Following its ASEAN debut in Thailand earlier this year, the all-new 2023 Honda CR-V has now made its way into Indonesia, before its imminent launch here in Malaysia. Making its first appearance at this year’s instalment of the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS 2023), the Indonesian car should give us a good idea of what we’ll soon be seeing here on Malaysian roads!
Measuring over 70 mm longer and 10 mm wider than its predecessor, the all-new sixth-generation Honda CR-V has now grown significantly in size, and is dressed accordingly too with aggressive styling cues to emphasise on the SUV’s road presence.
The all-new 2023 Honda CR-V is available in two variants in Indonesia, although they both look largely identical, with a similar list of standard equipment including the LED headlights with sequential turn indicators, LED front fog lamps, LED tail lights, and the black-coloured 19-inch alloy wheels.
Setting it apart as the range-topping variant, the ‘RS’ trim (pictured) gets an additional adaptive driving beam system for its headlights, active cornering lights, roof rails, as well as the body-coloured aero kit all around (black plastic on the standard variant), contrasted by the blacked-out wing mirror covers.
The biggest difference between the two variants are their powertrains; the standard car gets a 1.5-litre VTEC Turbo inline-four engine, making 190 hp and 240 Nm. Power is sent to the front wheels via a CVT gearbox.
The Honda CR-V RS, meanwhile, is powered by a 2.0-litre e:HEV hybrid powertrain, the same unit as you’ll find on the Civic e:HEV RS here in Malaysia, to make 207 hp and 335 Nm in this configuration. Power is similarly sent to the front wheels, but in standard operating conditions, the drive actually comes from the electric motor.
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Speaking of the Civic, the interior of the all-new 2023 Honda CR-V has definitely taken more than some inspiration than its sedan sibling, featuring a nearly identical dashboard layout, but paired to a unique centre console thanks to its wider overall size.
It’s not as upright as the outgoing model, but the wider footprint allows for the drive mode selector and electronic parking brake to be moved up alongside the gear lever, clearing up more space for storage cubbies and cupholders.
Standard equipment here include the 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster, 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, dual-zone climate controls, powered front seats, panoramic sunroof, and a wireless charging pad.
The RS variant takes it up a notch with the addition of a 12-speaker Bose sound system, “sport” pedals, as well as additional red stitching on the standard leather and synthetic combo upholstery. The Honda Sensing advanced driver assistance suite, consisting of features such as the SAE Level 2 semi-autonomous driving system, autonomous emergency braking, and the LaneWatch camera, all come as standard across both variants.
Despite being unveiled at GIIAS 2023, the all-new 2023 Honda CR-V’s pricing for Indonesia has not been confirmed just yet. When it makes it way over to Malaysia, expect it to come with a sizeable price increase over the RM151k starting asking price.
For context, the C-segment SUV is priced from THB1,419000 (approx RM184k) to THB1,729,000 (approx. RM225k) over in Thailand, depending on variant.
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