Honda CR-V 1.5 CVT

[Leif]

I'm about to change my car and have historically been a Land Rover boy, however impending retirement and the desire to stop burning cash fixing my beloved Discovery means I now have to be practical/slightly dull and opt for something less fragile and cheaper to run. Considering a Honda CR-V 1.5 petrol (will not go diesel again, I have DPF phobia, so does my wallet), so curious if anyone has had any personal experience towing with one? On paper it should be quite capable although it's got way less torque than my Disco.

On a similar note I'll be changing my van too as it's a 2 tonne Buccaneer and the Honda just wouldn't cope. Because I don't ask much I'm looking for a lightweight but spacious 4 berth with fixed singles at no more than 1500kg unladen. Elddis appeals on initial investigation but open to suggestions...
TIA

 

[owlman]

We had an Elddis Affinity with central heating radiators and single beds: a well made caravan and we loved it but we had several damp issues from the front above the windows, which weren't present on purchase, but were covered under guarantee. As we'd had similar problems with a Bailey, we ended up changing to Swift, with no wooden frame to rot.

 

[otherclive]

Hondas certainly have a good reputation for reliabilty, and the smaller VTEC with turbo gives surprising performance. When I last changed cars in December 2024 that model was on my short list between an RAV4, and I liked its interior finish and it met my needs for luggage volume with seats up or down. But I wasn’t looking to tow a caravan.

WRT Eldiss they, have suffered some poor reports on this Forum, but with the input from Hymer it does appear that improvement is coming through.

For some years I have used an outfit matching site called Towcar.info. It used to be totally free but I think you only get one iteration now. But it gives more flexibility for the owner to explore the various parameters such as noseload, car loading, van loading etc. Might be worth a look. It was spot on for two Subaru petrols, one turbo one non turbo.

TowCarCalculator

Find out how your car and caravan match to ensure that your outfit is safe and comfortable to tow. Calculate speeds, road gradients and the stability of your caravan

towcar.info

 

[Buckman]

The Honda is a very capable car, but beware of the maximum the model can tow. It could be as low as 750kg, but maximum is about 1500kg. I would strongly suggest looking at the AWD as I made that mistake when downgrading from a 4x4. Previously we had a Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD and a 2018 Buccaneer.

 

[Oscarmax]

Hondas certainly have a good reputation for reliabilty, and the smaller VTEC with turbo gives surprising performance. When I last changed cars in December 2024 that model was on my short list between an RAV4, and I liked its interior finish and it met my needs for luggage volume with seats up or down. But I wasn’t looking to tow a caravan.

WRT Eldiss they, have suffered some poor reports on this Forum, but with the input from Hymer it does appear that improvement is coming through.

For some years I have used an outfit matching site called Towcar.info. It used to be totally free but I think you only get one iteration now. But it gives more flexibility for the owner to explore the various parameters such as noseload, car loading, van loading etc. Might be worth a look. It was spot on for two Subaru petrols, one turbo one non turbo.

TowCarCalculator

Find out how your car and caravan match to ensure that your outfit is safe and comfortable to tow. Calculate speeds, road gradients and the stability of your caravan

towcar.info

One of friend purchased a new twin axle Eldiss Buckaneeer when it changed our to Hymer they thought the would get Hymer quality, after less than 6 month and disagreements with Eldiss they gave up and brought a Swift. I had a quick look on site at their caravan it looked very nice but the finish and satraps was appalling.

 

[otherclive]

One of friend purchased a new twin axle Eldiss Buckaneeer when it changed our to Hymer they thought the would get Hymer quality, after less than 6 month and disagreements with Eldiss they gave up and brought a Swift. I had a quick look on site at their caravan it looked very nice but the finish and satraps was appalling.

The post I referred to commented on improved build quality compared to the previous caravan, but not durability. That will become clearer as more new build caravans appear.

Elddis and Hymer

I have just bought a new 2026 Elddis Crusader Mistral - in defiance of my 80th birthday! I have gone over it with a fine tooth comb and I must say that the Hymer link and financial input seems,at last, to have made a qualitative difference. Everything seems to have been very solidly (no pun...

forums.practicalcaravan.com

 

[Buckman]

One of friend purchased a new twin axle Eldiss Buckaneeer when it changed our to Hymer they thought the would get Hymer quality, after less than 6 month and disagreements with Eldiss they gave up and brought a Swift. I had a quick look on site at their caravan it looked very nice but the finish and satraps was appalling.

We bought our first Buccaneer in 2016 and it was a heap of scrap. We then bought a 2018 and overall it was just as good as many other makes as all caravans have issues.