In a Nutshell: Swiss-Watch build quality and materials, quite versatile, but not as pleasant to drive as AWD Subaru competitors.

I had a chance a few days ago, while shopping with a neighbor for a small SUV, to check out a new CR-V. We looked at the base version, which I felt was the best bargain, though the more expensive EX and EX-L versions are not exactly a waste of money either. I didn't do a full, detailed, review on this vehicle because that was not the intent of the test-drive and inspection... I was more interested in checking it out for defects, vehicle condition and a general test-drive, but I will share my findings on it with you guys. I was strongly impressed with Honda's build quality and materials on this vehicle... it is one of the highest-ranking vehicles in Consumer Reports' reliability data base. However, with the higher center-of gravity, it is definitely not as car-like as the Subaru AWDs... driving it, I missed my Outback's superb combination of AWD, SUV-versatility, and car-like road manners.

So here, in a condensed form, is my take on it:

Model Reviewed: 2008 Honda CR-V LX 4WD

Base price: $21,900.

Major Options: None

Destination: $635

List Price as Reviewed: $22,635

Exterior Color: Nighthawk Black Pearl

Interior: Ivory Cloth

Drivetrain: AWD, Transverse-mounted 2.4L in-line 4, 166 HP @ 5800 RPM, Torque 161 ft-lbs. @ 4200 RPM,
5-Speed automatic, no Sport-Shift function.


PLUSSES:

Honda quality through and through.

LX version a bargain starting at 22K.

4-cylinder engine and automatic has V6 smoothness.

AWD system more complex than Subarus but has comparable durability and reliability.

Superb exterior materials and trim quality.

Superb interior materials and trim quality.

Super-slick-feeling, solid-operating outside mirrors.

Excellent headroom and legroom front and rear.

All gauges, buttons, and controls clear and well-marked.

Nice stereo.

Base steering wheel much more comfortable than more expensive, leather-stitched versions.

Slick paint job, and subdued but nice paint colors.

Underhood engine compartment reasonably well-laid out without unnecessary bulky items or covers.

Solid-closing doors.

Good cargo room with rear seats down.

New flip-up tailgate a major improvement over old, right-hinged rear door.

Comfortable but not particularly supportive seats.

New Honda 5/60 and 3/36 warranties an improvement over previous years.

Extremely tight tolerances in assembly; everything fits perfectly.


MINUSES:

No optional engines or manual transmission offered.

Automatic shift lever does not have a manual shift-gate.

Center of gravity too high for optimum ride/handling combination.

Ride a little choppy for my tastes, with typical SUV porpoising, but is helped by tall-profile, 65-series tires.

Moderate body lean in corners.

Discounts and incentives not widespread.

Dull-looking, stamped-steel wheels on base version.

Split-Rear seats fold down but lack remote latches.

Limited rear visibility from rear side windows and D-Pillar.

Noticeable wind noise at speed.

Awkward, Volvo-wagon-like taillights.

AWD weight/drag bogs the engine down on acceleration.

Slightly spongy brakes.



Condensed Summary:

Exterior:

Sits higher off the ground than regular sedans and has good ground clearance for mud and snow. Very impressive exterior workmanship, materials, paint, and trim quality. Somewhat tall, awkward-looking (IMO) taillights. Stamped-steel wheels look cheap (the only thing on the vehicle that does). Good-quality cladding all around protects lower-body from damage. Sweep in rear-side windows and D-Pillar impedes visibility. Underhood compartment well-laid out and relatively uncluttered.

Interior:

Attractive, black/beige two-tone trim. Workmanship and materials equally as impressive as the outside. Solid-closing doors. Clear, typical Honda/Acura blue-ring gauges. Controls all clearly marked, high-quality materials, and slick operation. Comfortable seats but not particularly supportive. Vinyl steering wheel, without the sharp, poorly-done stitching of the leather ones, is more comfortable to hold. Stereo well-done but not quite in Lexus territory. Good headroom and legroom front and rear.


