Special test Honda CR-V: Geneva>Grenoble (III)

We have reached the final chapter of our route with the Honda CR-V through the Alps. We have seen the surroundings of Geneva and its lake (an important tourist area of great beauty thanks to the lake), and a few days later we approached Mont Blanc with the Honda, to Chamonix to be more precise.

But we did not want to leave the area without passing through an important and well-known city just over 50 km from Mont Blanc and the Alps. Today’s route will cover only a few kilometres to Grenoble and for the final leg of the route we are keeping an interesting ace up our sleeve: Avignon, which we will discuss on our final route from Grenoble to Barcelona.

Geneva > Grenoble (145 km)

Our starting point is once again the Swiss city of Geneva. Shortly after leaving, we begin to see vast plains with fields, a very rural landscape with a certain beauty. The roads are fun, with changes in gradient, the occasional long straight (where a speed camera would be very profitable) and, overall, a very peaceful landscape.

The first town to appear is Aix-les-Bains, a city beside Lake Bourget with plenty to see. It stands out both for its history and for being a spa town, in addition to the appeal of the lake with its marina and the possibility of practising water sports.

It also has a casino and several monuments, which are not very old but do stand out for their architectural beauty. One example is the “Château de la Roche du Roi”, a 20th-century castle built by mixing Renaissance influences with those of Eastern palaces. As a curiosity, the manufacturer of quadricycles AIXAM has its headquarters in this city.

We leave the city and continue on our way to Grenoble, which we will reach in less than an hour. The city of Grenoble is no longer a small town; it has considerable traffic and its size is substantial (it has more than 150,000 inhabitants). It is considered the capital of the Alps, located just over 50 km from them.

The best option is to get to the city and park the car. We were somewhat lucky and managed to leave the Honda CR-V parked near the centre (in a blue zone) and explored the city on foot. The inner and most central streets of the city are picturesque to see. It is common to find many young people on the terraces and in the parks of the city, and overall, it is a city with a lot of movement.

It has a kind of cable car, with four cabins, that climbs from the city up to the Bastille, a building at the top of Grenoble with magnificent views of the city. One of the city’s strong points is the possibility of skiing or practising any winter sport in the mountains without giving up the typical atmosphere of a large city.

In search of a photo of Grenoble from the mountains, we went up to the small villages surrounding the city and saw a constant flow of cars heading up to them to go skiing. The road is typically mountainous and once again puts the Honda CR-V to the test.

With the night views of Grenoble we bid farewell to this third stage. The next one will be the last one to the city of Barcelona, but on the way we will pass through a very important city: Avignon.

Driving impressions

In the driving impressions, and linking to the night photo of Grenoble, we liked the ambient lighting of the CR-V, with light tones and several LEDs that give it a different touch. In terms of practicality, we have not yet talked about the boot.

In the previous stage we told you that the rear seats are comfortable and that it also has solutions typical of an MPV, but now we want to focus on the boot. In figures, it has a capacity of 525 litres, a figure similar to a saloon (such as the Audi A6).

The boot is split into two parts with a practical intermediate tray. What if it bothers us? Well, the Japanese have thought about this, so we can convert the intermediate tray (which supports up to 10 kg) into the boot floor comfortably and thus have all the space available.

Over time we become familiar with its dashboard. The truth is that the feel and finish of some plastics could be improved. Japanese brands in general tend to overuse hard plastics in the interior; in the case of the CR-V, the fit is correct, but more padded areas would round off a very interesting car.

On our route from Geneva to Grenoble we managed to bring the average consumption down to just 6.3 litres per 100 km, largely thanks to a mostly flat road. On the mountain road through the villages near Grenoble, we noticed that the braking system (although correct) does not cope very well with fatigue, which is normal given the weight and dimensions, but it is something to keep in mind.

General Assessment

The Honda CR-V offers an excellent value for money, especially now that we can find the model with occasional offers around 25,000 euros. But besides this advantage, it offers an interior practicality that very few SUVs provide, since the CR-V is practically like an MPV, with great interior flexibility and practical solutions for storing our belongings.

Furthermore, the diesel engine has stood out throughout for its smoothness, which is unusual in a car of this type and is certainly appreciated when driving around town or in urban environments. That said, we must not forget that it is an SUV. That is, it has a fairly effective traction system and sufficient ground clearance, but it is still a crossover, so when facing large obstacles or even a more complex 4×4 route it can be difficult, though on poor roads, tracks or going skiing in the snow it is a car that will respond without problems.

The negative side is found in the interior materials, where the abundance of hard plastics is noticeable and clashes with an otherwise very correct finish. Let us hope that in the next generation of the car we see better materials in an interior that has proven practical and functional.

Photos | David Taboada and the Highmotor Test Team