GARAGE
ARRIVAL 2018 Honda CR-V LX FWD Miguel Cortina
“The bare-bones edition means no CarPlay, no AWD, and no driver-assist features.”
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 26/32/28 MPG BASE PRICE $25,125 PRICE AS TESTED $25,125
Being crowned Motor Trend ’s 2018 SUV of the Year means that the fifth-generation Honda CR-V will be spending a year in our fleet. And we don’t mean the 2017 CR-V Touring AWD that visual assets manager Brian Vance has been chaperoning for the past 11 months. “My” CR-V is different. Because we are already familiar with the entire tech package and the 1.5-liter turbo engine that come with the Touring model, we decided to go to the less expensive end of the spectrum with the basic LX model.
Why go cheap? Because most folks don’t go full boat on a compact SUV, and we wanted to test the CR-V being pitched to a family on a modest budget. So what do you get with the LX? It’s the only trim powered by the 2.4-liter inline-four engine, which produces 184 hp and 180 lb-ft of torque and is mated to a CVT. Ours is front-drive rather than all-wheel drive—but that’s what most people in the Sun Belt choose anyway.
And it comes with a much shorter list of standard equipment. The LX has a 5.0-inch color LCD screen that displays the basic info you need. It’s equipped with Bluetooth for calls and streaming audio, AM/FM radio, and a four-speaker audio system. We only get one 1.0-amp USB port in the whole cabin, though there are two 12-volt power outlets—one in the front and the other in the center console. There’s no push-button start. However, back-seat passengers can enjoy the A/C coming out of the air vents located behind the center console.
From outside, it’s easy to identify this model as an LX. The most apparent features are the black (rather than body-color) door handles, mirror caps, and roof spoiler. There are no chrome details on the doors, and it lacks foglights. It has one exhaust pipe.
Honda did step