Cargo Area:

Plenty of room with rear seats down.....OK with them up. Rear seats lack the remote, tail-mounted levers for fold-down some other SUV's have........you have to reach way in to unfold them. Reasonably well-finished, with high-quality carpet. Dummy full-size spare tire inside, under rear floor, instead of under the vehicle like some small SUV's. Top-hinged lift-gate a major improvement over the old right-hinged door, which was a carryover from the Japanese-market versions.

On the Road:

Conventional start-up ignition switch...no button. Smooth, quiet 4-cylinder.....virtually to V6 standards. Smooth, quiet 5-speed automatic transmission has slick-operating, high-quality shift lever but lacks a manual shift-gate common to many of today's automatics. Engine feels somewhat overworked on acceleration with the vehicle weight and drag of automatic/AWD, but power level is adequate for normal, sedate driving. Noticeable wind noise at cruise speeds. Tire/road noise less noticeable than other entry-level Hondas. Rather numb steering feel. High center of gravity gives moderate body lean, rather slow steering response, and a small amount of typical, small-SUV, fore/aft porpoising. Brakes OK but a little spongy. Ride a little choppy for my tastes but is helped a little by high-profile 65-series tires.

The Verdict?

Overall, an excellent competitor to the Toyota Rav4, Subaru Outback/Forester, Mitsubishi Outlander, Ford/Escape/Mercury Mariner, Chevrolet Equinox/Pontiac Torrent, Hyundai Tucson, and Suzuki Vitara. Overall build quality and materials surpass anything in its class, though Subarus come close. Highly recommended by me as an inexpensive, versatile, all-weather daily driver, but check out Subaru Forester and Outback first before buying.. you may prefer the Subaru's more car-like road manners.

In a Nutshell: An often-overlooked bargain that gives you a lot for the money, but not a car for BMW-Philes or sport/handling enthusiasts.

I did not receive any specific requests recently to review this car, either from CL or elsewhere, but decided to review it anyway for several reasons, the chief one being that it is one of the most-overlooked new vehicles in the American market. Comparably little is written in the automotive press about it, although Warren Brown, the Washington Post's auto writer (who I casually know) recently had one for a week and wrote it up in the paper. He commented at length on its smooth ride and lack of handling prowess (I'll get more into that myself below). Consumer Reports tested one in 2004 but has not formally tested one since, and has reliability data for only two years (2004 being worse-than-average and 2005 being average). I myself test-drove one several years ago, but have not looked at or formally reviewed the current-generation model, so, as I had already finished all the auto reviews I had formal requests for (up to now), I figured it was time to stop by the local Isuzu/Kia shop and check it out. It was worth the trip just for the sales rep alone....he was a superbly friendly guy, a car enthusiast like me, LOVED to talk cars, cut through the usual dealer bull-******, and was a pleasure to meet and talk to. I would have stayed there all day just talking new cars and the market with him if I didn't have other things to do. This guy deserves to get customers, and even though I myself probably won't buy a new Kia anytime soon, I'll send him people who will.

However, I didn't go there to review salespeople, but a new vehicle, so, let's get on with the Amanti.

Kia introduced the mid-to-large-size Amanti sedan several years ago for several reasons... First, as an effort to improve its then-down-in-the dumps image with customers and the auto press, Second, to have an upscale sedan more competitive with those from America, Japan, and Europe, and, Third, as a corporate brother to the Hyundai XG300/350 and later Azera. The new Amanti (though it was never really popular) quickly developed a reputation as a bargain-priced, well-finished, well-refined, and fairly well-built sedan that had a magic-carpet ride but handled like a 1950 Buick... indeed, the one I first test-drove was pillow-smooth over bumps, but rolled and tracked like a battleship with steering input and cornered almost on its door handles. I liked the ride, of course (I always like a smooth ride), but, to be honest, I felt that, by modern standards, the handling was sluggish enough to be borderline dangerous. Consumer Reports agreed...they liked its ride also, but commented that it was the worst-handling modern non-SUV passenger car they had tested. Only the optional stability control (when turned on, of course) kept the Roly-Poly handling and excessive understeer from landing you in the ditch on sharp, aggressive corners. The only other car I've personally driven in recent years that handled this poorly was the Buick Roadmaster.


