FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2019 HONDA CR-V

How big is the boot of the Honda CR-V?

The Honda CR-V is stepped because the third-row seats do not fold flat into the floor. When using all seven seats, the boot space is small and will hold five shopping bags, which is comparable to the Nissan X-Trail and VW Tiguan Allspace that also both fit five bags, while the Mitsubishi Outlander fits four shopping bags and the Skoda Kodiaq fits six shopping bags.

The Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller fits with two shopping bags but the other prams and strollers wouldn't fit.

When using five seats, the third-row seats do not fold flush with the floor so you end up with a stepped surface.

You can, however, move the floor panel up to make it sit flush with the folded seats, giving a nice flat surface for dogs and making emergency nappy changes easier! You also have a sneaky hidden storage space too!

I found I could load the raised area with shopping bags and most strollers fitted onto the lower section at the front. From empty, twelve shopping bags fitted in the boot of the CR-V, which is the least amongst competitors I have tested such as the Nissan X-Trailthat holds thirteen, the Mitsubishi Outlander that can hold fourteen and the VW Tiguan Allspace and Skoda Kodiaq that both hold fifteen.

The Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller fits with seven shopping bags behind it.

The Britax Flexx tandem stroller fits with six shopping bags.

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle single stroller fits with seven shopping bags behind it.

The Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller fitted with ten shopping bags around it.

Or you could fit a large size dog in the boot!

How good is storage inside the Honda CR-V?

Storage inside the cabin of the Honda CR-V is good throughout; the central console storage box is large with USB and 12V sockets inside and a removable shelf in the top of it.

In front of this is are two cup holders that I found fitted my reusable Luxey Cup and a disposable coffee cup well, and a large refillable water bottle fitted in them too. In front of those is a small rubber-lined well I found a good spot for my phone and has another 12V socket.

The glove box would hold my wallet and iPad with the manual.

And there is a lined glasses case in the ceiling and lit vanity mirrors in both front visors.

The front door bins are big enough to hold a large refillable water bottle and a 600ml disposable bottle at the same time. All the doors have handle wells too.

In the back, the door bins will also hold a large refillable water bottle.

There are map pockets on the back of both front seats that will hold and conceal an iPad.

In the back of the central console box are two more USB charging points.

In a fold-down armrest in the central seatback are two cup holders. They are well sized to hold a disposable coffee cup or my reusable Luxey Cup fits too.

In the third row there are bottle holders on both sides, although they are quite a flimsy D-shapes of plastic that I think could get broken easily. The good news is they will hold a large refillable water bottle and my reusable Luxey Cup fitted in there too. However, a disposable coffee cup didn't fit.

How noisy is the Honda CR-V?

The Honda CR-V does have a VERY annoying dinging alarm that sounds when you first start the car and it goes on until you plug in your seatbelt. It's a real baby waking and nerve-fraying sound.

The media system in the Honda CR-V is pretty basic looking, which at least makes it easy to navigate. The Honda CR-V has Apple CarPlay and was very easy to connect my phone, which is great.

When I first drove the CR-V, the screen beeped each time I touched it, but I found that can be turned off in the screen volume settings.

The reversing camera image fills the screen and is quite clear with a couple of different views available. I did find that objects looked further away in the camera and side mirrors than they are in reality.

The indicators are quiet in the CR-V and didn’t disturb my sleeping toddler.

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

The driver's display screen tells you your distance to empty, which is a great BabyDrive feature.

The distance to empty display becomes extra important as a mum because getting fuel with a baby is a whole new world of difficult. If they are screaming in the car you definitely do not want your journey prolonged with a fuel stop! If they are asleep the turning off of the engine, doors opening and locking and unlocking, then re-opening the doors and closing, starting the engine again, beepers going off because you haven’t got your seatbelt on when you start the car or because you blink in the wrong direction, do you take them out of the car when you go in to pay? If you do will you get them back in the seat again or will they have a complete meltdown and you’ll be stuck on the fuel station forecourt with a screaming baby!! Hopefully you are starting to gather the anxiety that what was once a simple fuel stop can be for a mum!!!!

For this reason the distance to empty display can let you know if you have enough fuel to make it home with bub and then go out and get fuel another time when you will not have to take bub with you.

