Honda CR-V Named 2018 Motor Trend SUV of the Year

GRANDVILLE, Mich.,––From the initial announcement to the arrival last year, the redesigned Honda CR-V, a long-standing favorite choice in the Crossover/SUV market, received absolutely positive reviews throughout the auto industry for it's new look, new engine, and overall smart engineering and design. Since then, the talk has quieted but the CR-V has continued to dominate the market. This year, the Honda CR-V was named 2018 Motor Trend SUV of the Year, a high-level honor and great reason to brag.

Motor Trend has called the CR-V a "quiet achiever" for its "outright excellence in the industry's most competitive segment". At RiverTown Honda, we agree completely. The CR-V has always been a best-seller at our dealership because it simply delivers well across the board. From the new, sporty exterior design, to the new turbocharged engine - one of the first in its class in the U.S. market, to the almost luxury interior, the 2017 Honda CR-V offers the most bang for the consumer's buck. This crossover is downright thoughtful. Because of this, it stands tall against some of the class's toughest competitors, even European luxury, like the Volvo XC60. In fact, it beat out 23 contenders for the title including Alfa Romeo's Stelvio.

Why Motor Trend Named the Honda CR-V the 2018 SUV of the Year: 

• The advancement in design
• The engineering excellence
• Efficiency
• Safety
• Value
• Performance of intended function

"Honda made sure it kept its crown jewel ahead of the field by paying attention to a wide range of details," Detroit editor Alisa Priddle said. "Others might excel in certain fields, but others don't put the whole package together the way the CR-V does." 

While the exterior was notably not a favorite of the judges, we believe the new design was a bold step in the right direction, and one that helped establish its new identity and introduce a new design direction for Honda's full line. The interior, however, was a favorite. For a mass market crossover in the non-luxury category, the interior was noted as "swanky", "loaded", and "intuitive". The function of the cabin was somewhat of a unicorn in the category offering intelligently designed, versatile, and ultimately accessible space, with a low load floor, 60/40 split rear seats with levers in the load area, and a class-leading 39.2 cu. ft. of cargo space with the rear seats upright.

All of this cargo space and versatility comes with a longer and taller body, but a lower weight, which helps the CR-V achieve higher fuel efficiency than ever before. The entry level 2017 model CR-V gets 26 city/32 hwy, but the Touring model gets 28 city/34 hwy and for an SUV, that's impressive. The CR-V still isn't a performance vehicle, but that doesn't mean it's boring. Motor Trend touched on the positive throttle response with the 1.5L Turbo with CVT and the responsive handling that feels confident, tight, and controlled.

The passive and active safety features in the 2017 CR-V are another large factor that helped it take the Motor Trend SUV of the Year title. Passive features include the ACE Body Structure and other features built into the car that would assist in the event of a crash, while the active features are items included in the Honda Sensing Suite like Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Information System, etc. The judge's favorite feature was the Lane Keeping Assist, mainly because it didn't require a painted lane line, like most other systems do, to determine the edge of the road. One Motor Trend Editor called it the best lane keeping system, aside from Tesla's.

Evans was equally impressed. “It’s seriously impressive, especially for the price,” he said of Honda Sensing. “This is one of the most advanced driver-assistance systems on the market, and you can get it in an everyday family crossover.”

Motor Trend hit the nail on the head with its in-depth analysis on the 2017 Honda CR-V and we couldn't be more thrilled to hear it's been named the 2018 Motor Trend SUV of the year! At RiverTown Honda, we agree the value of the CR-V is the biggest reason to consider this vehicle. The MSRP for a Touring AWD model is $33,795, while a base model will only run consumers $24,045. One must also consider the high resale value and the reliability Honda offers on top of everything else. 

If you're interested in checking out a 2017 Honda CR-V for yourself, don't hesitate to stop by our dealership in Grandville, only 12 minutes from downtown Grand Rapids. It's our goal to provide you the best dealership experience of your life and we truly mean it! Before stopping in, make sure to check out our resources online and view our current inventory of 2017 CR-Vs.

Give RiverTown Honda a call at (877) 236-9113, or visit us at 4260 Kenowa Ave. Grandville, MI 49418, one mile west of RiverTown Mall.

Visit Us Online: RiverTownHonda.com

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