Finally here: Long overdue facelift Honda CR-V priced

One of the original compact SUV pioneers, but whose local market popularity has waned over the last few years, Honda has finally revealed the updated CR-V two years after its world debut in North America.

The Japanese brand’s best-selling model with global sales last year of 885 000 units, the CR-V’s exterior tweaks consists of redesigned front and rear bumpers, a revised grille and logo bar, blacked-out taillight clusters and on the top-spec Exclusive, dual exhaust outlets plus newly designed 19-inch alloy wheels.

Inside, the interior remains largely unaltered with the sole differences being matte alloy inserts and upgraded materials. Boot space is also as is with 522-litres available as standard and 1 084-litres with the rear seats folded down.

ALSO READ: Honda CR-V gains new face and Hybrid tech in North America

On the specification front, the CR-V line-up again consists of four models with the features on the entry-level Comfort consisting of the following:

• five-inch touchscreen infotainment;
• four-speaker sound system;
• fabric seats;
• Bluetooth and USB;
• 17-inch alloy wheels;
• dual-zone climate control with rear vents;
• auto lock/unlock doors;
• multi-function steering wheel;
• cruise control;
• front armrest;
• keyless entry;
• TFT instrument cluster display;
• auto on/off headlights;
• rear parking sensors with a reverse camera;
• Hill Start Assist;
• Vehicle Stability Assist;
• LED daytime running lights;
• Driver Attention Alert

Upping the ante, the Elegance swaps the fabric seats for leather and the infotainment system for a seven-inch display with added Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It also comes standard with the following:

• leather wrapped steering wheel and gear lever;
• pair of rear USB and HDMI ports;
• heated and electric front seats with memory function for the driver’s chair;
• rear armrest;
• rain sense wipers;
• eight-speaker sound system;
• front parking sensors;
• folding electric mirrors;
• gear shift paddles;

Once again serving as the mid-range model, the Executive rides as standard on 18-inch wheels in addition to getting:

• LED headlights with active cornering function;
• auto-dimming rear-view mirror;
• push-button start;
• remote control engine start;
• walk away locking doors

Aside from the already mentioned 19-inch alloys, the Exclusive boasts an electric tailgate and Auto High Beam Assist as standard, together with the following:

• tyre pressure monitor;
• embedded satellite navigation;
• panoramic sunroof;
• Lanewatch left-hand-side camera;
• Adaptive Cruise Control;
• Collision Mitigation Braking;
• Forward Collision Warning;
• Lane Departure Warning;
• Lane Keep Assist;
• Road Departure Mitigation

Though available in certain markets with seven seats and a hybrid powertrain, the South African-spec CR-V continues to seat five with the pair of powertrains remaining unchanged.

On the Comfort and Elegance, motivation comes from the long-serving normally aspirated 2.0-litre petrol, whose 113kW/189Nm is routed to the front wheels via a CVT. Top speed is pegged at 193 km/h with Honda claiming a combined fuel consumption of 7.3 L/100 km.

For the Executive and Exclusive, the 1.5-litre turbo-petrol prevails with outputs of 140kW/240Nm. While still hooked a CVT, only the former keeps the front-wheel-drive layout as the latter is all-wheel-drive. Both will however do 200 km/h with respective fuel consumption figures of 6.7 L/100 km and 7.1 L/100 km.

In total, the CR-V can be specified in a choice of six colours;

• Platinum White;
• Modern Steel;
• Crystal Black;
• Lunar Silver
• Coffee Cherry Red;
• Brilliant Sporty Blue

Price

As before, all CR-V models are covered by a five year/200 000 km warranty as well as a five year/90 000 km service plan.

• CR-V 2.0 Comfort CVT – R556 100
• CR-V 2.0 Elegance CVT – R617 900
• CR-V 1.5T Executive CVT – R699 900
• CR-V 1.5T Exclusive AWD CVT – R796 300