Absolutely, at least according to their TV commercials.

 

Not after Gen2. Well, Russians do all kinds of crazy **** with them but most of us aren't Russians.

 

Two things will limit you: your ground clearance and your tires.
Passenger radial tires often have only two-ply sidewalls, and they are awfully easy to punch holes in with rocks.
You may want to upgrade your tires. Watch the ground clearance, remember you don't have skid plates under there.
And have fun.

 

Is the CR-V mud worthy? Good video and bottom line was it did pretty well on most surfaces but limited by "step up" rock climbs due to the front spoiler.

 

the Minute, is a Civic chasses day one, 1997 the ground clearance was about what 8.3, 8.1 inches, the V is not a 4x4 system, its a AWD, realtime system. It was meant for FUN, how you go about it, and get there with A car is all you. . members here and on Youtube will check in for their Adventure.

I'll tell one story real short, muddy farm field hard path dead center, enough room to land on and take off on we made it on there, if we stopped we sin and stuck. Sorry no film on it.
but here is a vid of of road

 

We have driven ours off road many times in our travels around this and our neighbors countries.

 

Any vehicle can go off road...once.

 

RockyMtnCRV aptly paraphrased the "any mushroom can be eaten at least once" wisdom for us here

The question is, where it would go after the offroading even .... to your next destination? To a car wash? to the repair shop? to the scrap yard?

But seriously, in my eyes the AWD on the CRV is very competent for the usual urban/suburban challenges, such as snow, ice, mud, grass etc. (Blanda is my work vehicle, so it goes to construction sites anbd bumpy gravel access roads). I have no intention to take it "offroading" in the sport sense of the word.

 

my CRV does dirt road to my house daily. So does a Prius and a BMW i3. So nothing difficult there.

Now I have a wheeling truck. So driving ability compensates for many limitations.

Most off road in my V was a visit to a Client factory deep in the woods in central mass. They are an old timey timber frame home builder. There is never any shame in getting out to check an obstacle out and even less shame if you turn around. There was some minor wet slab rock and mud getting to them.

What matters is not that you reach your goal. Its that you get home in one piece.

 

define offroad...a forest service or dirt road yes rock climbing probably not so much.
This probably if you go really slow.



probably not this tho.

 

Be careful if you go offroad into dry grass or weeds.
The cat converters get very hot and can set dry grass on fire.
If you have a newer one that's under the hood it would be less of an issue.

 

Off road means off the actual road. Not where there's another road made of different material.
Again, from Gen3 on it's not doable. Gen1 and 2 would be capable of this:

 

Accurate Assessment of early gen CRVs vs newer gen CRVS.

Beginning with Gen3, CRVs were essentially reprofiled from an SUV in the classic sense to the much more "urban" CUV approach to design and AWD.

I would happily take my old gen2 off roading to a degree, but from my gen3 onward.... no way. OEM from the factory, the newer generation CRVs are urban Crossover Utility Vehicles... which largely means a sedan platform that has a high profile SUV style cabin and body, some bigger tires and a bit more ground clearance .. but not the SUV heart and soul in the drive systems.

Rugged off roading means Jeep and other true off road SUVs continue to have a market niche, and do not have to directly compete with the proliferation of CUVs of all types, shapes, and sizes.

 

I found this channel's "off-road" reviews informative. I don't plan to attempt this in my own vehicle.

 

The 1st, 2nd, and 5th gen had (have) the ground clearance to do more, but the 3rd and 4th gen lacks enough ground clearance to do anything but beaten trails. I've only had mine down gravel roads, muddy roads, and beaten trails. I would never take my 2016 over an unbeaten path. Still, it's enough for 'soft roading'.

 

I did not think I quoted you at all. if I did sorry. was not my intent. I just thought you inferred offroad was only something that had no form of road at all, which meant any form or road would be on road which I inferred a CRV would not be able to go on road in the forms I showed....confused yet? lol.

 

Having taken my 3rd gen off-road, it did have sufficient ground clearance for the road I took it on--it's only about an inch lower than a first-gen. And a lift kit would easily make up the difference if I were keeping it much longer.

But, the bigger issue with CR-Vs is their weak engines and weak suspension parts. They are fine for city driving and mild off-road use (down a dirt road, mild surface irregularities, etc.), but the CR-V is already underpowered, and asking it to climb even a mild incline from a near stop is asking too much of it. I got stuck on minor things that the CR-V almost couldn't power its way over. One of the most stress-inducing was a switchback coming out of Shaffer Canyon--I barely got up the incline, and it had to be taken slowly since getting a running start would have sent me sailing over the edge of the road into the canyon.

And actually, it's not so much the engine as it is the gearing. Anything that goes off-road really needs the low-range gearing you find in something like a 4Runner or Tacoma (2H/4H/4L gearing...like any real off-roader has). So it's not just about ground clearance--I had ground clearance. I did not have the gearing. It was still a great trip, but would have been a lot less stressful if the CR-V's weak engine would make it get out of its own way.

 

Both my wife's 2012 and my 2016 AWD have more than enough torque and gearing for hills... already passed that test, but I would not take them on anything challenging. Everyman Driver (YouTube) has bottomed out the 2015 on the ORV course in winter because it lacked the extra ~1.5" or so of clearance. However, yes, a dedicated 4L gear set with lockable differentials would also be something you would need for serious off roading.

 

Is The New 2020 Honda CR-V Any Good Off-Road? We Find Out By Taking It Way Out Of Its Comfort Zone! - YouTube