Despite the rust, this looks mint inside. Compact crossovers with manuals are so functional. They just work. This car has a lot of life left in it and the manual is a fun differentiator. The tall taillights are iconic.
These first gen CR-V interiors held up so well. I see a ton of these at my local junkyard, despite all the rust, sky high odometers, bad paint, the cloth interior and all the plastics hold up incredibly well. I will even say even the plastic steering wheel holds up super well. You definitely never seen one with a cracked dash.
When those came out friend of mine traded in his Civic for CRV. He was 6'5 and with mobility issues so having much higher floor made huge difference for him. IMHO early 2000s were peak Honda years. After that they started making fighter jet feeling vehicles.
These reaction-based AWD systems have a weird quirk where they do what they're supposed to do--send power to the rear when the front wheels spin--but in many cases as soon as the power went to the rear, it went back to FWD because then all the wheels were spinning at the same relative speed. So there's a constant back and forth unless you put your foot down and keep those front wheels spinning. If you look up "real time awd element hill" there's a video where this guy and his wife do hill starts on grass, and the Element spins, grips, spins, grips, spins, etc. Corn_Taco's the account. It really makes you appreciate later systems that are electronically controlled and put power where it's needed proactively.
I bought my 99 CRV EX automatic brand new with 6 miles on the clock and drove it until 235,000 miles. I would’ve driven it longer had it not been stolen and wrecked by the thief! You have discovered most of the amazing things but to me the most amazing quirks and features of any generation Honda CRV including: picnic table, cooler under the picnic table (you just fill the area under the table with ice and drinks, it is made for that) the bed feature - we camped in it - all of the seats would fold together to make a giant bed (EX only), little table that folds in the front. The main reason I got the automatic was mobility issues but also because you got the good cupholder and the little table! A little drawer under the front seat, place for your jumper cables in the back tailgate etc. were bonuses. Visibility was spectacular, reliability bulletproof and interior room and comfort way better than any of the later generations of CRV (I should know, I have a 2009 as well).
I have one of these in an EX manual, next time you drive one look in the manual for the “bed mode” all of the seats in ex trims and higher fold into a bed, look into it!
The first gen Honda crv and Toyota rav4 were the best simple reliable small utes . Tho the Toyota was prone to rust and the Honda had the valve adjustment issue
I love late 90s and early 2000s Hondas. My mom used to have a 1996 Honda Accord DX Value Package 25th Anniversary Edition, something along thsoe lines, it was a sedan, a basic car, only options were an automatic transmission, Auto climate control, and cruise control. Then my family had a 2004 Honda Odyssey to 14 years.
If I still had my '05 Nissan Xtrail (offered in Canada but not the US) I'd get ya to head north and check it out. I owned two, both with a manual, almost like the offspring of this gen CRV and Forester. So much space, great and selectable AWD, three pedals. They replaced with the Rogue in '07 but was round, soft and full of CVT. Any fans of 90s-eaely 2000's simple SUVs would love to see it! Maybe someone locally imported one?!
Interesting, I don't recall reading that but definitely didn't experience that issue at all. Checm engine light barely came on for anything, that motor is really solid. Only issue I found was going through wheel bearings, one change in the 150,000km - 300,000km lifespan. Guess that's not terrible really. They made a second generation in other markets, dreamt of importing one for a while. Amazing vehicles!
U can stand on the table and it won't break I still have mine from my old crv it sits outside too and I've stood on it before little sketchy cuz I'm like 200 lbs or so
I still see so many 1st Gen CR-Vs on the road in salt-free Australia (well 90s small Japanese 4WDs in general). The picnic table would've made the CR-Vs great for impromptu "camping" trips if you get the Sports/EX trim.
Had a 2006 CRV with a manual. Last year they made it and was the gen after this. Was ok but did like my 05 Santa Fe manual the last year of that too but after an accident replaced with the CRV.
