2021 honda cr v hybrid update#

For far more of the time though, you'll be using electric assistance to a lesser or greater extent. Only in the least efficient 'Engine' drive mode is the petrol motor connected directly to the wheels - which is the setting you'd be in if you were to replicate this variant's claimed rest to 62mph sprint time of around 9s or the top speed of 112mph. Depending on road conditions and the way you want to drive, the powertrain switches between three modes - 'Hybrid', 'EV' and 'Engine'. The combustion powerplant is aided by two electric motors, one for propulsion and another for generating electricity that gets stored in a lithium-ion battery. Something further aided by the fact that the non-negotiable auto gearbox you have to have with hybrids in this case ditches a CVT 'rubber band' transmission for a proper fixed-gear set-up that allows a direct connection between the moving parts. Thanks to a combination of electrification and a larger-capacity 2.0-litre i-VTEC petrol engine which together produce 315Nm of torque, progress in this model is relaxed. Otherwise it's just as the hybrid model was before. We think that means it handles the bumps slightly better and doesn't roll as much through the corners. Honda says the damping has been tweaked for more linear handling responses and to provide what it calls 'increased low longitudinal rigidity for optimised ride compliance'. If you're already familiar with this car's self charging full-Hybrid i-MMD petrol / electric engine, the main change we need to brief you one relates to suspension updates with this revised model. It does after all, according to its maker at least, offer a depth of engineering that many other rivals just don't have - and always has, ever since the original version of this 'Compact Recreational Vehicle' pretty much invented its segment back in 1995, with subsequent models in 2002, 20 before this fifth generation design was introduced in 2018, then improved two years on to create the car we have here. Many of those experienced in doing just that probably won't even look at the alternatives before replacing their second, third, fourth or early fifth generation CR-Vs with this improved MK5 model. The CR-V has never been a contender that's jumped out at you from the spec sheet. They really are in the Honda CR-V range, now entirely based around the brand's e:TECHNOLOGY i-MMD full-Hybrid engine. Pretty soon, non-electrified engines will be a thing of the past. Nor has its primary rival, the Toyota RAV4. Otherwise though, essential character of this fifth generation design hasn't changed.

2021 honda cr v hybrid update#

That change of focus comes along with a light update inside and out. In a sign of the times, the Honda CR-V now only comes with a self charging hybrid engine. The improved version of the fifth generation Honda CR-V, now only offered as a Hybrid, makes plenty of sense, thinks Jonathan Crouch Ten Second Review