Used Honda CR-V 2018-2023 review

SUVs have often been sold to people as the perfect accessory to an active lifestyle. The original 2006-2012 Honda CR-V certainly was, because you could get a plug-in shower to wash off your shoes after you've been to the beach.

Now, though, SUVs are mostly aimed at families, which is perhaps why the latest 2023-onwards Honda CR-V is more refined and more spacious inside, as well as being more frugal thanks to its extensive use of hybrid technology.

If you're in the market for a used CR-V, though, this 2018-2023 version makes a lot of sense. It's a great family car too, which can now be bought for very reasonable used prices.

Engines: Unlike most other large SUVs, this CR-V can't be had with a diesel engine. In the UK, we're only offered a turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol engine with 171bhp or 190bhp if paired with a CVT automatic gearbox or a hybrid system comprising a 2.0-litre petrol engine and an electric motor for a combined power output of 181bhp.

Trims & equipment: The entry-level S model gets LED headlights, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, automatic emergency braking, traffic sign recognition and electric lumbar support for the driver’s seat. SE gets a bigger infotainment screen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity and front and rear parking sensors. SR cars have blindspot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert and leather seats that are heated in the front and get adjustable lumbar support. Top-of-the-range EX has heated leather seats all round, a panoramic sunroof and a powered tailgate.

Ride & handling: If you want sporty handling, you’ll be better suited looking at the Mazda CX-5 instead, because the CR-V is a big, softly sprung thing that rolls a bit in corners and generally isn’t up for being hustled. It copes okay, but it can start to lose grip and carry straight on - before the safety aids cut in to sort things out - more so than some of its rivals if you misjudge your corner entry speed. Furthermore, the steering is a bit slow and requires more lock than you might expect when you're directing the car around an obstacle.

A word of warning for anyone who wants to tow with their CR-V: you’ll need to pick the 1.5-litre petrol with the manual gearbox. This is because it can handle a braked trailer of 2000kg, whereas the hybrid can pull a maximum of only 750kg. To put that into context, the four-wheel-drive Toyota RAV4 hybrid can tow 1695kg.

Interior & practicality: The CR-V is pretty spacious inside, with a considerable gulf between the front seats and lots of adjustment to get comfortable - although the backrest is controlled by an imprecise lever mechanism on every version other than the top-spec EX, which gets electric adjustment. You’ll need to be very tall indeed to run out of head or leg room in the second row, but third-row accommodation isn’t great in the petrol model and nonexistent if you go for the hybrid.

You don't get any of the usual clever Honda engineering tricks from the folding rear seats; they just split 60:40 rather than the more useful 40:20:40 of rivals like the Peugeot 5008. Regular five-seat models have a pretty commodious boot, but cargo capacity is significantly reduced in seven-seat CR-Vs, and due to the batteries that live under the boot floor, you can't get seven seats at all in the hybrid.

If you're interested in finding a used Honda CR-V, or any of the other large SUVs mentioned here, head over to the Used Car Buying pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.

Prices for the Honda CR-V start at around £13,000 for a 1.5-litre, or around £15,000 if you fancy a hybrid version. Spend between £15,000 and £18,000 on good late 2019 and 2020 cars. Up the price to around £20,000 for a hybrid version. Newer 2022 and 2023 examples start at around £20,000.

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MPG

Since there is no diesel engine, you’ll need to go for the hybrid if you want more respectable fuel costs. A front-wheel drive model is the best at 40.9mpg (WLTP), while the four-wheel drive alternative gets 38.7mpg.

The 171bhp 1.5 petrol CR-V equipped with a manual gearbox gets a combined figure of 36.2mpg (or 35.8mpg with four-wheel drive). The 190bhp version that comes exclusively with an automatic gearbox is the thirstiest CR-V, at 35.8mpg for the two-wheel drive and 32.5mpg for the four-wheel drive.

Road tax (VED)

Every CR-V will fall under the current road tax system and therefore have to pay a flat rate fee, although no version costs more than £40,000 when new, so you’ll not have to pay the luxury car surcharge. The current VED charge for the petrol model is £190 a year. Go for the hybrid model and you'll get a slight discount because it's classed as an alternative fuel vehicle. It will currently cost you £180 per year.

Servicing costs

CR-Vs require servicing every 12 months and 12,500 miles, and Honda's servicing costs are higher than those of some other mainstream manufacturers. All examples are less than three years old at the time of writing, so for two-wheel drive models, it’ll cost you £235 for the first year, £310 for the second and £290 for the third, with an additional £90 charge if your CVT automatic gearbox needs a fluid change during the second or third service. Four-wheel drive models cost a little more at £260, £330 and £310, respectively.

Insurance groups

Insurance groups range from group 22 for an entry-level SE hybrid to 25 for a top-spec 1.5-litre EX with four-wheel drive. These are all lower than key rivals such as the Toyota RAV4.

Reliability

The Honda CR-V is largely praised for its dependability in our annual What Car? Reliability Survey, though some owners have reported issues.

Hybrid models can suffer from unexpected warning lights and occasional power loss, while infotainment glitches, such as freezing screens and Bluetooth faults, have also been mentioned—though often fixed with updates.

Honda’s dealer network received mixed reviews. While many found service professional, some owners experienced long wait times for parts and slow fault resolution.

Overall, the CR-V upholds Honda’s strong reliability record, but hybrid and electrical niggles can cause frustrations. Learn more on our dedicated used Honda CR-V reliability page.

Specification

We’d recommend stepping up to an SE model simply because these give you the option of using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto on the larger infotainment screen. This is much easier to navigate than the awkward software Honda provides. You also get front and rear parking sensors, which are almost a necessity on a large SUV.

Engine

Unless you do a lot of towing or need to have seven seats, you’re better off buying a hybrid version of the CR-V to get much-improved economy figures and near-silent operation at low speeds.

Our favourite Honda CR-V: 2.0 Hybrid SE 2WD

Stick a pin in any mainstream manufacturer’s product range and you’ll probably hit a seven-seat SUV, so there are many rivals for the Honda CR-V. The Peugeot 5008 has a far better third row and a much nicer interior design, while the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace has a greater range of petrol and diesel engines and tighter handling.

However, neither of those two are available hybrid, so your choices at the moment are limited to the Toyota RAV4 and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. As a plug-in hybrid, the latter can be driven for 25 miles on electric power alone, which should dramatically reduce your fuel bills. The RAV4 doesn’t drive as well as the CR-V, but it can tow more and comes with a longer warranty.

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If you're interested in finding a used CR-V, or any of the other large SUVs mentioned here, head over to the Used Car Buying pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.