I was honored to be invited by Honda to enjoy a trip up to Whistler as a way to check out all the fun and features of the 2012 Honda CRV. On the trip with me was Nicole of My Real Review, Anne Marie of Yoyomama.ca, Gwen reporting for Vancouvermom.ca, Jill from Urbanmommies.com and John Biehler for Miss604.
We met up at the Honda offices in Richmond and were given a great walk around of all the key features and shiny things that the new CR-V has. The CR-V has gone through a few transformations over the years keeping in mind comfort and space all the time. The CR-V has great cargo space and amazingly fun ways to lower the seats without falling into the back of the car.
The CR-V is probably classed as compact SUV but they are mindful of legroom for your passengers and it is surprisingly roomy in the back seat AND they have the anchors for THREE car seats. So depending on the type of car seats you use, you could easily fit a young family of 5 in the car. My crew – with only one car seat – would fit nicely and leave plenty of room for all the stuff we seem to pack around all the time.
The inclement weather on the Sea to Sky up to Whistler was perfect to try out some of the key features of the CR-V. Nicole and I drove the lovely Touring version up to Whistler and got to see the Hill Assist in action after watching the Corolla in front of us spin out from a red light. The curvy road helped us try out the VSA or Vehicle Stability Assist. The CR-V helps you drive better.
It also helps you drive more economically too. The Honda Eco Assist coaches you to drive more efficiently by keeping you ‘in the green.’ Green lights on either side of the speedometer show you if the CR-V is being driven in an efficient manner. Being that I had to WORK at that, shows you what a heavy footed driver I am. All Honda CR-V’s now come with a big green ECON button. The Econ button is great for city driving. It brings down all the system in the car to ‘super-efficient’ mode….slows things down, including acceleration and so on. Not so great on hills, but again, perfect for stop and go city traffic.
The Honda CR-V made the drive nice and easy and all too quickly we arrived in Whistler. After checking in at the gorgeous Chateau Fairmont Whistler some of our party headed to the spa, while the more outdoorsy of us took the chance to enjoy the amazing Peak to Peak. They skies very graciously cleared for us so we could thoroughly enjoy the stunning alpine views of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. I have never been up on the peaks before, so this was an amazing treat for me.
To finish of our day, the people from Honda had arranged dinner at the Long Table event by Araxi. This is an amazing dinner taking place at the Rainbow Park. This was an amazing dinner where Chef James Walt introduced us course by course to the amazing bounty that the Pemberton farmers had to offer. Root Down Farm shared their lovely organic vegetables that accompanied crab from Tofino, BC Sockeye Salmon and delicious Pemberton Beef. All accompanied by a selection of Okanagan wines from Le Vieux Pin and La Stella. It was a fun and lively dinner in a very different setting. I finished up my day with a stroll through Whistler, where I caught the VSO playing in the square and then away to bed to rest for our drive home.
Nicole and I got the EX version home. This is the more basic model compared to the gorgeous Touring model, but there is so much included even in this version of the CR-V that it left us quite impressed. There were still plenty of shiny things to play with on this model and again we hardly really noticed the drive home. The Honda CR-V made even the bridge traffic a pleasant experience.
Honda has a long history of dependability and reliability when it comes to their vehicles. The have a reputation to uphold and this shows itself in the continuing quality of their CR-V’s. You expect a lot from a Honda and I think they are aware of this. I will be testing out a few more of Honda’s vehicles over the next few weeks including the Odyssey and the Pilot. Keep an eye out for my reviews. My kids didn’t get to check out the CR-V yet and I find their opinion on comfort and ride to be invaluable. School age kids are picky about their rides, and finding a car that fits a bigger family is crucial to many people. Safety is of course vital too and so Honda works hard at building ever safer vehicles, from stronger frames to better airbags.
I want to thank Honda for being such amazing hosts for the weekend. They treated us like gold and I really enjoyed chatting with all involved. It was fun to see people who genuinely are proud of where they work.
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