Honda CR-V (2012 - 2018) 2.0 i-VTEC EX 5d Auto Owner Review

What on earth has happened to Honda? I've had them all my life as has my whole family and they use to be solid and reliable cars. This 4th Generation CRV has lots of space and comfortable seats. The engine is quiet as well plus there are quite a lot of toys. Then the buzzing and rattling begins....it drives you up the wall. I've been crawling all over the car with felt pads sticking them in between trim because everything is built with several pieces of plastic which rub and the plastics are cheap as well. Little things like in the boot, only the floor is carpeted unlike other premium brands where the sides and boot lid are also carpeted or have sound deadening material. Same for the centre console. The cabin isn't noisy but it isn't quiet either. Even little thing like having a tub of chewing gum in the cup holder is annoying because the vibrations cause it to rattle. The boot is also very boomy which ruins the atmosphere. They need to stop using those terrible push fit fixings and use screws instead. The AWD isn't the best but everyone knows that it's a lightweight driving aid. I don't it will be very much use in the snow and it doesn't use the braking system to emulate a LSD unlike Volvo etc. Reliability has been poor and Honda UK have shown very little interest as usual. It's quite a common complaint if you search online. I've never had a Honda with so many problems, I fear they are going down. Even the brand new CRV I looked at is still very non-premium inside despite the list price. Then there's performance, or should I say lack of. You need to be at 4,500rpm to get any kind of acceleration but the problem with the ancient 5 speed auto is that you need to time the speed properly for the kick down etc. In other words if you are doing 29mph it will kick down to 1st and you'll get a bit of poke. If you are doing 31mph it will only kick down to 2nd gear and nothing will happen basically. It's actually quite dangerous. When driving on the motorway the complete lack of torque means you are constantly kicking down just to keep up with traffic. It's very irritating. But what's even worse is that despite the lack of performance the economy is terrible. Local driving returns about 24 mpg. Motorway, perhaps 29mpg. The car needed a turbo from day one. There's better stuff out there for less. Other manufacturers offer a wider range of engines and aren't forcing you to go down small engine route in the pursuit of economy and emissions. Give us the choice, some of us prefer a little bit of performance. I'm now finished with Honda and I doubt I'll ever go back unless they start building their cabins properly.