The R1m Honda CR-V Is Missing Its Best Engine — Used Prices Show Why

Introduction

Look, this Honda CR-V 2025 review in South Africa starts with an awkward truth. The CR-V earning five-star praise overseas is the AWD e:HEV hybrid, yet South African buyers can’t order it. We get one drivetrain: a 1.5T petrol CVT with front-wheel drive.

As of 2025, the range-topping Exclusive costs R1,041,300. That’s getting into premium-brand territory for a mainstream badge, so asking whether the CR-V is merely good misses the point. It is. The bigger question is what we’re missing without the hybrid, and whether a used CR-V makes more sense than buying new. I think it does, and the listings back me up.

Key takeaway: SA’s CR-V is a polished petrol SUV, but at R1m+ without the acclaimed hybrid, a lightly-used RAV4 Hybrid or premium rival often makes better financial sense.

Design & Exterior

Gone is the friendly, slightly anonymous shape of previous CR-Vs. The sixth-generation Honda CR-V has square shoulders, a longer bonnet and proportions that look suitably expensive parked next to a Tiguan. Whether it looks R1 million expensive is another question, and one that hangs over the entire package.

Honda has gone for restraint rather than theatre. Slim LED lights, minimal chrome and a clean body should help it age gracefully, while the straighter roofline preserves useful rear headroom without making it look like a delivery van.

Quietly handsome, then – but is that enough for R1 million?

Cabin & Practicality

Materials and controls

Inside, the CR-V comes closest to defending its price. Physical climate dials remain, the mesh vent strip neatly hides the air outlets, and the switchgear operates with satisfyingly expensive damping. Honda hasn’t shoved every everyday function into the touchscreen, which matters during a load-shedding-darkened commute when you need the demister immediately. Material quality is comfortably ahead of the outgoing car.

Space and seating

Rear accommodation is properly generous. Our five-seat specification gets sliding and reclining rear seats, plus ISOFIX mounting points for the school run. I loaded two 75-litre suitcases and a folded pram without removing the parcel shelf, then shut the tailgate without rearranging anything. The 58-litre fuel tank also means fewer stops on the N1 to Bloemfontein, although boot space feels competitive rather than class-leading beside the RAV4.

• 58 L fuel tank suits long inland highway journeys where filling stations may be widely spaced.
• 170 mm ground clearance handles corrugated Karoo gravel, but this isn’t a serious off-roader.
• Physical climate and volume controls remain accessible without hunting through touchscreen menus.

On the Road

The CVT question

Honda has fitted one of its better modern CVT calibrations here. It’s smooth and quiet around town, while simulated shifts help avoid the elastic-band drone that has long been associated with CVTs. At a steady M1 cruise, the active noise cancellation keeps the cabin impressively calm.

Ask for full power with five people aboard on Van Reenen’s Pass, though, and the engine gets vocal as the transmission hunts for the right ratio. My estimated 0–100 km/h time was 9.7 seconds – quick enough for everyday driving. During one uphill overtake, I heard the revs flare sharply before everything settled a moment later.

Ride and handling

Ride quality is the highlight. Patched Joburg tar, expansion joints and abrupt speed humps barely disturb the car’s composure, giving it the relaxed gait expected at this price. Steering is light and accurate, not especially talkative, because the CR-V is a family cruiser rather than a corner-chaser. Front-wheel drive remains our only option, so wet Cape mountain roads demand a measured right foot without the AWD reassurance available overseas.

Data & Comparison

Pricing and ownership

Locally, the Honda CR-V price in South Africa calculation is blunt: R961,300 for the Executive, R1,041,300 for the Exclusive. Ownership cover is strong, at least.

• 5-year/90,000 km service plan.
• 5-year/200,000 km warranty.
• 3-year AA roadside assistance.
• Estimated 5-year total cost of ownership around R230,000.

The used CR-V depreciation curve

Current dealer listings reveal the useful part. A sample of 25 older CR-Vs shows steady value retention, with an average asking price near R195,543 and a spread from R79,900 to R339,995.

Read that curve carefully. A 2019 CR-V still commands around R286,724 today, while a 2015 car sits near R193,584. Such steady retention is encouraging for Honda CR-V resale value. Apply the same pattern to a R1,041,300 sixth-gen model, and it should beat the segment average, although the far higher purchase price means losing more rands.

Fuel and the missing hybrid

Honda claims 7.5 L/100km for the local car. Independent testing recorded closer to 8.8 L/100km in real driving, while my indicated return over a 312 km mixed route was 8.6 L/100km. Those numbers make the claimed range broadly credible in gentle use, but traffic and altitude will trim it. The e:HEV hybrid SA is denied returns roughly 6.6 L/100km overseas. Over 20,000 km a year, that gap becomes meaningful money at the pumps.

South Africa’s Honda CR-V hybrid discussion ends quickly because no such derivative appears on the price list. Buyers lose the roughly 6.6 L/100km efficiency and AWD reassurance praised overseas, yet still pay a substantial premium for a petrol CVT. There’s no traction-battery choice, no DC charging speed and no plug-in alternative. For local buyers curious about electrification, the line-up feels unfinished.

Start browsing used stock at Motus dealerships and the value case becomes uncomfortable. The Honda CR-V vs Toyota RAV4 Hybrid comparison hurts most, because a near-new RAV4 Hybrid can cost similar money while adding an electrified drivetrain and Toyota’s formidable resale reputation. Meanwhile, the depreciation curve confirms what patient buyers already suspect: used Honda CR-V for sale South Africa listings offer the same core strengths, including reliability, comfort and manageable running costs, for roughly a third of the outlay. If your fiercest rival is a two-year-old version of yourself, or a used X3 from a Motus dealer, you’ve got explaining to do. And that’s the point.

Safety rating

ANCAP · tested 2024

★★★★☆ 4/5 adult occupant

Australian-market RHD rating — indicative for SA only where the SA derivative matches the tested safety spec (airbags/ESC/AEB). Official factsheet.

Verdict

Right, so the sixth-generation Honda CR-V is arguably the best-built and most refined version of the nameplate yet. But a petrol-only, front-wheel-drive SUV costing around R1 million is a tough sell when most of the international praise is aimed at the hybrid we can’t buy.

It’s good, no question. But at this money, good isn’t quite enough. Here’s my four-tier verdict, broken down by buyer.

• Buy it (new-at-R1m buyer): Choose it only if Honda’s warranty, cabin quality and resale certainty matter more than drivetrain choice, and you won’t accept used-car risk. Safe, quiet and deeply competent.
• Shortlist it (new buyer): Refinement and physical controls merit consideration, but drive the RAV4 Hybrid first for the economy and AWD absent here.
• Consider it (used CR-V buyer): A 2018-2019 fifth-gen at R250k-R290k delivers 80% of the ownership joy for a third of the price. That’s where the smart money sits.
• Avoid it (value-driven buyer): Buyers prioritising total cost and fuel spend will find better maths in a used X3 diesel or hybrid rival.

Resale forecast: Expect the sixth-gen model to retain value in percentage terms like its predecessors, but the R1m starting point means real losses land near six figures over three years.