2012 Honda CR-V EX 4dr SUV (2.4L 4cyl 5A)
This one softens the blow a bit for all those who just need a bigger family friendly car. I've been a sedan guy all my life but it was time to get something with some more cargo space and good on gas for those long road trips. My wife and I spent months researching both new and used vehicles in the crossover segment. Ultimately the redesigned 2012 CR-V is IMO a huge step forward over previous model years. It was certainly worth the extra few bucks to get the 2012. Many new features are now standard. My smart phone integration is flawless. Album art from Pandora/Ipod shows on display. Bluetooth quality is good too if you dont want to use the USB cable.
First, the seats are much improved over the 2011. I nearly bought the RAV4 because the Honda seats stunk, but thankfully they listened to buyer feedback and fixed their seat problems for 2012. The center color information display is extremely useful. You can customize settings such as the locks behavior, see fuel efficiency, etc. The backup camera function is more useful than I ever imagined. The car handles extremely well. I'm used to driving a turbo, this obviously isn't as fast and lacks the low end torque but I was surprised by how lively the acceleration if you give it a little gas The road noise has been cut down alot. I can hardly hear the engine running. Driving is ultra smooth
The Honda delivers everything a car in its class should, and more. If I had to pick something I would say the stock stereo is somewhat under powered, but it's not like I expect the our family car's stereo to blow anyone away. The dash materials appear to have been cheapened somewhat, don't know if this was done to save money or make the car lighter. We're getting close to 30mpg so I really can't complain about much.