[Envoy4Life]

Dynamic Do-Over: Honda Takes Another Swing at its Fourth-Gen CR-V, and Connects.
MotorTrend
October 15th, 2014
By: Frank Markus

Honda has had to take a couple of mulligans lately. When the ninth-gen 2012 Civic launch fizzled, the car got a do-over for '14, bringing much-needed styling and powertrain upgrades. Similarly, the fourth-gen 2012 CR-V missed the small-overlap crash-test boat, earning a "marginal" rating that nixed its chances at the coveted Top Safety Pick ranking. It also drew criticism for being less fun to drive than its rivals, due in part to its quaint old five-speed automatic. The fix: a 2015 reboot, and a second chance. We're open-minded about second chances -- mid-cycle fixes earned the 2010 Fusion our Car of the Year calipers -- so let's see how Honda's redemption-edition CR-V stacks up against the criteria.

Full article available at link.

 

[Envoy4Life]

Seriously? They picked this frumpy turd over much more impressive redesigned or new vehicles like the Yukon, MKC, Macan, etc?

 

[DirtyMoney]

Who were the competition? Did I say that right?

 

[RoyG]

the soft bias of low expectations

 

[Dequindre]

Blah...

I guess they value the overall package more than individual areas where it excels.

 

[Diggerdan11]

Motor Trend has officially lost all credibility (what little they had).

 

[Dequindre]

I think all of the finalists were the ones we were expecting though.

 

[Envoy4Life]

I always thought that the Yukon or MKC would have won for sure:

They seriously have got to be kidding here. How big of a check did Honda write them?

 

[ausrutherford]

How much money did MotorTrend need this month to keep their lights on?

 

[Amphibian]

A nice package overall, and I think the upgrades were correctly made. I had been thinking that with Honda's success that they could take more models upscale with certain variants, such as the CR-V and Civic where the competition from Ford or others offers higher end trims. And thus, the new Touring makes a lot of sense to me. I think Honda could gain further share with offering an engine upgrade as well. Maybe the upcoming 2.0T could be that engine. Nevertheless the Escape and Cherokee are tough competitors and offer a lot of content for buyers that want more sophistication.

On another note, how'd this win?

 

[ausrutherford]

MT said they liked the CVT...

that says it all!

 

[BlackGTP]

Apparently Honda is back to making donations to the auto mags.

 

[Ambalanche]

You've GOT to be kidding me! Unbelievable!

 

[gopedxr7]

The Contenders and Finalists
BMW X4
BMW X5
Cadillac Escalade
Chevrolet Suburban
Chevrolet Traverse
Ford Expedition
GMC Yukon
GMC Yukon XL
Lincoln MKC
Nissan Rogue
Lexus NX
Mercedes-Benz GLA
Volvo XC60
Subaru Outback
Porsche Macan



A pretty broad list of vehicles. body on frame, and luxury. out of all of them the CRV and Rogue are the value vehicles. i feel they often choose ones that have broader market share to sell magazines. more people are going to buy or looking to buy a CRV than a Suburban and want to know something about it.

 

[Ambalanche]

The Contenders and Finalists
BMW X4
BMW X5
Cadillac Escalade
Chevrolet Suburban
Chevrolet Traverse
Ford Expedition
GMC Yukon
GMC Yukon XL
Lincoln MKC
Nissan Rogue
Lexus NX
Mercedes-Benz GLA
Volvo XC60
Subaru Outback
Porsche Macan



A pretty broad list of vehicles. body on frame, and luxury. out of all of them the CRV and Rogue are the value vehicles. i feel they often choose ones that have broader market share to sell magazines. more people are going to buy or looking to buy a CRV than a Suburban and want to know something about it.

Didn't you mean Chevrolet Tahoe? Instead of the traverse?

 

[ponchoman49]

Of course nothing from the General would have made the cut. That just wouldn't be popular.

 

[Al465]

Seriously? They picked this frumpy turd over much impressive redesigned or new vehicles like the Yukon, MKC, Macan, etc?

That's because Honda has many ads in the Motor Trend magazine. Nowadays, fairness is not a word the media knows. All they know is what makes money.

 

[mchicha]

Of course nothing from the General would have made the cut. That just wouldn't be popular.

To be fair, they gave this award to the CTS Vsport last year.

 

[DGA]

I'm not sure why so many are in disbelief... Most don't need a body on frame truck to get groceries, tote around their 2 kids and a dog, and commute to work. In fact most would be a lot better served by a minivan. Main exceptions would be the ones that pull a load behind it from time to time. Just consider the delta of the price between the two, as well as gas mileage, size, upkeep, etc. This is not saying that the new GM full size SUV's are not nice, on the contrary.

 

[Envoy4Life]

To be fair, they gave this award to the CTS Vsport last year.

How is it "fair"?

The best car should win. In last year's case, it was the CTS. This year, it most definitely is NOT the CR-V.