I have an 07 Honda CRV and love it. I’m thinking about upgrading to a 2017-18 model CRV but those come with CVT transmissions. Any thoughts or recommendation from those Honda CVTs? Any specific model years to stay away from? I’d like to get an AWD as I live in Wisconsin.
See below regarding Honda CVTs:
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/honda-cvt-transmissions/#post-74212
I would say stick to the base LX trim for the 2017-2019 CR-Vs. I say this because the LX tirm came with a naturally aspirated 2.4 engine, which had most of its issues fixed by then, while the other trims came with a tiny 1.5 turbocharged engine, which had oil dilution problems. The CVTs are just fine if you take care of them.
I drive a 2015 CR-V regularly, which has a CVT similar to the model year you are looking.
I like to compare the 2015 CR-V with the 2015 RAV4, that I also get to drive regularly.
The RAV4 with a traditional automatic has a more sporty feel to it. The CR-V with the CVT has a more premium feel. And the CVT is solid. It takes some getting used to, especially since I daily drive a manual transmission. Anyway, the CR-V is not sluggish, but it's not as sporty in acceleration and handling.
I think it performs great though. I 90K+ miles on it, and so far so good!
Honda CVT's have been proven reliable so far. They have really good engineers there to insure they are built correctly.