But that was the old Amanti. Since then, the car has been mildly restyled, extensively reworked, given a larger engine (3.8L, up from 3.5L), and given a
much better suspension in ride/handling compromise. I won't get into that in detail here.....that is for the review below. But it remains a bargain in the marketplace, with its relatively low price, long warranty, generally good build quality, sales incentives, extensive standard and optional safety features, driving comfort, good fit-and-finish, roomy trunk, and slick-operating controls.

For both 2007 and 2008, only one model/trim level of the Amanti is offered in the American market, with a the aforementioned 3.8L V6 and 5-speed automatic....the same engine, of course, used in the Hyundai Azera, the Amanti's corporate brother. I drove a 2007 model primarily because the 2008 models had not yet arrived at the dealership I was at, and they were trying to get rid of the remaining 2007's in stock to make room for them. This, of course, reflects the car's continuing low demand, incentives and willingness of Kia dealerships to deal on them. Incentives may or may not be available on the 2008's...we'll wait and see.....but the word from Kia is that factory pricing on the 2008's will be virtually identical to the 2007's, with no significant price increase. (the sales rep checked 2007/2008 prices on his computer and also found them virtually identical). Marketing changes between the 2007 and 2008 models will likewise be minimal.........one exterior color will be dropped, the power-pedal option moved from the less-expensive Leather Package to the more-expensive Premium package, and a couple of other small details, but for the most part the 2007 and 2008 will be identical, so I saw little sense in coming back for a 2008. I just picked out a 2007, reviewed it, and did my usual write up.

So then, let's get on with it.

Model Reviewed: 2007 Kia Amanti

Base price: $25,415

Major Options:
Leather package $2500
Sunroof $900
Stability Control/Brake Assist/Traction Control Package $500
17" wheel package $500
Cargo Mat $90
Wheel locks $29

Destination: $680

List Price as Reviewed: $30,614

Exterior Color: Pewter Beige

Interior: Beige Leather

Drivetrain: FWD, Transverse-mounted 3.8L DOHC V6, 264 HP @ 6000 RPM, Torque 260 ft-lbs. @ 4500 RPM,
5-Speed automatic with Sport-Shift.


PLUSSES:

Good price for the features offered.

Low demand means further discounts at deal time.

Base and option prices for 2008 will remain unchanged.

Handsome exterior styling (which is subjective, of course)

Much-improved suspension and handling over previous models.

Well-done steering wheel and leather stitching.

Nice paint job.

Nice, power-adjustable pedals.

Good Infiniti stereo.

Roomy, well-finished trunk.

High-quality exterior trim and sheet metal.

Good legroom, front and rear.

Slick, easy-to use, high-quality controls, buttons, and knobs.

Nicely done chrome trim.

Peppy V6 much more responsive then previous Hyundai/Kia V6's

Smooth, quiet ride....more so than its brother Hyundai Azera.

Slick-operating seat-belt rollers.

Slick, pleasant-to-use transmission shifter.

Numerous interior storage compartments.

Long Hyundai/Kia warranty.


MINUSES:

Still has significant understeer.

Spongy brakes.

Only 6 colors offered for 2008 (one has been dropped...Cobalt Blue).

Compact, dummy spare tire.

Slippery-as-ice leather seats.

Acceleration squat and nose dive with hard braking.

Dull-as-a-dentist's-office paint colors.

Marginal headroom for tall people despite the tall roof.

Manual tilt but non-telescoping steering wheel

Pearl White paint costs extra ($200).

Poorly and misleadingly designed underhood compartment.

Power-adjustable pedal option shifted from Leather to Premium Package for 2008.

