The Honda CR-V is one of Britain’s best-loved SUVs. Now, it comes with an innovative hybrid powertrain – available on front-wheel and all-wheel drive models – that blends petrol and electric power to improve your fuel efficiency and lower your emissions, without changing the way you drive.
It has also been designed to be smoother, quieter and easier to use than other hybrids, while retaining the sporty response and handling you would expect from a Honda SUV – all without compromising interior comfort and refinement, or the practicality of the CR-V’s spacious luggage area.
Our Autocar road test team were certainly impressed with the CR-V Hybrid, giving it a four-star review. But we also wanted to know what real drivers think. So, we asked some Autocar and What Car? readers – including existing CR-V owners – to join us for a test drive, to see if they really can feel the difference.
Learn more at honda.co.uk/cars/new/cr-v-hybrid/overview.html
Intelligent hybrid thinking
Like most hybrids the CR-V Hybrid starts in EV Drive electric mode, with up to 1.2 miles of totally silent and zero-emissions all-electric range. Accelerate, and the intelligent Multi-Mode Drive (i-MMD) system automatically switches to Hybrid mode, which activates the 2.0-litre iVTEC petrol engine.
Here’s the CR-V Hybrid’s key difference. Instead of directly driving the wheels, the petrol engine is used to generate electricity, while the electric motors drive the wheels. This means the petrol engine can use a principle – known as ‘the Atkinson cycle’ – to run at lower revs, making it more fuel efficient and quieter.
On a twisty road, the Deceleration Paddle Selectors behind the steering wheel let you control the amount of stopping force – and power regeneration – from the combination of the conventional brakes and electric motor resistance.
When you need more power, the 2.0-litre petrol engine automatically connects directly to the wheels for Engine Drive mode, using a fixed-gear transmission for more efficient long-distance cruising.
More electric, more efficient
Because the CR-V Hybrid’s i-MMD automatically shifts modes for the best efficiency, you don’t have to do any extra thinking, or change the way you drive. The result is a smoother, more effortless hybrid experience, with more efficient electric power, more of the time.
The CR-V Hybrid typically runs in EV mode for 50% of the time at speeds around 40mph, and around 33% of the time at speeds around 62mph. That means average fuel economy of around 53.3mpg and CO2 emissions of 120g/km on front-wheel-drive models, and 51.4mpg with 126g/km on all-wheel drive models – much more efficient than standard petrol models.
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