Lou_EM1

It looks like the CRV will be my parents' next new vehicle in the next week or two, but we are not sure if we should go for the 2011 or the 2012. Given a fair market price on each, which should we consider more favorable? Since it's not my car, I only really care about the safety of the vehicle and think the two should perform the same (but isn't the 2012 newly redesigned?).

Any opinions of these two models would be appreciated.

Mechanic

Lou, this board is more technically oriented; nuts, bolts, maintenance, etc. The two boards that will be address your questions are the CR-V Owners' Club (www.crvoc.com), which is right on point, and www.vtec.net, which is a Honda enthusiasts board. When you open the latter, you'll see it has a major "feature" on the new CR-V.

In a nutshell, the 2012 CR-V is a "full-model change" and (IMHO as the owner of a 2011) a solid upgrade on the 2011.

dadriver

May be too late but the 11 is proven winner IMO but the 12 is better the gas mileage have been improved because they eliminated the rear diff on the awd and added a electronic rear diff. it also have an econ button also the stereo has been upgraded as well they be introducing rear entertainment that's just a start of why the 12 is better but both are a cant miss IMO hope this helps