size of cargo area, ease of handling, seats comfortable, detachable floor mats

door closing sounds "tinny," power seats would be worth paying extra for.

After researching all the small SUV's available, I was really drawn to the CR-V. The wheelbase is the widest so less chance for rollover. The amount of cargo space is amazing in such a small car. The parking brake is in a funny place but was actually a selling point overall. My teenage daughter is working on her driving test and failing to engage and disengage the parking brake is an automatic fail so having the brake lever right next to the steering wheel and for the right hand makes it impossible to miss. Fairly silly reason to buy but a nice after the fact perk. The engine drives much like a 6 cyl but has the gas mileage you get with a 4-cyl. Since I purchased the car certified, I did not expect, nor have I had any problems with it. With all of the freeway and city driving here in So. California, sitting up a little higher with a smaller car to fit in cramped parking spaces is much better than other sedans or SUV's I have driven. Besides, my teenage daughters think I drive a cool car and what could be better than that. The folding table and circular ice chest in the cargo area is a cute gimmick that we haven't used yet but you never know. Since this is a second car, it isn't driven a lot. The AC is very powerful, the radio/CD/cassette player very convenient and used often. Looking forward to many years with this versatile vehicle.

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test drove Honda Pilot, Element, Toyota Rav4, Highlander, used Pontiac Grand Prix, Ford Taurus, Dodge Caravan, Honda Odyssey

Good get-around town vehicle. -decent fuel economy -enough power (both power and gpm have improved over the first year) - small enough to fit most anywhere.

Car has more road noise than I like, but the factor tires have that reputation (according to tire forums). I still do not have a great feel for what is behind me when driving, but I only drive it once or twice a week. If I drove it more, probably not be a weakness. More power would be nice, but the simple and easly to maintain 4 cylinder engine is worth a little less power.

First Honda buyer. It rides nice, goes nice, and stops nice. Makes it a nice car. It does have the flaws mentioned in many forums: fingernail scratches at door handle, so-so power, and the stop-light rumble. We wanted a taller vehicle that would be kinder on the backs when loading up the kids. I thought my small family of four would be a perfect fit, but the carseats make fitting anyone else in the backseat difficult. No room for Grandma. Maybe I should have looked at the Pilot also. All said, CRV has been a good car. Hope the quality that Honda is known for lasts for many years.

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Looked at Saturn VUE - too many bad reviews and extreme price cut made me nervious that Saturn was concerned too

Solid. Excellent traction in all conditions. Good sound system & A/C Sure-footed. Roomy and yet small overall. Very reliable.

5-sp model revs too high. Economy not as good as rated. Could use more HPs, more torque, but not bad for a 4-cyl.

Bought new. Been driving my 5-sp. CRV for about 1.5 yrs. Can't complain much so far. Lotsa room inside. Rides high, so good visibility. Good sound system, A/C excellent. Solid. Was in an accident last winter: car side-swiped me on passenger side, where my son was sitting. No one injured. Good dent in front door, but no more. Other car (Grand Prix) need a new front end. Very low maintenance to-date, excellent service at Sutherland. Only 2 or 3 oil changes, at $29 a pop. Still driving on original all-season Michelins, but will probably get 4 snow tires next year. Very good traction, good handling, easy to control. Would like a few more HPs, as shifting causes hesitation if you don't let clutch slip a bit (tried all kinds of variations to get around that). Visibility out of mirrors not as good as in my '89 Volvo wagon (but hey!...) Would like seat warmers up here in Canada (available, but only on top model w. leather seats). Trim molding coming off in places. Easy to get in and out. What's with the engine revving over 3000 rpm at 100 kph?? My buddy with automatic trans rides at much lower rpms for same speed. Overall, a good ride.

Spaceous, comfortable, love the table and cooler in the back!!

cup holders are weird, parking break is obstructed by the armrest, Just silly cosmetic things.

This was a great little SUV. Really loved it. I drove it until almost 100,000 miles and decided to trade it in for a small car when gas went over 2 bucks a gallon. It had lots of space with the seats down in back, enough for 6 square bales of hay!! All whell drive did well on the icy interstate. The only complaints I had were simply cosmetic, mostly the size of the cup holders and the location of the parking brake, if you had the arm rest down, it was completly inaccesible. But other than that it was a great dependable car and I hated to trade it. I got a convertable to make myself feel better about trading it!! I wanted to sell it to my brother-in-law for my neice to drive, but she's only 14.

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I test drove a RAV-4 that sucked in comparison to this car.

Like the compact outside and roomy inside, gas mileage compared to other SUVs, features and storage compartments(21 to be exact), 6 disc CD changer, sunroof, reclining rear seats, smooth ride, turning radius, reliability

could use better tires, lighted vanity mirrors, better visability with the center rear headrest, again, nothing major. Great vehicle.

I just purchased my preowned CRV-EX three weeks ago. I couldn't be happier. It's an all around great vehicle. It's got a peppy engine, handles well, much roomier in the inside then it looks on the outside, reasonably good on gas, great crash test rating, drives nice, feels solid, has high resale value and extremely reliable. It's great so far. I can't wait to upgrade to a better/quiter tire though.

