Test drive Honda CR-V Hybrid 2019: a hybrid that is almost an electric car

Antonio Roncero @roncero_antonio 29 November 2018 15 min.

Test drive Honda CR-V Hybrid 2019: a hybrid that is almost an electric car

Starting from 32,400 euros, the new Honda CR-V Hybrid 2019 becomes one of the most interesting SUVs in its class, thanks to the magnificent performance offered by its innovative hybrid propulsion system.

The Honda CR-V Hybrid is the first SUV that Honda offers in Europe with hybrid propulsion technology. And this is no ordinary technology. The system christened Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive (i-MMD) by Honda is innovative in its technical approach… and surprises with its practical results. Now let’s go into the details.

First, let’s recall that Honda is not exactly new to making hybrid cars. The Japanese brand has sold more than 2.4 million hybrid vehicles worldwide, among models such as the Insight, Civic HEV, CR-Z and Jazz HEV. Some as innovative as the very Honda CR-Z, the world’s first hybrid with a manual gearbox. Another example of first-class hybrid technology is the current Honda NSX.

As for the CR-V (its name comes from Comfortable Runabout Vehicle), the first generation arrived on the Spanish market in 1997, and until this fifth generation appeared, 60,000 units had been sold in our market. The Honda CR-V 2019 has been sold in Spain since September 2018 exclusively with 1.5 VTEC petrol engines, and now the CR-V Hybrid is added to the range, arriving at dealerships in the first months of 2019.

Fifth generation of the Honda CR-V: the most technological

None of the four previous generations of the CR-V have had a hybrid version, and this is the bet with which Honda wants to win the game being played in the mid-size SUV segment. A category that continues to grow, and for which forecasts for the European market point to hybrid and electric versions rising to over 20% by 2021, while diesel falls from the 70% it represented in 2014 to below 50% by that same date. Petrol-engined SUVs will also gain ground, up to 35%.

And what does the new Honda CR-V Hybrid bring among SUVs in its segment? Well, Honda has improved this generation of the CR-V in each and every area: quality, refinement, comfort, equipment… This is something you perceive simply by looking at it from outside, by getting behind the wheel and covering the first few metres.

But let’s be realistic. Among SUVs in its class there are at least some with the magnificent build quality of the Honda, such as the Mazda CX-5 or the Volkswagen Tiguan. We also find the champions of ride comfort, such as the Peugeot 5008 or the DS 7 Crossback. And there are more agile ones on winding roads, where the benchmark is the Alfa Romeo Stelvio.

The Honda CR-V doesn’t stand out in safety or multimedia systems either, although it has added many that were not available in the previous generation. But here everyone already has everything; the difference lies in what comes as standard and what you have to pay extra for.

Where the Honda CR-V makes a difference is in its hybrid propulsion system. In this category there are other hybrid SUVs, such as the Lexus NX, the new Toyota RAV4 and the Mitsubishi Outlander, this last one being a plug-in hybrid. But none with such an innovative system, and, more importantly, one that combines performance, efficiency and ease of use at the same time, like the one Honda has christened Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive (i-MMD).

A hybrid that spends a long time in electric mode

But to understand why the Honda CR-V goes so well, you need to know a few things. The first is that the CR-V works differently from most other hybrid cars. At least compared with most of those we know.

Because there have already been some attempts to use an on-board combustion engine to generate electricity – burning petrol – to drive an electric motor that propels the vehicle, such as the Opel Ampera. The REX versions of the BMW i3 also did this as a “range extender” system, to increase range when all the energy stored in the batteries had been used.

Yes, you read that right. The Honda CR-V has a petrol engine – Atkinson cycle, to be precise – with 2 litres of displacement, a power output of 145 hp at 6,200 rpm and 175 Nm of torque. But the main job of this petrol engine is not to drive the wheels. What it does is drive an electric generator that supplies electricity to the main motor, which in this case is… a second electric motor of 184 hp and 315 Nm of torque. In the video you can see a schematic of how it works.

https://youtu.be/xbwH1BcGrA0

The first difference between the CR-V and the electric cars with on-board combustion engines for generating electricity already mentioned is that, in the Honda, the battery has a small capacity and the car cannot be plugged into the mains (plug-in hybrids will come later). The second is that in certain situations the petrol engine here can indeed be connected to the wheels by engaging a bridging clutch.

There are three possible operating modes, all managed intelligently by the system, except when the driver selects “EV” mode via a button on the console.