I’m not the hugest fan of Honda’s Pick-up Trucks and SUV’s, (if you even consider them to be true trucks, because as far as I know they’re all unibody). Honda seems to be much better at making true cars (Coupés, Sedans, Hatchbacks, Station Wagons, Roadsters etc). That being said, I’d rather have an Old CR-V, than (most) anything coming out of Detroit’s Big 3, or Korea, or most Japanese companies aside from the Big 3 or Isuzu (meaning Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Suzuki). If you’re gonna get an old Honda SUV/Truck/Minivan, definitely get one that’s manual, Honda makes the best manuals on earth, but their weakness has always been automatics, especially in that era (00’s). Might as well get the AWD/4WD. If you’re gonna get an SUV, you might as well get one you can do a little bit of off-roading in. Never understood why every American feels like they need an SUV. We Albanians typically just use a FIAT Panda 4WD, Classic Mercedes Mil-Spec Geländewagen, Citroën Méhari 4WD, or even Citroën 2CV.
With my wife we booght last spring a 99 CRV manual. It was a little bit a spontaneous purchase, I never got interested in these vehicles, the project was to buy a car 50-50 with the mother in law on a budget, we would keep the car for a year or so to fix it up, get rid of all the gremlins a used car could have and then pass it onto Jolie Mama when we will buy our definitive car. Here where we live, it is often you have to drive on dirt roads and the main sport while driving in town is to avoid collapsing manholes and ditches dug by busses into the asphalt. Saw the classified, good looking from afar, will it be far to be good looking for such bargain price ? Visited, not so much rust considering we are leaving in the european equivalent of your Rust Belt. no oil leak, pretty zoomy little neat interior, car, deal was sealed. And guess what. We don't regret at all. Fixed the rear door lock, replaced the driver powerwindow, replaced the clutch just before our wedding, put winter wheels, checked the valves spacing along side new sparkplugs and taht's it. And we love this car, good enough to go for errands in town as much as visiting people a couple hundreds away, very reliable, the gearbox shifts very nicely for her mileage (Compared to what I know, french cars...), the car feels right, accepts the bad road conditions with a smile, simple, rustic but you are sure it will take you anywhere with a smile. Doggo lvoes it too, which is super for our little family adventures in the woods or to the lakes. Even the Honda service is by far the best service we have in town, professional, honest, not pushing sales. So far we have only good things to tell about the CRV, and we are thinking to purchase a 2005-2006 manual CRV as our definitive car. SO if by anychance somedoy could lend such model for a day to Zack, it would be my pleasure to thank you warmly. Keep up the good work Zack, your reviews are refreshing, and the "memory lane" vibe you give to it defintely appeals to a lot of us. Thanks mate !
The two-door first generation Honda HR-V with the roof spoiler doesn't need to get cool, it just is plain cool IMO! Shame you didn't get it in North America.
I absolutely adored my 2001 AWD EX. lasted 289k miles on the original engine and transmission until it overheated on a trip and cooked the transmission. The thing was a tank, its sad the weak link transmission ruined it.
This crv is 100x more exciting than the dark blue Buick century limited you just reviewed. Honda probably slightly more expensive, Buick slightly faster. But all the mothball feeling of the Buick made me depressed, whereas this crv wants to do things and live. The century is the perfect car to drive yourself from your own home into assisted living when you can no longer bathe yourself. The crv wants to take you on a picnic with your friends high up on a mountain on a sunny day.
I know why the headrests have holes in the center. It's because it's more comfortable for people with ponytails, like myself sometimes, to drive with a ponytail. I drive a 2010 Honda CR-V, and it's too bad that Honda got rid of this useful feature.
Up until the mid-late 00s you could get most compact crossovers with manuals. They were usually base models and most people wanted the convenience of an automatic so the manual had a very low take rate.
I know 90s Honda was peak Honda, but I never cared for the CR-V. It does all the stuff a cute-ute should do, but it's so homely. All of Honda's soft-roaders have been homely until the current lineup.
Why shouldn't an SUV have a manual transmission?! It's not a Cadillac or Lincoln. It's a utility car. The manual trans. fits the utilitarian image the CR-V, Forester, RAV4 etc originally had at first (before their manufacturers realised no one actually takes them off-road and they all went a bit "wrong" -- bulbous, lifted wagons -- in subsequent generations!). The Mitsubishi Pajero iO/Pinan was a particularly 4WD-ish example of the early compact SUVs, it couldn't be more different than a late model ASX or Eclipse Cross (not for the better of those cars, sadly).
