Our fleet: Honda CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC SE-T - April 2014

Contraflow reveals CR-V’s fuel potential

Fuel efficiency figures for the Honda CR-V have been improving thanks to the SUV having to negotiate road works on a daily basis.

Faced with three miles of bollards and a 50mph maximum speed limit on the daily commute, I would normally be cursing my luck.

However, I’ve managed to content myself with seeing how much further the CR-V is travelling on a gallon of fuel.

The manufacturer claims a combined figure of 62.8mpg, but the CR-V had been falling short of that figure by up to 25%. That’s a lot higher than the widely accepted shortfall of 15%, which the Energy Saving Trust says fleets should expect.

But after four weeks of average speed cameras and negotiating a narrow corridor of bollards, the CR-V has seen a 10% increase on its previous real-world figure. It’s now achieving 54.4mpg – a shortfall of less than 14% on its claimed combined.

Now, I’m not advocating a road network covered in bollards and average speed cameras, heaven forbid.

But what’s startling is how a change in driving style can reap such significant rewards and the way the CR-V has responded to show its true potential.

An SUV achieving more than 50mpg in real-world conditions is impressive and certainly worthy of consideration.

In addition, emissions of 119g/km put the 1.6-litre i-DTEC SE-T in an 19% benefit-in-kind tax bracket, with a 20% tax-payer paying less than £1,000 per year.

It all adds up to a package which performs on the road and on paper, and with the contraflow going nowhere for the next few months, fuel efficiency figures may improve further still.

Gareth Roberts

Test mpg 54.4
Current mileage 6,715