<p>It sounds like I’m the only one who owns the 2012 CRV. I have the EXL model and I LOVE it. I haven’t been aware of the horrible reviews; where have you seen them? I’ve been driving in the econ mode 99% of the time and my combined city/highway mileage is in the 25-26 mpg range, with perfectly fine acceleration at highway speeds. I’m told that the mileage may improve after I get more than 2k miles on it but I’m very happy with the handling, visibility and just plain comfort.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, one of my best friends has the 2011 RDX and while she likes it, it is a terrible gas hog because of the turbocharged engine and of course, it takes premium gas. I considered getting one but since I have no interest in the additional power the turbo provides, it just wasn’t as appealing to me. I have the same nice leather seats, navigation system and plenty of room when I need it. I also think it’s just better looking than the RDX but of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.</p>
<p>Finally, it’s exactly the same car featured in the SuperBowl ad and so now we get to call it the Ferris Bueller car. What could be cooler than that?</p>
<p>My mother downsized from a 2004 Navigator to a Pathfinder 2008 to a CRV 2011. The verdict is that there are no miracles, and that you get what you pay for. The CRV is a nice little car but not beyond some criticism. The mileage is not really better than the Pathfinder, the noise level is noticeably higher, the seats are average, the sound system is not the best, and the rear visibility is not optimal but that comes with the “newer” designs. The lack of middle console is a mild annoyance. The absence of a garage opening device is … stupid with a capital S. I doubt she’d buy it again. </p>
<p>All in all, it could be better, especially when considering how similar cars in Europe get much, much better mileage than whatever is built in the US. Based on real life experience, I can attest that similar size cars get 45 to 50 mpg. Happens after years of 10 dollars per gallon gas! </p>
<p>However, with Ford being the only viable car company in the United States worth supporting, the choices are not that great.</p>
<p>I didn’t have trouble with CR-V 's back window,neither did husband.Both thought it was fine.It was the Rav that I didn’t like because the tire comes up to high on the back causing some obstruction.The new Consumer report just came in mail yesterday and has all the cars rated.CR-V is a recommended by.They list the highs being powertran,fuel economy,rear seat ,ride,braking,access and crash test results. Lows are road noise (tought it was fine)corning limits rear visibili.ty which we both thought nothing was wrong with it.</p>
<p>I am probably going to buy another CR-V.My reason for not doing so right away is because I was thinking I might like a car for a change so have been looking at them.I like the reliability of Honda.Own two CR-V’s and have no complaints.Just regular maintenance.I live in the Northeast and do like AWD but it has been such a mild winter I was tempted to go for a car but rethought that yesterday. I also have a bad back so I don’t want to be crawling out of cars.The Honda I just slide right in and out.</p>
<p>Thanks joblue. Nice to have an opinion from someone that actually drives the 2012 CR-V. I am looking at the same model as you own. The more research I do , the more I am leaning towards this vehicle. I plan on keeping this car for the next 8 to 10 years, so I want to love the look of it. I having been looking at cars on the roads for the past few months and it is normally the CR- V that I point out to H that I like. </p>
<p>I have driven a Mazda MPV since 2004 and have really liked it. Never had an issue with it. I am not a " car gurhu" . I just want something that starts every morning and fits my needs of driving about town and lugging D2 to softball tournaments. </p>
<p>We were almost ready to commit on Wednesday evening, but I hate feeling pressured and the pressure was on by the sales guy trying to make his end of month numbers. So, I backed off. H warned the sales guy he was in danger of pushing me into a corner and he carried on. I am not in any hurry and want to enjoy this purchase. Why does this process have to be so painful!</p>
<p>Honda CR-v is a recommended buy in consumers report.If you google 2012 CR-V you will get many sites like Edmonds carfax ect. Biggest complaint people have is you can<t get a V6 but the 4 has plenty of pep. Problem with Subaru Forester is it takes premium fuel which I have no interest in paying for.I also have no feelings about all the little things like garage opener ect. My interest is safety reliability and resale value and of course price and gas milage.</p>
<p>Gibson - I hate those car salespeople too! Shouldn’t be so hard. I downsized from the minivan to '11 CRV - LX last yr. Missing alot of the bells and whistles at this level and I would’ve gone up a level if I knew how I have been spoiled by them - things like heated side mirror, stereo control on the steering wheel, backup camera, heated seats, better stereo speakers… I am only getting about 20 mpg because most is just around town and not highway. Fuel tank is so much smaller than minivan so I’m filling up about once a wk. So far - handling is great, like being able to park in smaller spaces, fitting better in my circa '80 garage (which was always hard to get the minivan into), lots of pep. Don’t seem to notice noise but then I still have kids, a little road noise is maybe just helping to drown them out? There are less little compartments around the seat (minor issue but when you leave the minivan, these are the annoyances!) The only negative that I have had was the way the car handled winds on the highway - felt pushed around enough that I had to slow way down while sedans and true SUVs were whipping past me. Nature of the size, I know but it’s an adjustment.</p>
Don’t subject yourself to this, there’s a much easier and pain free way to buy a car and it’ll be less expensive to boot. </p>
