2008 Honda CR-V Exterior Review [ 2007 ]

• Overall
• Performance
• Exterior
• Interior
• Safety
• Reliability
• Specs
• Photo Gallery

Exterior - What the Auto Press Says

As mentioned in the Exterior Overview, the 2008 Honda CR-V's conservative styling isn't anything to write home about -- unless you're talking about the new front end, which is criticized by many.

• "In the end, the Honda lost to the Toyota -- by the tiniest of margins. ...  its new nose looks like Jimmy Durante's hanging off the front of a golf cart." -- Car and Driver, in a comparison test with several other compact SUVs, including the Toyota RAV4.
• "The new Honda CR-V has an underbite. I don't know where designers are getting the idea that this is a good look, but the new Jeep Compass has a similar bumper treatment. It's truly 'unfortunate,' as a colleague of mine said when he first saw it, because from every other angle the CR-V's design shines." -- Cars.com
• "[The CR-V's] styling is -- what's a gentle word here? Turbulent. That reverse-taper C-pillar for instance. And that underbite grin -- doesn't Honda have dental benefits?" -- Motor Trend
• "Few people will love it, many will like it and more than a few will hate the new styling of the CR-V." -- Autoweb
• "My take on the redesign of the CR-V is that Honda uglified it inside and out." -- Detroit News