Over the years, Honda (HMC, Financial) has won the reputation of making quality automobiles that are at the forefront of innovation. The company has received several awards from loyalty awards to value awards in its lifetime. Recently Honda’s 2015 CRV model received recognition by Motor Trend magazine which rated it as the SUV of the year. The best part was that the 2015 Honda CRV beat out 18 all-new or refurbished models to win this prestigious award from Motor Trends. Honda executives accepted this award at the ceremony on Friday at the company’s North American headquarters at Torrance. So, what are the attributes for which the 2015 Honda CRV was able to outpace the intense competition in the SUV segment. Let’s check it out.
The checkpoints
Motor Trends editor-in-chief Ed Loh said – “The 2015 Honda CR-V impressed our judges with its extensive list of delightful design and thoughtful engineering improvements. Our editors were especially impressed by Honda's responsive and efficient continuously-variable transmission and sophisticated safety systems – particularly the smart and seamlessly integrated Lane Keeping Assist system. Efficient, practical, and a joy to drive; the 2015 Honda CR-V does virtually everything well."
In fact, the Motor Trends Sports/Utility of the Year is not a comparison test, but is open to all new or upgraded models on which the judges conduct an exhaustive three-phase testing process based on the following criteria – design advancement, engineering excellence, performance, efficiency, safety and value.
As the Honda CRV fought with contenders such as BMW (BMW, Financial) X4, Lexus NX and Toyota (TM, Financial) Highlander to name a few to get this award, it would be worth to check the attributes in it that aided Honda to make this achievement.
The 2015 Honda CRV victory features
The CRV priced at $23,320 comes with the Honda Earth Dreams Technology, with 185- horsepower 2.4 liter-direct-injected four-cylinder engine and continuously variable transmission. The CRV has two variants – the front-wheel drive and the all-wheel drive, earns the best-in-class fuel economy with EPA of nearly 27 mpg in city and 34 mpg on highways for front wheel drive models, and 26 mpg on road and 24 mpg on highway for the all-wheel drive.
The latest CRV model has been manufactured exclusively to serve the North American car buyers, at Honda plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico indicating the domestic sourcing of parts. It is expected to receive the top rating by the IIHS as the Top Safety Pick + which is to be released by the end of the year.
This recognition by Motor Trends will aid in keeping the sales of CRV on track this year, which sold more than 300,000 units last year. Indeed, the CRV remains the top model for Honda since its introduction in the market leading to the model becoming the best-selling SUV in the industry over the past decade.
Last word
Honda seems to be on an excellent growth trajectory with respect to its models which have been able to create a mark amidst rivals trying hard to grab market share. As the Honda CRV beat a diverse field of competitors to bag the award, it means that Honda’s approach of redesigning the 2014 CRV model by making significant improvements has worked well and has therefore, placed it over the top. Let’s see whether the 2015 CRV model is able to pull the crowd in terms of growing sales over the years.
