So we own a Civic (1.8 engine) but the kids are getting big and we need a bigger car.

We are torn between the 2.4E/2.4EL CR-V (petrol) and a 2.4/2.8 Fortuner (diesel). The ones we are looking at are all about 1.4-1.5 million.

 

The car will be used mainly in Bangkok, family trips, shopping, school, etc etc. There will be some occasional trips to Pattaya/Hua Hin and some seldom trips (once or twice a year) up country but certainly no off-road adventures.

 

Does any one have any experience of these two cars? What is most practical? What car is the better drive? My wife is doing most of the driving - will the CR-V be easier to handle?

 

Any thoughts or comments will be really appreciated. Thank you!

C

CR-V..

CRV - better build quality and I've had both.

Honda monocoque - Fortuner body on frame

One biased towards automobiles - one toward pickups.

One rides more like a car - one more like a truck

One like your Civic - one like a pickup truck

The CRV does not come with the Fortunners animate sense of boorishness and entitlement that self- justifies reckless driving.

CRV for sure.. 

CRV has just been voted the car of the year for 2017 in Thailand.  I have one and think it is a great car, also it does not depreciate as quick as the Fortuner.

22 hours ago, ChiangMaiLightning2143 said:

The CRV does not come with the Fortunners animate sense of boorishness and entitlement that self- justifies reckless driving.

Been here long ? Seen Merc or BMW boneheads ? Minibus ? Make Fortuner drivers look like the second coming.

I have two old model CR-Vs one made in 2003 the other in 2006 both running well with low maintenance costs so I'd definitely vote for the Honda.

I own a Fortuner and for the last couple of days have been driving a new CRV, a chum hired it.

 

Comments. Both are good the 'diesel' Tuna 2.8 is bigger also uses a lot less fuel in town, CRV 'Petrol' drinks it round town. Both of us agree on that. Ok on a run though both using about the same.

 

Must say that the CRV is a bit more comfortable but a lot smaller, I felt a tad crapped in it. But I am used to a bigger lump. My lump also has the sports springs so might account for the slightly smother ride in the CRV. 

Give both a test drive and see what you think.

As far as depreciation goes much the same Toyo always hold their price.

 

Forgot to mention that your Wife might find CRV better for her to drive as it's smaller and a tad more easy to handle. Although you don't get as good a vision due to it being lower.

     My partner and I will be trading cars soon and we have looked at both.  Did not like the Fortuner model--which we also rented for several days while family visited.  Just too hard to get in and out of and not a comfortable ride. You can tell it's based on a truck.  My partner's aged mother would have a difficult or impossible time to climb in and out at her age.  The CR-V seems a better size and even though it rides higher than a car, was not hard to get in and out of.  Plus, the tweaked styling on the new model looks much nicer than the Fortuner, which I have described as looking like an elephant on tiptoes.

Hi

i went through the same questioning a few months back.

i also added a third possibility, Mazda CX-5 for its sporty drive and diesel.

as suggested, do some test driving.

also based on your post it seems like you want a larger family car than what you have an for city and paved roads.

for me.... fortuna was too much of a truck and the CX5 was less storage and backseat room n comfort.

so I went for the crv and do not regret it. 1.6-1.8 million depending on where and options.

On 3/25/2018 at 2:34 AM, canthai55 said:

Honda monocoque - Fortuner body on frame

One biased towards automobiles - one toward pickups.

One rides more like a car - one more like a truck

One like your Civic - one like a pickup truck

My brother has the CR-V A/Wheel and a Jazz, I think Honda is a bit more expensive when it comes to the Jazz Vs. Yaris.

I ridden in his CR-V nice, he got a DVD player in the back, wider, shorter, and easier to get him and rides smoother but no much. I got a Fort.. but here in Pattaya and upcountry in the farm I found the Toyota to be more all around because I don't want a car ride.  The plus is the Diesel..

2 hours ago, robertson468 said:

CRV has just been voted the car of the year for 2017 in Thailand.  I have one and think it is a great car, also it does not depreciate as quick as the Fortuner.

Motoring journalists vote vehicles as Car Of The Year because they have been wined and dined by the vehicle manufacturer better than the competing brands. Show me a motoring journalist who has ever gone past the styling and performance criteria to assess factors such as reliability and ongoing maintenance costs.

IMHO the OP should be assessing brands such as Mazda and Hyundai.

The CRV still has an excellent reputation and it is mostly well deserved, the downside is the cost of parts and maintenance. 

The Toyota is a very well built truck , again another riding on its reputation.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Hyundai really starts to try to enter the market in Thailand. Within ten years in Australia they went from Korean junk to being as good as Honda and having a reputation second to none with sales to match, watching with interest.

35 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

IMHO the OP should be assessing brands such as Mazda and Hyundai.

So, tell me what equivalent SUV Hyundai sells in Thailand?

This is the OP. So I tested both the CRV and Fortuner today. And the CRV wins by a mile. Much better looking and a much better drive. TBH, was quite disappointed with the Fortuner, was expecting better. Drove luck a truck, and don’t really want that for Bangkok for where the car will be used for the majority of its life. I am getting the 4wd version of the CRV and its pretty much the same price as the 2.8l Fortuner. Thanks for your thoughts here everyone. Much appreciated!! Cheers. C


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Fortuner is the worst car that you could buy.

