Honda CR-V Touring: Econ to Sport Mode – How Much Does it Matter?

The 2015 Honda CR-V Touring came with two extra modes: the Econ mode and the Sport mode. Most people might enjoy the settings of the set-it-and-forget-it mindset in Econ mode while other situations call for the Sport mode. When placed side-by-side, do they really make all that much of a difference?

It’s about What Buyers Want

It’s nice that Honda included these modes, but they don’t really have as much of an impact as they should have had if Honda had focused on the purposes behind these modes. When the 2015 vehicle is not in either these modes, it has an 185-hp, all-wheel-drive that reaches 60 mph in 8.9 seconds. However, most buyers of this vehicle don’t really care about specs like that. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter because most people will be in stop-and-go traffic anyway. Besides, if you wanted better acceleration, you would be better suited with the Subaru Forrester – it can do the same zero to 60 in 6.4 seconds. Even the Ford Escape does better, doing 0 to 60 in 6.8 seconds. No, this isn’t about acceleration – it’s about what buyers want.

What Econ Mode Does

In fact, most buyers will probably leave the Econ mode on all the time. With the Touring is used for intercity traffic, buyers will get the most from their money by leaving Econ mode alone. Econ mode does three major things: it will adjust the HVAC system, adjust the cruise control systems, and relax the throttle response. The slower response makes it so that the Touring isn’t as responsive, but it’s not so dulled out as to make Econ mode unresponsive. In Econ mode, the Touring will make 0 to 60 and 9.7 seconds. In terms of statistics, thats really slow. But remember, most buyers don’t care about that. Econ mode it makes the Touring 7 percent more efficient – something buyers do care about.

Sport Mode Is Still Useful

The only time that most customers will use the Sport mode is if they’re trying to get the bank on a Friday afternoon, right before they close. Sport mode doesn’t make a huge difference but is still changing its behavior in a meaningful way. In Sport mode, the touring will make 0 to 60 in 8.7 seconds – a 0.2-second improvement.
Econ mode is what Honda was going for. It provides for a more efficient, well-rounded vehicle. Although Sport mode does make a difference, Econ mode has the potential to save buyers money – something that buyers look for when shopping for a vehicle.