The CR-V from Honda is known to deliver a comfy ride, a wide spacious interior and a slew of standard features. For 2015, the company tweaks the well-loved CR-V with a range of fresh features and enhanced technology coupled with a new transmission and fuel-economy boosting engine.
The 2015 CR-V will be the company's first vehicle to have the so-called Honda Sensing. It is actually a bundle of six technologies touted by the company as its ticket to become the leader among the compact crossover lineup amid stiff competition.
Three of the six technologies are already becoming a common feature in vehicles. These would include the forward collision warning, the lane departure warnings, and adaptive cruise control.
Because some drivers may be guilty of being inattentive at times, the forward collision warning will provide a sort of wake up signal when the vehicle senses the danger of crashing. The lane departure warnings would alert the driver if the car steers out of the lane. The adaptive cruise control maintains an even distance from the vehicle it's tailing behind; this remains consistent whether the vehicle speeds up or slows down.
Honda added three new features that are not commonly found among the mainstream models. The LaneWatch adds a live video stream of the vehicle's blind spot, which is displayed on the right portion of the video screen. This way, drivers have an added option when changing the lane, which is normally done by glancing at the right side mirror and over one's shoulder. The Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS) places the vehicle back into the lane if it has wandered out. The Collision Mitigation Braking System allows the car to manipulate the brake feature when it detects a car or a person on its path.
"Honda did exactly what they needed to do," says analyst Karl Brauer from Kelley Blue Book. "It's been the benchmark vehicle for years. They had to up their game."
Though the company faces new pressure from rival vehicles such as the Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rogue and the all-new Jeep Cherokee, the CR-V has managed to maintain an impressive record of sales. Until August of this year, Honda has sold more than 200,000 CR-V models.
Pricing details on the 2015 Honda CR-V begins at $24,150 with the added shipping charges of $830. The all-wheel-drive version is said to retail at $25,400. Lastly, the Touring version, which is the company's top-of-the-line vehicle, starts at $32,350.