 

CRV or Mazda better.

 

 

2 hours ago, PJPom said:

The CRV still has an excellent reputation and it is mostly well deserved, the downside is the cost of parts and maintenance. 

The Toyota is a very well built truck , again another riding on its reputation.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Hyundai really starts to try to enter the market in Thailand. Within ten years in Australia they went from Korean junk to being as good as Honda and having a reputation second to none with sales to match, watching with interest.

 

You must be joking... Toyota well built ! The parts do not even match ! It is the worst car that I have ever seen. No wonder why all low class tasteless and poor Thai buy it.

 

 

6 hours ago, trevoromgh said:

I have two old model CR-Vs one made in 2003 the other in 2006 both running well with low maintenance costs so I'd definitely vote for the Honda.

I have the 2003, runs great. Minimum maintenance also. Does have a mouse living in the duct work from 8 months storage every year out in the barn. No idea how to get rid of him.

If the CRV would have already the new Benzin 1.5 Turbo instead the old 2.4,

I would choose the CRV.

The 2.4 is just too thirsty.

 

Is everyone missing an obvious discrepancy here? To the best of my knowledge the CRV is a 5 passenger vehicle while the Fortuner is an 8 passenger vehicle.

 

If you can live with seating for 5 the CRV is the obvious choice because its smaller, rides better and is less cumbersome. 

 

But if you need seating for 8 or more space the CRV isn't going to work and your choices are the Fortuner and the truck based SUV's from Ford, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Chevy etc. The CRV isn't in the same league.

7 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

I have the 2003, runs great. Minimum maintenance also. Does have a mouse living in the duct work from 8 months storage every year out in the barn. No idea how to get rid of him.

Hehe does it wear clogs ? 

Is everyone missing an obvious discrepancy here? To the best of my knowledge the CRV is a 5 passenger vehicle while the Fortuner is an 8 passenger vehicle.
 
If you can live with seating for 5 the CRV is the obvious choice because its smaller, rides better and is less cumbersome. 
 
But if you need seating for 8 or more space the CRV isn't going to work and your choices are the Fortuner and the truck based SUV's from Ford, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Chevy etc. The CRV isn't in the same league.

The new CR-V has a third seating row too.

6 hours ago, ftpjtm said:

Is everyone missing an obvious discrepancy here? To the best of my knowledge the CRV is a 5 passenger vehicle while the Fortuner is an 8 passenger vehicle.

 

If you can live with seating for 5 the CRV is the obvious choice because its smaller, rides better and is less cumbersome. 

 

But if you need seating for 8 or more space the CRV isn't going to work and your choices are the Fortuner and the truck based SUV's from Ford, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Chevy etc. The CRV isn't in the same league.

New CRVs can sit seven, although you won't find me in those back seats! More importantly, there's plenty of room when those back seats are down, which will be for the majority of time.

 

I'm going for the petrol version, only because we have driven a petrol Honda Civic for the past six years and the engine is brilliant. In the Honda 'Economy' mode not too thirsty and highly responsive. I'm thinking the CR-V petrol engine will be just as good.

 

As an aside, another thing that put me off the Fortuner was the poor reputation that owners of this vehicle have. I was surprised. 

 

Cheers! C

Okay, I stand corrected. The older versions of the CRV were 5 passenger, I didn't realize that the current one has a third row.

 

I will say that I've spent a fair amount of time in the older generation of Fortuner, and recently rode in the center row of the new version during a 2 hour taxi ride. It could have been my imagination but the center row of the new one seemed to be less comfortable than the previous version. It felt like the seat cushion was low and my knees uncomfortably high. 

39 minutes ago, cms22 said:

 As an aside, another thing that put me off the Fortuner was the poor reputation that owners of this vehicle have. I was surprised.

So... you do not want to buy one because other owners themselves have a bad reputation ?

What a way to decide which car to buy !

Buy what U want. Tell others to take a flying F if they don't like it

 

11 minutes ago, canthai55 said:

So... you do not want to buy one because other owners themselves have a bad reputation ?

What a way to decide which car to buy !

Buy what U want. Tell others to take a flying F if they don't like it

 

Maybe you didn't read my post? I said the decision was based on test drives. I made reference to the reputation of Fortuner  "as an aside".

The idiom "as an aside" means to change the topic and talk about something else. If you make a comment, please be accurate.

Thanks. C

12 minutes ago, canthai55 said:

So... you do not want to buy one because other owners themselves have a bad reputation ?

What a way to decide which car to buy !

Buy what U want. Tell others to take a flying F if they don't like it

 

True enough, a generalisation, but when you have been here a long time, its obvious most Ferang Fortuna Drivers are jumped up short <deleted> .! So why ware a Dunces Cap n get laughed at. ?

You should also look at the new CX-5. The CR-V is better, if you need a lot of space and you will stay with Honda. The CX-5 is better, if you like driving. It is more powerful and has better driving dynamics than the CR-V. The CX-5 also offers adaptive cruise control which is very useful for the long trips.

The Fortuner is only an option, if you need to go off-road. The Fortuner is quite hard. In this case, the Ford Everest would be a better choice.