This million-mile Honda CRX is basically new

Friday, 20 August 2021

A million miles is what regular servicing can get you.

Over in Tampa, Florida, a Honda Dealership has a CRX on display. Normally, that’s a nod to Honda’s past, when it built screaming naturally aspirated engines and small, lightweight cars. But this CRX is different – it has metaphorically driven to the moon and back twice.

The car went on display back in 2015, when the owner lent the hatchback to the dealership. Since then, it has driven one further mile, putting the total at 1,002,474 miles. Or, in modern currency, 1,613,325 kilometres.

The 1991 Honda CRX looks basically brand new, despite having been to the moon and back twice. Metaphorically.

Somewhat incredibly, the car still has its original interior, along with a fresh coat of exterior paint. Even more incredibly, it has the original engine and five-speed manual transmission. This particular CRX isn’t much of a powerhouse, coming with a 1.6-litre engine making 78kW/132Nm.

The secret to the Honda’s longevity is regular servicing, with the owner showing off what looks like a thorough record book. It’s unclear if there were any major rebuilds or repairs but it doesn’t seem like it.

The interior and engine of the CRX are all original, somewhat incredibly.

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Considering New Zealand is back in lockdown for the next while, it might pay to run over a few basic things you can do for your car to ensure it’s not wasting away in your driveway.

Remembering TWIRL is a good rundown of car care – that’s Tyres, Windscreen, Indicators, Rust and Lights. It’s easy enough to check these things while we’re stuck at home, just remember to fix any issues when we get back into Level 3 and beyond.

As well as the above, you should also be aware of anything that feels off in your car, particularly to do with the steering, suspension and brakes.

All are critical to safety, for obvious reasons, and are actually pretty specialised to check, but if you have a well-maintained vehicle you will be able to identify impending problems with steering, suspension and brakes.

As for high-km vehicles, this is the highest we’ve seen for a long time. Wonder if there are any cars in New Zealand with an odometer going for a second trip around…