In electric mode, the battery directly powers the electric drive motor, and the combustion engine disconnects. In Hybrid mode, the 2.0 four-cylinder runs at a steady speed without connecting to the wheels, making the electric generator motor supply the drive motor with the necessary electricity. In the mode called Engine, the petrol engine has a direct connection to the wheels, and occasionally can be assisted – as in “conventional” hybrids – by the electric drive motor.

On the road with the CR-V Hybrid: good sensations

It may sound a bit complicated. But in practical terms, the result is excellent. The CR-V can set off or gain speed when accelerating in EV or Hybrid mode, with a feeling similar to that of an electric car: plenty of push from very low revs and great smoothness. Though, admittedly, almost always accompanied by the noise of the petrol engine. Remember it is a non-plug-in hybrid; the battery provides a maximum of 2 km in EV mode, at speeds of up to roughly 60 km/h.

The system regenerates battery charge and manages the operation of the motors in such a way that the Honda CR-V can run more than 80 percent of the time in electric mode when we drive in the city; the rest it does in hybrid mode. On extra-urban routes, moving between 40 and 80 km/h, the CR-V keeps running in EV mode much longer than comparable non-plug-in hybrids: almost 50% of the time. Roughly 30 percent of the time it will be in hybrid mode, and the rest of the time the combustion engine has to drive the wheels.

On motorways, however, the roles are reversed. Here, at speeds between 80 and 120 km/h, the star is Engine mode, with the combustion engine connected directly to the wheels for around 60 percent of the time. More than 20 percent of the time the CR-V can be propelled using EV mode, something that under these conditions and at these speeds was not possible in the hybrids we knew until now. The rest, hybrid mode takes over.

Naturally, these percentages are approximate, but they give us an idea of how Honda has programmed the intelligent operating mode of its hybrid system. The best part is that the driver doesn’t have to worry about anything, if they don’t want to. Their options are limited to using the paddles on the steering wheel to take advantage of engine braking when decelerating (thus recovering more energy and using the brakes less), or selecting Sport mode if they want to prioritise pure performance over efficiency.

Other factors contributing to the efficiency of the Honda CR-V are its carefully honed aerodynamics, with active engine cooling grille shutters, and the absence of a conventional gearchange. In this regard it works like an electric car, with a single fixed gear ratio and a direct connection between the electric motor and the wheels. For this reason there is no gear lever: just buttons to select park, reverse, neutral and drive.

This eliminates friction, gains smoothness in power transfer, and avoids the annoying behaviour found in hybrids with the planetary gear systems used by Toyota, where the engine revs high when accelerating if a steady speed is not maintained.

Here, to maintain the driving experience of a hybrid, Honda uses for the first time an active sound control system, so that the combustion engine, which for most of the time runs at a steady speed turning the generator motor, delivers a sound that corresponds as naturally as possible to the car’s actual acceleration when the pedal is pressed.

With an average consumption of 5.3 l/100 km (in NEDC cycle equivalent), and CO2 emissions of 120 g/km, its homologated figures may not be the best in its class. The new Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, for example, beats it in this respect. But from what we have checked in this first contact, we bet that the Toyota CR-V will be one of the SUVs in its category with the lowest real-world consumption.

During our test we saw 6 l/100 km while driving efficiently. And on more demanding stretches, without being careful with the accelerator, we stayed clearly below 8 l/100 km. If you combine its low consumption with its pleasant ease of use, the Honda CR-V is a very interesting car for any kind of use, whether city, country road or motorway on long journeys. And with the advantages granted by the DGT ECO label, as befits a hybrid car.

Also with all-wheel drive

Behind the wheel you can perceive the good work of the Honda engineers on the chassis. The CR-V offers great ride comfort, both because of how the suspension works when put under stress and because of its insulation from aerodynamic noise and vibration. The electric power steering with variable ratio also offers stability on fast roads, precision when turning through bends, and few turns of the wheel when manoeuvring to park.

The management of the transition from regenerative braking to hydraulic braking (now with larger discs and a new electric brake booster) is very well resolved, and hardly requires any adaptation, unlike other hybrid cars.

Honda also offers the CR-V with all-wheel drive. In other hybrids a second electric motor on the rear axle is used to drive the rear wheels. Here, Honda uses all-wheel drive with a mechanical connection between both axles, via a propeller shaft and a multi-plate clutch with electro-hydraulic control. It disengages drive to the rear wheels when it is not needed, and can send up to 60% of torque to the rear axle if necessary.