Step-on, left-foot parking brake not as convienent to use as a hand lever.

Body structure not Mercedes or Volvo-stout.

Silly underhood design.

Poorly-finished wiper arms.


The first impression of this car, as you first walk up to it, it that is that style-wise, it is like nothing else in the Hyundai-Kia family. It is certainly not a mee-too car, although, in some ways, depending on how you look at it (pun intended) you can actually call it a collection of mee-too's. The rather interesting styling (IMO) is more or less a combination of Mercedes, Lincoln, and Jaguar all rolled into one unique shape. The nicely-done grille and quad-oval headlights are unmistakably from the 90's vintage Mercedes E-Class (and some Jaguars). The rear roofline, trunk lid, and tailights are unmistakably Lincoln Town car and Jaguar. Call it copycat, if you want, but, to my eye, it is handsome and classy. It is also a good-size car by today's standards, and that translates into generally good legroom inside and a roomy trunk (more on that later).

The exterior is also a long way, quality-wise, from, say, Dodge-Chrysler levels of cheapness and tinniness. The paint job is first-rate, with smooth application, good gloss, a noted lack of orange peel, and a nice slick feel. But.....once again, like so many other cars, we have to put up with nothing but funeral and dentist-office colors, which is about as exciting as (another pun intended) watching paint dry. And IMO, a $30,000 Kia flagship should come in more than 6 paint colors (down from 7 last year). Bargain-price or not, there is simply too much cost-cutting going on in the color-selection business (and Kia is not alone). And for the best of the color choices...White Pearl....you have to fork over another $200. However, like I said a minute ago, you can't fault the paint job itself.

The sheet metal and exterior hardware is also quite good, with a solid feel, solid door, hood, and trunk closings, and smooth, solid, slick-swiveling outside mirrors. The exterior chrome finishes are first-rate, the trim is all solidly attached and well-done, and nothing outside feels like it was taken from a bargain-basement sale. I notice this consistently, over and over again, especially in the outside mirrors. With a few exceptions like the cheaply done new Toyota Tundra and the superb new Cadillac CTS, in most cases, European and Asian-designed cars simply clobber our American-nameplate vehicles in the quality of their hardware and fit/finish. American-company CEO's won't admit it, but the proof is in the pudding. Ford, though, to its credit, is showing some recent improvement in the exterior sheet metal they use.

Anyhow, back to the Amanti. The one poorly-done thing on the outside, IMO, is the poor finish on the wiper arms. By Federal law, they have to be flat-black to reduce glare from sun reflections... but many automakers manage to make it look good anyway. The flat-black paint that Kia uses, though, is awful-looking... it looks (and feels) like it has already been exposed to the weather for ten years while still brand-new sitting right on the lot.

Open the (properly) strut-supported hood, and the whole underhood compartment looks like it was designed by a clown....one of the car's worst features. The 3.8L V6 actually fits in cross-ways (transversely), as do most FWD layouts, but Kia has not only jammed the engine in with a shoe horn, but, like a couple of Hyundai designs, screwed the huge plastic top-engine cover on in a way that not only blocks access to many things but is deliberately right-angle to the engine itself, to try and make it look like a traditional fore-aft (longitudinal) engine layout. The salesman didn't notice that until I pointed that out to him, then scratched his head and said "you're right." This is one of the silliest things I've ever seen in auto design. The basic dipsticks and fluid-reservoirs, however (but not much else), are accessible from above.

Go around to the back and things are a lot nicer. Open the Lincoln/Jaguar inspired trunk lid, and a nice, BIG, roomy trunk awaits you, although the two wheel wells intrude a little on each side. The trunk is nicely finished, with high-quality (for a trunk) carpet on the floor, sides, and even a thick insulation cover on the inside trunk lid itself to help ward off rear road noise... and it works (more on that later). The compact dummy spare tire, however, is a disappointment... one expects a regular spare tire and wheel in a top-line flagship.

