Honda CR-V to be petrol-only model in BS6 era

• CR-V will no longer be offered with a diesel engine 

• Petrol model will remain a 5-seater only

• BS6-spec Civic diesel will go on sale soon

The recent removal of the CR-V diesel from Honda’s India website had raised a few eyebrows. In a response to an email query from Autocar India, Honda has now confirmed the CR-V will continue as a petrol-only model. “Our CR-V customers continue to show natural preference for the petrol model and in order to maintain a lean variant line-up and stay focused on our core customer category, we have decided to retain only petrol variant for CR-V,” said Rajesh Goel, senior vice president, marketing and sales, Honda Cars India Ltd. 

Interestingly, since its launch in October 2018 till January 2020, Honda sold 638 CR-V petrols versus 975 CR-V diesels, though periodic offers on the diesel versions led to variant-specific sales spikes in certain months. The BS6-compliant Honda CR-V was launched earlier this year and comes powered by a 154hp, 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine, offered solely with a CVT auto gearbox. 

BS6 Honda CR-V will be front-wheel drive only

The fifth-gen Honda CR-V was launched in India in three versions, namely petrol-CVT auto, diesel-auto and diesel-auto AWD. The departure of the diesel engine means the CR-V will no longer be available with the option of all-wheel drive. While it is an omission of note for an SUV that costs Rs 28 lakh (ex-showroom), the lack of AWD might not be a deal breaker for the CR-V’s primarily urban clientele.  

No 7-seat CR-V in India 

The departure of the diesels also means the CR-V will now only be a 5-seat model. Since launch, the petrol CR-V has been offered as a 5-seater, while the diesels got the three-row, 7-seat configuration. The petrol version is unlikely to see the addition of a third row of seats, moving forward. 

BS6 Civic diesel coming soon

The CR-V diesel might be gone but the Civic diesel, which uses the same 120hp, 1.6-litre engine, will make a comeback in BS6 form. “The petrol version of the Civic was already BS6 compliant since its launch in March 2019. We will soon be launching the diesel BS6 Civic, depending on the production resumption for the model after COVID-19-related lockdown,” Goel stated.