The doors and windows can both be locked from the driver's door. Both the doors and windows are quiet and would not disturb small sleeping passengers when opening and closing them.

There is a knee pad on either side of the central console, which is a very considerate feature, as often my husband (who is 186cm) complains about his knee rubbing against central consoles so this put stop to that.

The Honda CR-V I drove had a bit of wind noise down the left-hand side while driving, but nothing that would disturb a sleeping passenger. When on the move, the CR-V is soooo smooth and elegant do drive, it is an absolute pleasure.

How many child seats fit in the Honda CR-V seven-seater?

The second row has ISOFix points in the two outer seats, which are within plastic guides behind a flap of seat leather. I found them nice and easy to connect to.

There are three top tether anchorages in the ceiling above the third-row seats for the second-row child seats. These are really poorly positioned because the top tether straps go right in front of the third-row passengers' faces.

I could fit three child seats across the second row, which is fantastic. You wouldn't be able to fit three big bulky seats, so you need to consider them carefully.

In the third-row seats there are no ISOFix points, but I discovered two top tether anchorages in the glove box that you can install under the boot floor.

Two child seats fit in the third row of the CR-V, although you need to be selective of the height and depth of child seat you use as not all fit.

So you can fit five child seats into the seven-seater Honda CR-V but the top tether straps of the second-row seats go across the third-row passengers' faces and in order to access the third-row seats you do need to remove a second-row child seat. Also, the location of the third-row top tethers means a lot of the boot opening is blocked by the straps! With child seats installed in all three rows, only a relatively small 170cm driver could sit in front.

I found space for sitting in the third-row seats was okay and probably would be for anyone up to about 170cm in height.

The rear doors of the Honda CR-V open really wide so posting bub into their child seat from outside the car is really nice and easy.

Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!

There is plenty of room to feed bub in the back if you only have one child seat installed.

How comfortable is the Honda CR-V? And how good is the Honda CR-V to drive?

In the front of the Honda CR-V, the seats are more comfortable than the five-seater version I tested last year but I could not wear a ponytail while driving!

I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!

They are black leather with perforated central panels so they are not so easy to wipe clean.

For a mum travelling in the back with bub, the seats are comfortable at the sides. In the central seat, I could feel the hardness of the drop-down armrest in the seat back but there is lots of kick-room in the footwell especially if you are only using five seats. The second-row seats slide to adjust and you can easily change the angle of the backrests too.

For the first year of Tulsi’s life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Tulsi so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!

The steering wheel was fully adjustable in/out and up/down.

The cruise controls are on the right-hand-side on the steering wheel and easy to use.

There are four air-conditioning vents across the front dashboard; two central ones and one at either end. There are two on the back of the central console for the second-row passengers that the driver can reach easily.

As well as a panel of air vents in the ceiling above the third-row seats. This is a great BabyDrive feature!

You can control the climate easily with the buttons on the dash and turn the rear aircon on and off from there too.

The rear interior lights are located centrally in the ceiling, but too far back to reach them from the driver's seat while driving!

I have found Tulsi does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.

Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a five-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!

It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.

There are handles above the rear doors to hang a child's toy on.

Visibility in the Honda CR-V is fine with only a couple of child seats installed but with all five in the back and the top tether straps coming across the ceiling it is very hard to see out of the side and back windows. I found the reversing camera made objects look further away than they really were, so it made manoeuvring quite hard with child seats installed.

One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, the Honda CR-V was a little tricky to park.

Aesthetically the Honda CR-V is a nice looking seven-seater family SUV especially in this burnt orange. The interior does feel a little plasticky to touch though.

How safe is the Honda CR-V?

The Honda CR-V scored a five star ANCAP safety rating in 2017 so it has not been through the child occupant protection testing.

It got an overall score of 35.76 out of 37. Getting 14.76 out of 16 for frontal offset test, 16 out of 16 for side impact and pedestrian protection was rated acceptable.

The CR-V comes with six airbags as standard, dual frontal, front side and side (head) curtain airbags for front and rear side passengers.

The CR-V also comes with antilock braking system (ABS), blind spot monitoring (BSM), electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), electronic stability control (ESC), emergency brake assist (EBA), emergency stop signal (ESS), fatigue reminder, daytime running lights (DRL), hill launch assist and reversing collision avoidance. Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and lane support systems (LSS) are available on some variants.

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!