<p>Once you know exactly what you want, contact the internet sales departments (which is handled by fleet sales) of multiple dealers in your area via email, tell them the exact model of car you want, including the color and options, and have them give you a price for it via email. You don’t need to step foot onto the dealership to get the firm sales price. You can then compare the prices of several dealers. Note that you do ‘not’ need to buy the car from the same dealer where you want it serviced - i.e. if you get a better deal from a dealer 30 miles away rather than the dealer 5 miles away you can buy it from the former and service it at the latter. They make money off of the service anyway and will be happy to have your business.</p>
<p>I’ve purchases several cars from different manufacturers this way and it takes all of the car buying hassles, i.e. salesmen using the same tired techniques (“I’m just going to talk to my sales manager…”), out of the process and you’ll usually get a better price since they know they’re bidding against other dealers on the internet price rather than relying on sales staff to push the deal on you.</p>
<p>If you don’t want to deal directly with the internet departments you can also use the car buying service offered by AAA, Costco, some credit unions, and others. You’ll still get a good price and no hassle but the price might be a couple of hundred above what one can get by going directly.</p>
<p>I don’t know if it will make anyone feel better or not:</p>
<p>I did a mileage test in my vehicle (which has a pretty accurate gas use monitoring system) using unleaded plus and premium and found that while premium costs about 3%more, my mileage was 5-7% higher. So now I exclusively use premium. So while that may not translate to every car, it’s possible that you are getting significantly better gas mileage being forced to use premium.</p>
I’ve read that some vehicles designed for premium fuel will get better mileage with premium than with regular so there’s an offset for that vehicle, although using premium in a car designed for regular doesn’t yield the same result. I think the former happens because the engine management system has to ■■■■■■ the timing to prevent pre-ignition it’d get with the regular fuel which makes the engine less efficient hence the offset.</p>
<p>Likely negligible differences though. For cost, I do recommend test driving the Forester and comparing it to the CRV. Haggle over cost as well and see what you decide.</p>
<p>I just got the new issue of Consumer Reports too and it liked the new CRV well enough to recommend it. I have no idea where the “horrible reviews” mentioned upthread came from.</p>
<p>Someone mentioned that they didn’t like the lack of center console and fewer storage cubbies in their 2011 CRV. Happily, the 2012 model has both the center console and loads of storage areas surrounding the driver’s seat. In fact, the Washington Post’s car reviewer called it a “motorized purse” because of all the well placed compartments.</p>
<p>I posted upstream that the new CIVIC got horrible reviews because it did. Some one else posted that Motor Trend didn’t review the new CRV highly.</p>
<p>Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t notice that you were talking about the Civic, not the CRV. Yes, I did see that CR downgraded that model.</p>
<p>I just did a Yahoo search on Honda CR-V 2012 reviews and didn’t see any bad ones. I’ve already got mine so the reviews don’t affect me one way or the other; I was just sharing the ones I had read.</p>
<p>It is good to compare the various published ratings since they will vary. Part of the Consumer’s Report evaluation includes ‘opinions’ submitted by subscribers and they don’t even need to own the vehicle… but that isn’t commonly known. Obviously, some disgruntled dealer and/or former auto employe can use that as a mechanism to bash certain models but it has no basis in fact. The quality level of all domestic brands are vitually identical now, so good to shop around based on features/price and resale value.</p>
<p>Bringing back this thread to ask a question. Just bought the 2012 CR-V. Basque Red,now known as The Apple.Did anyone buy the paint protection.Salesman old car was outside and he had it done and boy did that car shine.He just maintains it at the car wa****** is an additional 199.00.I know no one says to buy it but most of those that say it haven’t tried it,just that it is a dealer money maker.Looking for people that actually got it and know from experience if it is good or bad.Like to keep a clean car so it is like cat nip when I saw his shine after a few years.</p>
<p>I’m a little late to this thread but I got one of the 2012 CRV’s back in December when they were released and I now have about 5,000 miles on it. We bought it when it came out knowing that if we waited a few months for the price to go down we’d have to buy new snow tires for our Odyssey van. It’s bugs my husband that the snow never really came to upstate NY this year and he could’ve waited and saved $$$. That being said, it’s a great little SUV. After having driven a minivan for almost 19 years, I’m loving it! What a difference! I will agree that the back windows (in passenger area, not rear window) the visibility is a little funny at first. However, within a couple days you’re used to it and there really isn’t any visibility problem. I primarily do city driving and I’m getting 21 mpg every single time. I have done a couple long trips (driving to pick my son up for spring break 525 miles away) and got 30 mpg both legs of the trip. I’m not a big speeder and the weather was pretty good so I’m not sure how you can really get over 30 mpg but I’m not complaining after driving a van. It is weird how they don’t have the home link for the garage door opener but that’s really a trivial matter. Not having driven other similar size vehicles, I can’t compare or contrast it. I can only say every time I get into it, I’m still thinking how happy I am I have one. Storage, of course, is greatly reduced from the minivan and I’m not thrilled how the groceries slide around the back but it hasn’t bothered me enough to get any storage dividers. Also, after just under 5 months of driving and 5,000 miles, I haven’t even had to change the oil. The onboard computer system still tells me the oil is only at 50%.</p>
<p>I laughed when I saw that people wanted the center console. I have a 2011 and I love not having a center console. I finally have a place to put my purse!</p>