SUVs with manual transmissions are awesome. There, I finished your sentence for you. Manuals are fun and add some engagement to what would otherwise be a dull transportation appliance.
I bought a 1st generation crv in early 2017. Paid $1000 for it. Slow gutless engine. Ran fine. It came to an end on a highway when i was rear ended by a Korean subcompact. Driver wasn't paying attention. All-State fought us til the end. We got fucked over badly on the settlement because our lawyer was clueless on how to deal with allstate lawyers. Still feeling it in my neck 6 years later.
![Megan Thee Stallion - Neva Play (feat. RM) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TpYTyAaTRts/mqdefault.jpg)
The Ex has Survived!!! Hey man just wanted to know the next time you are coming to California because we submitted a request for a 1964 Ford Mustang.😊
Despite the rust, this looks mint inside. Compact crossovers with manuals are so functional. They just work. This car has a lot of life left in it and the manual is a fun differentiator. The tall taillights are iconic.
Yep, those tail lights are an icon, truly legendary.
These first gen CR-V interiors held up so well. I see a ton of these at my local junkyard, despite all the rust, sky high odometers, bad paint, the cloth interior and all the plastics hold up incredibly well. I will even say even the plastic steering wheel holds up super well. You definitely never seen one with a cracked dash.
I am the awkward owner of a CR-V Table and a Pontiac Aztek Cooler
When those came out friend of mine traded in his Civic for CRV. He was 6'5 and with mobility issues so having much higher floor made huge difference for him.
IMHO early 2000s were peak Honda years. After that they started making fighter jet feeling vehicles.
These reaction-based AWD systems have a weird quirk where they do what they're supposed to do--send power to the rear when the front wheels spin--but in many cases as soon as the power went to the rear, it went back to FWD because then all the wheels were spinning at the same relative speed. So there's a constant back and forth unless you put your foot down and keep those front wheels spinning.
If you look up "real time awd element hill" there's a video where this guy and his wife do hill starts on grass, and the Element spins, grips, spins, grips, spins, etc. Corn_Taco's the account. It really makes you appreciate later systems that are electronically controlled and put power where it's needed proactively.
Or just get real 4wd with lockers, problem solved
@@bldontmatter5319enter Toyota Tacoma ❤
I bought my 99 CRV EX automatic brand new with 6 miles on the clock and drove it until 235,000 miles. I would’ve driven it longer had it not been stolen and wrecked by the thief! You have discovered most of the amazing things but to me the most amazing quirks and features of any generation Honda CRV including: picnic table, cooler under the picnic table (you just fill the area under the table with ice and drinks, it is made for that) the bed feature - we camped in it - all of the seats would fold together to make a giant bed (EX only), little table that folds in the front. The main reason I got the automatic was mobility issues but also because you got the good cupholder and the little table! A little drawer under the front seat, place for your jumper cables in the back tailgate etc. were bonuses. Visibility was spectacular, reliability bulletproof and interior room and comfort way better than any of the later generations of CRV (I should know, I have a 2009 as well).
Great video. Love this car. One correction. The last year of the manual CRV was 2006. I had a 2006 5 speed and it was great. Thanks for the review.
I love this car. I love the styling of Honda CR-Vs , and it's a manual.... I'm loving it. Reminds me of my manual Soul.
Always liked the CR-V since gen 1 and finally pulled the trigger and purchased a 2024 sport hybrid. Very happy with it.
I have one of these in an EX manual, next time you drive one look in the manual for the “bed mode” all of the seats in ex trims and higher fold into a bed, look into it!
"Got a little doggy" love the emphasis on doggy hahahah
The first gen Honda crv and Toyota rav4 were the best simple reliable small utes . Tho the Toyota was prone to rust and the Honda had the valve adjustment issue
I love late 90s and early 2000s Hondas. My mom used to have a 1996 Honda Accord DX Value Package 25th Anniversary Edition, something along thsoe lines, it was a sedan, a basic car, only options were an automatic transmission, Auto climate control, and cruise control. Then my family had a 2004 Honda Odyssey to 14 years.
