is a 2354cc all aluminum 16-valve dohc engine producing maximum power of 154PS available at 6000 rpm and maximum torque of 215Nm available at 3600rpm but, that is not the important part, the power and torque figures are rather weighed down by the fact that this car weighs in at roughly 2 tons right.. Actually, no. Heres the deal, if you are ready to forget the fact that this car just cost you anywhere between 17 to 18 lakhs, it will do 100kph in under 10 seconds and onto a top speed of more than 180kph. All this calls for huge stopping power, and hence one finds ventilated discs up front and solid discs at the rear, a critical safety issue if one considers the momentum such mass would gain.
All said and done engineers at Honda still claim a real world efficiency figure of 10kpl and 15kpl in city and highway conditions respectively. Unfortunately for the sheikhs of Arabia, thats in fact true, all thanks to the i-vtec technology featured here. This allows for the engine to change its parameters in accordance with the changing load demand and rpm conditions. This means the CR-V engine is both frugal and economical, as and when required. This figure is slated to further improve if the driver keeps a tab on the real time electronic fuel efficiency bar, whose length increases or decreases in accordance with the fuel consumption. This car has been designed in order to ease city driving(in an SUV) and the best trick it pulls in this department is the top gear at 40kph, not too many cars can boast of such torque especially among petrols. This allows for the driver to shift early or in stick to the same gear and 3rd gear is especially suited for light traffic, where although your electronic bar is as long as it can get, the i-vetc makes sure that power is available on tap.
The transmission is either an electronic 5 speed automatic, with grade logic technology or a 5 speed manual transmission. The auto box version has just a hard type spare tyre cover to differenciate it from the manual. I happened to drive only the manual, and I was very impressed with the gearbox for its ability to keep the engine in the power band for not just for the signal to signal drags but also for the happy day out with the family where revs dont usually exceed 3000rpm. I particularly belive in reserving comments based on others opinions, but wish to add that much praise has been heard about the automatic of this car and the auto box makes this car much more fun to drive both on the highway and in the city.
The most impressive and technologically loaded part of the engine and transmission is in fact the final drivetrain. It comes equipped with what Honda calls Real time four wheel drive. This helps this car reap all the benefits of an all-wheel drive setup with none of its disadvantages. Power by default is transmitted to the front wheels, once the front wheels begin to lose grip, the torque lost due to this slippage is directed through a hydraulic clutch to the rear wheels. This transmission continues until the both front and rear wheels achieve same rotational speed, at which point the four wheel drive switches back to default mode.
Ride and handling
I always have a feeling at the back of my mind when I drive SUVs. I happen to think that at the end of the road, somebody is going to come in my way and in a bid to avoid him, Im going to land up on my roof. But this car, Im sorry this SUV is nothing like that, I cannot for a moment think that Im driving an SUV, I feel like Im sitting in a well sorted saloon and immaterial of how fast I go, I wont scrape my roof. 
To achieve this sort of stability, in order to balance the high centre of gravity, engineers choose a hard suspension, which undoubtably takes its toll on the ride. The CR-V s no exception, it feels a bit harsh at low speeds but once the speeds climb, there are no worries, even at elevated speeds of above 150kph the CR-V never lost its poise and stuck to road.
Verdict
The Honda CR-V is a very impressive effort as is every new Honda making its way to India. So, is it the ultimate SUV? Unfortunately, no. Its definitely not the ultimate (the Hummer is) but the big news is that it is the best. CR-V snob value is as undisputable as Honda reputation and if I given a choice, I would definitely go in for it, especially the automatic.
Special thanks to Mr.Dijish K Damodaran
branch coordinator, sales,
Peninsular Honda
Mangalore | Cochin | Trivandrum | Calicut
Contact:09845948333, 9886748453 |
![Honda CRV front](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=crv_fr34.jpg&imagetitle=Honda CRV front"))
