Among many other quality features, Honda’s new crossover is also one of the quickest vehicles in its class. Not only that, the 2017 CR-V is quite fuel efficient. Although this sounds impressive, it is, however, only partly true. According to Motor-Trend-exclusive Real MPG tests, the 2017 Honda CR-V Touring AWD which runs on a 1.5-liter turbo-four had following results: 21.9 mpg city, 34.2 mpg highway and 26.1 miles per gallon combined. The results are both mediocre and remarkable at the same time, depending on your point of view.
But before we get into that, you deserve to know what Real MPG is. This is a car test that involves a $150,000 gas analyzer connected to the vehicle which is driven both on the highway and in the city. The results are then collected and show us vehicle’s fuel efficiency in those sections and in total which is especially important since it is the closest result to the real-life fuel efficiency.
The 1.5-liter turbo-four with 190 hp and 179 lb-ft of torque will be the engine delivered on most 2017 CR-Vs. Japanese car maker wanted to make sure that the turbocharged EX and Touring models have smooth and efficient driving so they use a CVT, just like the base LX model which runs on last-gen CR-V’s 2.4-liter I-4. That turbo enables CR-V to be very quick for a vehicle of its size and pitting it against rivals in the segment it is the second fastest model in that 2016 comparison. The first is a six-cylinder Jeep Cherokee. According to EPA, the turbocharged all-wheel-drive CR-V’s fuel efficiency is 27/33 mpg city/highway, while with front-wheel drive is 28 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway. The crossover that was tested in Real MPG was a loaded CR-V Touring AWD which scored 21.9 in the city and 34.2 mpg highway.
The difference between the 21.9 mpg that the Real MPG got and 27 mpg that EPA estimated is 5.1 miles per gallon. Although not a small difference, this only reminds us that small-displacement turbo engines are quite sensitive to different driving styles. Nonetheless, this result finds its place in the middle of 2016 Big Test for crossovers, and when combined with the highway result of 34.2 mpg, it would have taken the second place among nine crossovers. The first is the 2016 Toyota RAV4 AWD with 26.8 mpg, which is actually more than EPA estimated. The 2016 CR-V Touring AWD which runs on the same 2.4 liter I-4 engine that the 2017 CR-V LX, was able to go 21.8 mpg in the city, 28.2 mpg on the highway and 24.3 mpg combined which is far below 34.2/26.1 highway/combined and almost the same in the city as the 2017 CR-V’s Real MPG of 21.9.
Although its actual city mileage is not on the top of the list, the new 2017 Honda CR-V is an excellent car which still has a lot of room, is fast and more modern.