One of my dream cars, first gen manual CR-V. Even better if it’s 2000 which had slight power boosts over the earlier models 😪 B20Z
If I still had my '05 Nissan Xtrail (offered in Canada but not the US) I'd get ya to head north and check it out. I owned two, both with a manual, almost like the offspring of this gen CRV and Forester. So much space, great and selectable AWD, three pedals. They replaced with the Rogue in '07 but was round, soft and full of CVT. Any fans of 90s-eaely 2000's simple SUVs would love to see it! Maybe someone locally imported one?!
I want to pick one up but heard about the pre-cat issue on early 2.5L.
Is it common on the Xtrail?
Interesting, I don't recall reading that but definitely didn't experience that issue at all. Checm engine light barely came on for anything, that motor is really solid. Only issue I found was going through wheel bearings, one change in the 150,000km - 300,000km lifespan. Guess that's not terrible really. They made a second generation in other markets, dreamt of importing one for a while. Amazing vehicles!
2006 was the last year of the manual transmission CR-V, not 2005. At least here in the U.S.
U can stand on the table and it won't break I still have mine from my old crv it sits outside too and I've stood on it before little sketchy cuz I'm like 200 lbs or so
Owned and drove a Black 2000 CR-V like this for just about four years, mine was an automatic though. Would love to have another one.
Manual crv is my dream car. Can never find around where i live
2006 was the last manual CRV.
I have a 2006 2.5 Gen CRV with a manual. It’s the best car I’ve ever owned.
I still see so many 1st Gen CR-Vs on the road in salt-free Australia (well 90s small Japanese 4WDs in general). The picnic table would've made the CR-Vs great for impromptu "camping" trips if you get the Sports/EX trim.
I had a 2021 EX 5 speed. Amazing how much room it had inside for such a small vehicle!
I test drove a manual CRV back in around 2000 and it made it much more engaging
Had a 2006 CRV with a manual. Last year they made it and was the gen after this. Was ok but did like my 05 Santa Fe manual the last year of that too but after an accident replaced with the CRV.
Unfortunately I slid mine of the side of a cliff Oct 30th i rolled twice but I walked away with only a bruised back and 8 stitches over my eye.
Glad to see that you’re alright and didn’t suffer any major injuries! That’s intense for sure
I’m not the hugest fan of Honda’s Pick-up Trucks and SUV’s, (if you even consider them to be true trucks, because as far as I know they’re all unibody). Honda seems to be much better at making true cars (Coupés, Sedans, Hatchbacks, Station Wagons, Roadsters etc). That being said, I’d rather have an Old CR-V, than (most) anything coming out of Detroit’s Big 3, or Korea, or most Japanese companies aside from the Big 3 or Isuzu (meaning Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Suzuki). If you’re gonna get an old Honda SUV/Truck/Minivan, definitely get one that’s manual, Honda makes the best manuals on earth, but their weakness has always been automatics, especially in that era (00’s). Might as well get the AWD/4WD. If you’re gonna get an SUV, you might as well get one you can do a little bit of off-roading in. Never understood why every American feels like they need an SUV. We Albanians typically just use a FIAT Panda 4WD, Classic Mercedes Mil-Spec Geländewagen, Citroën Méhari 4WD, or even Citroën 2CV.
With my wife we booght last spring a 99 CRV manual. It was a little bit a spontaneous purchase, I never got interested in these vehicles, the project was to buy a car 50-50 with the mother in law on a budget, we would keep the car for a year or so to fix it up, get rid of all the gremlins a used car could have and then pass it onto Jolie Mama when we will buy our definitive car. Here where we live, it is often you have to drive on dirt roads and the main sport while driving in town is to avoid collapsing manholes and ditches dug by busses into the asphalt.
Saw the classified, good looking from afar, will it be far to be good looking for such bargain price ? Visited, not so much rust considering we are leaving in the european equivalent of your Rust Belt. no oil leak, pretty zoomy little neat interior, car, deal was sealed.
And guess what. We don't regret at all. Fixed the rear door lock, replaced the driver powerwindow, replaced the clutch just before our wedding, put winter wheels, checked the valves spacing along side new sparkplugs and taht's it. And we love this car, good enough to go for errands in town as much as visiting people a couple hundreds away, very reliable, the gearbox shifts very nicely for her mileage (Compared to what I know, french cars...), the car feels right, accepts the bad road conditions with a smile, simple, rustic but you are sure it will take you anywhere with a smile. Doggo lvoes it too, which is super for our little family adventures in the woods or to the lakes.