Get inside, and you can see, from the generally pleasant interior, that Kia did a lot of work on the old Amanti cabin. Though cloth is standard, my test car had the beige leather seats.....the leather looked, felt, and smelled nice, but sitting on its super-slick, slippery surface was like sitting on glare ice.....you were back and forth all over the seat cushion until you got yourself firmly belted in. Fortunately, the belt reel-out mechanism was one of the best I've ever seen, with its right-there location, slickness, and buttery-smooth operation. It felt like pulling a Teflon-coated belt out through a freshly greased slot. There was plenty of legroom both front and rear, especially with the power-adjustable pedals (it's a shame that Kia decided, for 2008, to restrict that option to the more-expensive Premium Package with the black leather). The steering wheel lacked power controls but had a nice, convenient, solid-feeling tilt-lever... no telescoping, but withthe power-pedals, that is not as important. The power-seat controls were an almost carbon copy of the Mercedes-style miniature-seat knobs on the door panel (a design I have always liked). All of the interior knobs, switches, buttons and levers were first-rate, with a solid feel, slick operation, and easy-to-read markings. The stereo and dual climate controls were especially easy and pleasant to use, and the Infiniti 9-speaker stereo that came with the leather package was borderline first-rate, though distinctly less impressive than the class-leading Lexus Mark Levinson units. The steering wheel was well-designed, with nice, comfortable, smoothly-stitched leather, whose stitchings did not press sharply into your fingers.....this in contrast to the awful steering wheel and stitching in the Acura MDX. The gauges were clear, functional, and attractive, with Honda-style blue rings, white letters, red pointers, black faces, and white markings. The only negative things I found inside (besides the slippery leather seats) were cheap-looking painted-silver door handles, cheap-looking gray paint on the console, and not quite as much headroom as my 6'2" frame and baseball cap needed under the optional sunroof, even with the power-seat adjusted all the way down. Different-color fake wood trim, as in many other vehicles, comes with the beige, gray, and black interiors.

Start it up with a conventional key and dash-mounted ignition switch, and the ubiquitous 3.8L V6 springs to life and settles down to idle. Hyundai/Kia has never been known for being in the forefront of powertrain design, efficiency, or refinement, but this V6 is reasonably smooth, quiet, and refined... a noticeable improvement over past designs, if not Lexus-smooth or quiet. EPA mileage numbers, while not best-in-class, are a reasonable 17/24. Place the slick, smooth transmission lever in Drive and take off. The 3.8, while not a Friday night drag racer, has a good wide torque band, and you get good enough power at low enough RPM to press you back in your seat without having to go to enormous RPM levels like some Honda engines. This car will get out of its own way if it has to....the acceleration is not disappointing at all.

The five-speed automatic was generally smooth and quiet, but with an obvious gearing (another pun intended), even with the automanual Sportshift, towards cruising and smooth operation rather than firm, high-performance shifting, not surprising when you consider the primary reason the car was designed....comfort. As I stated earlier,the shifter was smooth, solid, slick, and appeared to be (again, not surprising) the same shifter and housing that is in the Hyundai Azera.

Brakes are a relative weak point. Though adequate, they have a marked sponginess at first, without a firm pedal response in the first inch of travel or so. This is, of course, a nose-heavy FWD layout, with a fairly heavy engine up front, so that and the soft suspension also allows some forward weight transfer and nose dive on heavy braking, though the amount of nose dive is not as severe as the even more softly-sprung previous-generation Amanti. The brake and gas pedals, fortunately, do not cause any hang-ups with big feet like mine under either pedal, as happens with some vehicles.

The car was well-sealed when it came to road and wind noise, better then its brother Hyundai Azera. The Azera has noticeable tire noise, especially from the rear wheels... the Amanti, almost none. This confirms some of what the few auto press write-ups on this car have said, and its lower noise level than the Azera. Whether it is better sound insulation on the Amanti or simply the result of different tires on the two cars installed at the factory is unclear... different tire treads, of course, can affect road noise levels. A couple of very minor creaks, however, surfaced here and there from the dash and the less-than-Mercedes/Volvo solidness of the underlying body structure, but it was not bad at all... in fact, you really had to strain to hear them.