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1996 Grand Cherokee, 1997 Honda Civic, 1996 Honda Accord, 1991 Honda Accord

Smooth ride. Roomy interior (trunk space was one of the factor that made me choose this vehicle over a Jeep). Road-handling and breaking. While it doesn't feel like a truck, it's fun to drive and feel much bigger than it really is.

I believe 16" wheel would be better. Rear visibility pretty bad when all backseat headrests are in. Hard to find weak spots so far. Mileage not quite as advertised.

Very positive first impression. Roomy, well-designed, peppy engine. No for serious off-roading, but doesn't ride like a truck either. Time will tell, but it also feels well-built and sturdy. Bought this to bring to Costa Rica, where the roads are not always in top shape, and I am impressed by the road-handling qualities, smooth ride. I wasn't sure about a 4 cylinder engine in a mountainous region, but even loaded and on mountain road, engine has proven to be more than adequate.

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First SUV. Drove Acura TL-S (very happy with it but not suited to Costa Rica), Volvo S-70 T-5 (great when working but too many trips to the dealer). I did test drive Jeep Liberty. I was tempted by the stronger engine but since I am not planning to do serious off-roading, felt that Honda was a nicer ride, roomier and with a much better re-sale value. Very happy with my choice so far.

build quality is excellent. No rattles. Engine is very smooth and quiet even at 80mph...3800 rpm.

highway noise. defective gas cap, cruise control switches and driver side dome light switch on the door jamb.

Too high revving...the manual transmission operates the engine at about 3600 rpm on the Highway. That's 75 mph here in Nebraska and also the peak torque range for the engine but not peak efficeincy. I think this is very fast and notice the highway gas mileage was in the low 20s mpg. I checked hondanews.com and noticed new gearing for the 2005 CR-V. The automatic operates at about 2500 rpm on the highway but the 5-speed still operates at around 3500 rpm. I feel honda is doing a disservice to the customer by not sharing the lower rpm gearing with the manual 5-speed users. I'm afraid the engine blow up one of the days.

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none.

All wheel drive(especially in snow),lots of room,great air conditioning in the summer,handles like a car-not an SUV,trouble free.

Radio system could use better speakers,mileage not what I thought but still not bad,could use extra lighting of the instrument controls at night.

My wife purchased my brother's Honda CRV 3 years ago as he got a new one. This little SUV is a gem and an absolute pleasure to drive, especially in bad winter weather like we get in Canada.With the 4 wheel drive you would be hard pressed to get stuck.All that has ever been required is regular oil changes and new spark plugs - oh and a battery that failed.It has 75,000 miles on it and drives like new.My wife loves it as she says - "it just feels right".

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Honda Civic,Prelude and Accord.

Great traveling vehicle. Lots of hauling space. Love the was the rear door opens. Much better than the original design on my previous 1997 CRV.

Experienced front end noise, clunking. Two trips to the dealer, first replaced strut, then solved the problem once it was determined it was a faulty motor mount. All waranty work.

This is my second Honda CRV. First one was totaled in an accident. I walked away with no injuries. Incredible protection with airbag and seatbelt.

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1997 Honda CRV

Comfortable ride, excellent cargo capacity with greater floor-ceiling height than previous models, excellent handling on highway and city roads, excellent dash layout with useful storage compartments and shift on the dash.

Fairly strong road noise at highway speeds, gas mileage slightly less than anticipated

The 2004 Honda CRV EX could have been the best value on the market today for a small SUV except for 1 problem that overshadows all the positives. The problem is profound vibration that is felt (in the seats, brake pedal, and steering wheel) by both driver and passengers when the vehicle is stopped with your foot on the brake while in gear. The Honda dealer advised that the vibration is inherent in the 2004 CRV and that the Honda engineers have noted it as a consistent problem but do not have any solution for it. The dealer advised that although it's a problem that may be prevalent in most of the 2004 CRVs with automatic transmission, it is not the kind of thing that would warrant a recall. The vibration, at times, is quite profound and detracts from what would be a pleasant driving experience. The dealer was curious to see if all of the vehicles on their lot had this vibration problem. The dealer then tested all of the new 2004 CRVs that they had for sale and confirmed that they all had vibration similar to mine, although some were not as profound as mine. Faced with the prospect of feeling like I'm in a message chair every time I stop at a traffic signal, and being told by Honda that they have no plans for developing a solution (as they put it, "we can't really re-design all the 2004 CRVs that are already out there on the road"), I have regretfully decided to trade it in and purchase an SUV from one of Honda's competitors. That was a painful and costly decision. Painful because I have been a loyal Honda fan for the last 35 years, and I have owned and loved many Honda products in the past (1999 CRV, 2001 Accord, 1998 Acura Integra, 1995 Gold Wing-Interstate to name a few) and currenty own a 2004 S2000. Taking this step has also been costly since I lost approximately $3000 on trading the CRV. Anyone considering the purchase of a 2004 CRV should cautiously test drive it (travel at least 10 miles and/or for at least 20 minutes) and evaluate the car's performance while fully stopped with the brake engaged and the car in a forward gear. Also consider that if you end up with this vibration problem, Honda has no solution and no plans to "officially" acknowledge and fix this problem. This problem might also be prevalent in the 2005 CRVs since the design and production were probably well under way before Honda may have realized they had a problem.

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1999 Honda CRV EX