Together with a ground clearance of 192 mm (compared with 182 mm for the 4×2 versions), the CR-V AWD is also able to act as a true “crossover”. The problem with the AWD versions is that they slightly increase consumption (homologated at 5.5 l/100 km), worsen performance (9.2 s from 0 to 100 km/h versus 8.8 for the 4×2) and entail a price increase of more than 3,000 euros. Boot capacity is identical in both versions, 4×2 and 4×4: it is 497 litres, expandable to nearly 1,700 by folding down the seats and making use of the height up to the roof.

Interior of the Honda CR-V Hybrid

Despite being a hybrid, with everything that entails in terms of batteries and several motors, the Honda CR-V Hybrid is an SUV that, in addition to a usable boot, offers good interior space. The increase in wheelbase of 30 mm compared with the previous generation has a lot to do with this.

For space in the rear seats, the CR-V is among the best in its class for legroom. And that is despite it not having a rear bench with longitudinal adjustment. The floor sits quite high compared with what is usual, so passengers with long legs may be less comfortable than in other SUVs, as they cannot fully support the lower part of their legs and are forced into a posture with knees slightly raised.

Versions with the petrol engine in their 7-seat variant do have a sliding bench (the Hybrid is only offered with five), for which the boot reaches 470 litres of capacity, 560 with five seats. The system for folding down the second row is very practical and easy to use: by moving the backrest, the bench slides forward and drops at the same time.

The tailgate giving access to the boot can now be opened via gesture control, by passing a foot under the bumper, but this feature is reserved for the top equipment version. Another novelty is that the opening angle can be programmed. We got the impression that even in its highest position, you will have to bend down to load the boot if you are taller than 1.80 metres.

With excellent visibility, materials that provide a pleasant feel and very good finish, the CR-V also has practical storage spaces for objects. On the debit side, a digital instrument cluster where it is hard to move between the different menus, which falls short of the customisation possibilities and high resolution offered by the increasingly common “digital cockpit” systems, such as those the Volkswagen Group uses in its models. We also found the operation of the navigation system improvable, at least during this first brief experience with the car.

Equipment and prices of the Honda CR-V Hybrid

Honda offers the CR-V Hybrid in four trim levels: Comfort, Elegance, Lifestyle and Executive. The 4×2 drive versions are not combined with the top Lifestyle trim, and the 4×4 versions are not combined with the basic Comfort trim. The prices of the Honda CR-V Hybrid are as follows:

CR-V Hybrid Comfort: 34,200 euros
CR-V Hybrid Elegance: 36,850 euros
CR-V Hybrid Lifestyle: 40,000 euros
CR-V Hybrid Elegance AWD: 40,200 euros
CR-V Hybrid Lifestyle AWD: 43,350 euros
CR-V Hybrid Executive AWD: 46,850 euros

One of Honda’s bets with this new CR-V is the relationship between price and equipment. This can be appreciated simply by looking at the standard equipment of the entry-level Comfort version. In addition to the set of safety and assistance features included in the Honda Sensing system, it includes, among other things, 18-inch alloy wheels, air conditioning, rain sensor, automatic high beams and LED headlights.

With the same engine, the Elegance versions cost 2,600 euros more. They add the Honda Connect system with Garmin navigation, dual-zone climate control, front and rear parking sensors, rear camera, rain sensor, electrically folding mirrors and a more powerful audio system with 9 speakers instead of 8.

Next comes the Lifestyle trim, which means a price increase of a little over 3,000 euros over the Elegance. In return, the equipment is completed with leather upholstery, blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, roof rails, active cornering lights and electric lumbar adjustment for the passenger seat, among other elements.

The top-of-the-range Executive comes as standard with a panoramic sunroof, hands-free tailgate opening, driver’s seat with electric adjustment and memory, head-up display, and heated steering wheel and rear seats.

Honda Sensing, standard on all CR-Vs, includes the following elements:

-pre-collision impact mitigation system
-forward collision warning
-lane change warning
-lane departure warning system
-intelligent adaptive cruise control
-traffic sign recognition

The Honda CR-V Hybrid comes with a 5-year warranty, with no mileage limit. Arrival at dealerships is scheduled for February 2019. Meanwhile, Honda is already selling the CR-V with the excellent 1.5 VTEC Turbo petrol engine that also powers the Honda Civic, in two power variants. With 173 hp and 4×2 drive it is available from 28,500 euros in Comfort trim. With 193 hp it is combined with 4×4 drive (optional on the less powerful version) and CVT automatic gearbox, and is available from 35,950 euros, in this case in Elegance trim. Here you can check the prices of the Honda CR-V range with the 1.5 VTEC petrol engine.