Although seating is still limited to five, a 1.6-inch-longer wheelbase and improved packaging allow rear-seat riders to enjoy 40.4 inches of legroom—2.1 inches more than the previous CR-V afforded and 1.9 inches more than in the Honda Accord sedan. Meanwhile, rear cargo space behind the CR-V’s flat-folding 60/40-split bench seat grows by 2 cubic feet. At 39 cubic feet with all seats in use, the CR-V’s cargo volume now equals that of the bigger, mid-size Ford Edge.
Up front, the CR-V sports an instrument panel and a steering wheel that mirror those found in the Civic. A logical center stack includes simple HVAC controls and the all-important volume-knob-equipped infotainment system. As before, the gearshift lever protrudes from the lower dashboard, while a spacious, reconfigurable center console provides plenty of stowage for odds and ends.
The 2017 Honda CR-V is available in LX, EX, EX-L, and Touring trims, all of which come standard with LED daytime running lights, automatic climate control, steering-wheel-mounted audio controls, and a continuously variable automatic transmission. While the base LX model is motivated by a retuned variant of last year’s 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that now makes 184 horsepower and 180 lb-ft of torque (down by one in each measure), all other models use Honda’s new 1.5-liter turbocharged inline-four. First seen stateside in the Civic, the little turbo engine has been massaged to produce 190 horsepower and 179 lb-ft of torque in the CR-V, increases of 16 horsepower and 17 lb-ft.