I've saved the suspension/steering until last because it is probably the car's most improved... and most controversial... feature. I mentioned, in the first section, how the previous car handled like your great-grandfathers's Buick, and plowed straight ahead and rolled like a puppy playing dead at any kind of sudden or significant steering input. Even guys like me, who like smooth rides and are willing, in return, to accept less steering response in return were put off by this kind of handling behavior... I considered it not only unacceptable but borderline hazardous in an emergency. Only the stability control (on cars so equipped) kept things from getting way out of hand on sharp corners. One can argue, with some validity, that you should know your vehicle well enough to not be driving past its limits on sharp curves and be keeping your speed down, but, in truth, you sometimes run into situations, particularly on strange mountain or small country roads, where you suddenly and unexpectedly run into a decreasing-radius or sharper-than-expected curve. You don't expect a borderline luxury sedan to be a Honda S2000, but it should at least have acceptably good handling under those conditions to keep you out of the ditch or from going through a guard rail over a cliff. The previous Amanti, IMO, didn't. The new Amanti, fortunately, is much better in this area, though it is still a long way from BMW-type steering and handling, and is clearly not a car for sport-sedan buffs. The standard Amati has 16" 60-series tires which, by today's standards, are biased toward ride comfort, with 17" 55-series as options, which my test car had. But more importantly, the power steering system and the suspension has been heavily reworked from the last-generation car, with more road feel, new anti-roll bars front and rear, and revised double-wishbone suspension in front and multi-link in the rear. The effect is striking. The new car rides acceptably smooth for people like me, yet, while no Porsche, is far better on a twisting road than the old car was. It also has noticeably quicker steering response besides less roll. But the new suspension, combined with the nose-heaviness of the FWD layout and the large, heavy engine, still allows some nose-dive with strong braking and, despite the nose-heaviness, some nose-up squat on heavy acceleration. BMW fans will not be impressed, but others will appreciate what improvements in the handling there are. Perhaps that is one of the reason the old car did not sell better...if so, Kia has done a fine job addressing that problem.


The verdict?

In retrospect, the old car was quite a bargain in the marketplace, despite the ungainly handling, and the new car remains even more so. Not only the suspension, but interior trim quality, body sheet metal, hardware, and trim have all been markedly improved. The car is roomy inside and comfortable for all but the tallest people.It rides quietly, has a roomy, well-finished trunk for carrying things, and, of course, has the superb Hyundai/Kia warranty. The V6 is torquey and smooth across a wide RPM range so you don't have to rev the engine for power, the transmission is smooth and a pleasure to shift manually, and it has a nice, generally high-quality interior. But Hyundai also still needs to work on a few things. The clown-designed engine compartment needs a through overhaul, the wiper arms could use some flat paint that doesn't look ten years old, the leather seats need a better-friction grip instead of their glare-ice-like surfaces (if I owned this car I would either get the cloth seats or put on a set of sheepskin seat covers), the brakes could use a little more firmness in the pedal, and the body structure could use just a hair more stiffness. And is a real spare tire too much to ask? Other than that the car is fine, and makes a nice way to spend 26-32K, especially for those who don't care for the me-too-ism of everybody else driving Camrys, Avalons, Accords, Acura TL's, etc... and, while, of course, styling is a matter of personal taste, I found the Amanti's looks to be classy, handsome, and appealing.

But the car's relative obscurity in the American market, and the currently low demand for it, both new and used, could affect its resale value by giving it a rather high depreciation rate and a low residual value. That would generally make it a better car to buy instead of lease because lease rates are determined, primarily (among other things), on the car's projected residual value......generally, the lower the residual value, the higher the lease rate and monthly payment.