2017 Honda CR-V will hit the Australian market in the second half of next year. Civic sedan and relatively new HR-V small crossover have been introduced by the company recently. Honda Australia has been struggling lately, but a 20 percent rise to 50,000 vehicles is expected in 2017. Nine years ago, the company reached its peak with 60,000 units.
Considering that the medium SUVs are becoming popular, year in year out, we don’t even need to emphasize why the CR-V is crucially important for the company.
The current model has the market share of 5.8 percent in 2016, which puts it behind Mitsubishi Outlander, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-5, Toyota RAV4 and Nissan X-Trail. Even newly launched Volkswagen Tiguan is expected to be a stronger competitor.
According to the director of Honda Australia, Stephen Collins, new CR-V is supposed to copy the market share of the HR-V. He said: “Our HR-V private market share is 13 per cent. I can’t see any reason we can’t get double-digit share [on the next CR-V], and if we did that it would put us in among the top players. Performance is one area clearly that we are looking to improve, the ride and handling, what we’re looking for is fun to drive.”
The vehicle that will be launched in Australia will have the same characteristic and features of the one launched in the US. The wheelbase will be longer, whereas rear overhang shorter than the previous model. Furthermore, A-pillars will be narrower, which will improve driver’s visibility.
Also, the car will be equipped with a 7.0-inch screen with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and sat-nav. Moreover, LED headlights with high auto-beam will be included, whereas autonomous braking, blind-spot monitoring and radar cruise control are only some of many safety and driver assistance features.
image source: consumerreports.orgA naturally aspirated 2.4-liter V4 power plant and a 1.5-liter turbo engine that produces 142kW are unit options. The transmission is CVT and both FWD and AWD are offered.
