2021 Honda CR-V review

2021 Honda CR-V review

The 2021 Honda CR-V is the quintessential small SUV. It boasts impressive storage, a comfortable ride, and good fuel economy in an appealing package. The CR-V received refreshed technology and engine options in 2020, leaving the 2021 version of the SUV relatively unchanged.

There are other SUVs that are sportier (the Mazda CX-5) or better suited for light off-roading (the Subaru Forester), but the CR-V sets itself apart as a do-it-all SUV. It also competes with the Toyota RAV4, which is a similarly jack-of-all-trades SUV. The CR-V is quick enough to make merging onto highways stress-free, Bluetooth® connectivity and audio streaming are standard on all trims, and Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ are standard on all but the base LX trim. The 2021 CR-V Hybrid is reviewed separately. 

Check out the full review below for more details on why you might want to consider the 2021 Honda CR-V.

• Technology

• Comfort

• Cargo and storage

• Ease of use

• Driving
  

What tech does the 2021 Honda CR-V have?

Connectivity

All but the base LX trim of the Honda CR-V (2017-22) come with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Every CR-V of this generation comes with Bluetooth compatibility, so you can stream your tunes or talk on the phone with no strings attached. All CR-Vs except the LX trim also come with a pair of USB-A ports for passengers in the second row.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto work well enough on the seven-inch touchscreen, but it’s sometimes sluggish. Bluetooth connectivity is easy enough to set up and the audio quality is adequate. The sound system won't impress audiophiles, but it gets the job done.

Infotainment

The base-trim LX comes with a five-inch display (not a touchscreen) that is quite basic. All other CR-Vs come equipped with a seven-inch touchscreen that’s clunky and not very responsive. The layout is also confusing, particularly if you're trying to toggle through audio sources. It can take two or three taps of the screen to get to the menu you want, and the on-screen buttons are a bit small, making it difficult to select what you want. 

Other controls, like for cooling and heating the vehicle, use physical buttons that are easy to find and use. You can also easily control the volume by using a large knob.

Driver-assist tech

All CR-Vs come with a generous helping of advanced driver aids. The forward collision warning gives false alarms at times, but otherwise the systems work as intended. Adaptive cruise control performs well, keeping you at a set distance from the car ahead without being too sensitive or reactive. The rearview camera is helpful in some situations, but the image quality is low, so it's best suited for helping you out in sun-lit parking lots, not dim garages.

How comfortable is the 2021 Honda CR-V?

Front seating

All CR-Vs above the base-trim LX model get an eight-way power-adjustable driver's seat that makes it easy to find a comfortable seating position and is accommodating for various body types and sizes. Those seats also come with four-way adjustable lumbar support, which is an unexpected and nice feature in a mainstream vehicle. On Special Edition trims and higher, you'll also get heated seats. 

Rear seating

You won't hear any complaints about rear-seat comfort unless the passenger is in the middle position—the seat shape makes it uncomfortable for all but the shortest journeys. The angle of the rear seat can be adjusted, which can make things more comfortable on long trips. Headroom and legroom are excellent owing to the roomy, spacious nature of the CR-V cabin. 

Ride quality and interior noise

You'll likely pick up some road and wind noise at highway speeds, and engine noise will be detected if you're driving up a sharp incline. But otherwise, the CR-V does a nice job of keeping outside noise out. Ride comfort is very good, even when you're driving on rough or bumpy roads.

Does the 2021 Honda CR-V have good storage?

Cargo 

The CR-V can swallow a lot of cargo. With the rear seats up, it can fit nearly 40 cubic feet (a carry-on suitcase is about 2.5 cubic feet). If you fold the rear seats down, that expands to 75.8 cubic feet. The rear cargo floor is height-adjustable, which allows you to choose a flat loading surface for easier loading or to lower it for extra cargo space. Unlike some competitors, the CR-V doesn’t have a dedicated space under the floor for storage, although you can wedge some items around the spare tire to keep them out of sight. 

Storage

The center console is quite large and can fit a medium-size purse or a handful of small items like cellphones, wallets, etc. A sliding tray is perched in the center of the console, which can be useful for storing your cellphone or to cover valuables hiding deeper in the storage bin; it can also be removed altogether. The front cupholders and door pockets are modestly sized—larger metallic water bottles are unlikely to fit. 

Towing

The Honda CR-V's maximum towing capacity is 1,500 pounds when properly equipped. That's enough for a very small trailer, but if you plan on regularly using your small SUV for towing, you might want to consider other options. Some versions of the Toyota RAV4 can tow up to 3,500 pounds when properly equipped.

How easy is the 2021 Honda CR-V to use?

Entry, exit, and car seats

The doors of the CR-V open widely, making it easy to get in and out. The back row is roomy enough that even taller passengers can slide in without much problem. All rear seats have LATCH attachments, but you may find that using the center seat negatively affects rear visibility. The CR-V is high enough off the ground to provide good visibility, but not so high that it makes it tough to get in and out. 

Interior layout and visibility

Visibility is good out of the front window and blind spots are minimal. The physical controls, which you use to change the volume and temperature, are easy to find and use. The touch-sensitive ones, on the other hand, aren't as responsive as they should be. The backup camera has a grainy and blurry image in low-light situations, but it works well enough with more light. Even with those technological hiccups, adapting to this car from an older model is straightforward.

What’s the 2021 Honda CR-V like to drive?

Driving

The CR-V isn't necessarily fun to drive, but it is quite pleasant behind the wheel. It doesn't take too long to get up to speed on freeway on-ramps, the brakes give drivers confidence, and the steering ranks up there with the best among compact SUVs. Sometimes, continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) can lead to strange power surges; however, the CR-V manages to avoid that pitfall, contributing to the pleasant driving experience.

It also handles curvy roads well, and you won't feel the car leaning away from you as you might in a larger SUV. Around town its suspension soaks up small bumps without making the car unbalanced. The cruise control, while fine at maintaining speed on flat ground, won't slow you down while going downhill, which can be irritating for some drivers. 

Fuel economy

The EPA estimates the front-wheel-drive CR-V gets 30 mpg

in combined driving, which ranks it near the top among compact SUVs. If you get an all-wheel-drive CR-V, that drops to 29 mpg combined. But in Edmunds' testing, the CR-V was very sensitive to driving style. If you drive the CR-V slow and steady, you'll likely be impressed by the results, but if you tend to drive more aggressively, you might end up disappointed by how frequently you're filling the tank.

EPA fuel economy estimates