Even the Honda service is by far the best service we have in town, professional, honest, not pushing sales.
So far we have only good things to tell about the CRV, and we are thinking to purchase a 2005-2006 manual CRV as our definitive car. SO if by anychance somedoy could lend such model for a day to Zack, it would be my pleasure to thank you warmly.
Keep up the good work Zack, your reviews are refreshing, and the "memory lane" vibe you give to it defintely appeals to a lot of us.
Thanks mate !
The two-door first generation Honda HR-V with the roof spoiler doesn't need to get cool, it just is plain cool IMO! Shame you didn't get it in North America.
I absolutely adored my 2001 AWD EX. lasted 289k miles on the original engine and transmission until it overheated on a trip and cooked the transmission. The thing was a tank, its sad the weak link transmission ruined it.
Have one. It doesn’t make it less slow or handle better lol.
Cool Chanel from New Zealand 🇳🇿
We need current vehicles more like this, they are getting bigger and more complex every year.
Still have my 2001 EX, going strong.
Table instructions: This means you, Bills Mafia lol.
Great review. One of my favorite style CRV
Just got me a gen1 crv manual ❤goin to kp 4 eva
This crv is 100x more exciting than the dark blue Buick century limited you just reviewed. Honda probably slightly more expensive, Buick slightly faster. But all the mothball feeling of the Buick made me depressed, whereas this crv wants to do things and live. The century is the perfect car to drive yourself from your own home into assisted living when you can no longer bathe yourself. The crv wants to take you on a picnic with your friends high up on a mountain on a sunny day.
I know why the headrests have holes in the center. It's because it's more comfortable for people with ponytails, like myself sometimes, to drive with a ponytail. I drive a 2010 Honda CR-V, and it's too bad that Honda got rid of this useful feature.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Those can legit go to very nearly 400 BHP with a head swap.. Think about that...
I’d love to get one of these and turn it into a Baja race machine
Hell yeah boiiii, first comment!! Those CRVs are so nice 👌
Crv seems to be the most popular vehicle in nj.
I had no idea you could get the CR-V with a manual.
Up until the mid-late 00s you could get most compact crossovers with manuals. They were usually base models and most people wanted the convenience of an automatic so the manual had a very low take rate.
And the lack of a security system
Wish the table came with chairs too
I know 90s Honda was peak Honda, but I never cared for the CR-V. It does all the stuff a cute-ute should do, but it's so homely. All of Honda's soft-roaders have been homely until the current lineup.
I love these
I'm sure people got smashed and mangled by the tailgate while loading their groceries, when another car not paying attention hit it closed. Ouch!!!
real time , really 2wd unless your slippin
Zac, u don’t need to say ur name
Excellent video and beautiful s.u.v.
How come that looks exactly like 1/2 the cars in the parking lot at the welfare office?
SUV's with manual transmissions😟😖😭😡🤮😵👿
Why are they bad? 😊
Why shouldn't an SUV have a manual transmission?! It's not a Cadillac or Lincoln. It's a utility car. The manual trans. fits the utilitarian image the CR-V, Forester, RAV4 etc originally had at first (before their manufacturers realised no one actually takes them off-road and they all went a bit "wrong" -- bulbous, lifted wagons -- in subsequent generations!). The Mitsubishi Pajero iO/Pinan was a particularly 4WD-ish example of the early compact SUVs, it couldn't be more different than a late model ASX or Eclipse Cross (not for the better of those cars, sadly).
SUVs with manual transmissions are awesome. There, I finished your sentence for you. Manuals are fun and add some engagement to what would otherwise be a dull transportation appliance.
too hard?
Tell me you are a little bish without telling me you are a little bish. Manual is king for these older cars. 90d auto trans suck.
I bought a 1st generation crv in early 2017. Paid $1000 for it.
Slow gutless engine.
Ran fine.
It came to an end on a highway when i was rear ended by a Korean subcompact.
Driver wasn't paying attention.
All-State fought us til the end.
We got fucked over badly on the settlement because our lawyer was clueless on how to deal with allstate lawyers.
Still feeling it in my neck 6 years later.
Zac, u don’t need to say ur name