If you ask any young driver what dream car they would own, you’d generally get answers ranging from luxury models like the Lamborghini Aventador, classic performance models like the Nissan Skyline or traditional muscle cars like the Ford Mustang, to name a few.
And while it’s common to dream of acquiring exotic and expensive models, some young motorists are falling in love with the first- and second-generation Honda CR-V. Not for performance or aesthetics, but simply because of the car's hidden picnic table.
Located under the boot floor, the automotive 'Easter egg' is well documented online, with generations of enthusiasts aware of its existence. However, a crop of young drivers has started to discover the picnic table and share their experiences of finding it on TikTok.
In one video uploaded to the social media platform, user Kara and another girl can be seen uncovering the pristine picnic table after a driver traded in the car, with the pair celebrating in unison as they pulled it out of the car’s boot.
Other TikTok users were shocked at the sight of the hidden table, with one user stating, “The table is untouched, even the owners didn’t know it was there”, while another remarked, “How is Honda seeing this and NOT bringing this back? Sales would go through the roof”.
A different commenter added, “people geeking over old-school cars make me so happy”. Another TikTok user pointed out the car’s useful feature when they said, “Remember when cars were made to be practical?”.
First launched in 1996, the picnic table's origins lie in the CR-V’s platform, which was derived from the ‘EK’ Honda Civic of the same era.
While the Civic’s floor boot space was reserved for a spare wheel, Honda utilised a tyre mounted on the car’s tailgate and as a result needed to find something to fill it with.
Known then as a rugged off-roader, the engineers decided to lean into the aspirational outdoor lifestyle and installed a hidden picnic table in the cargo area, which sadly disappeared in 2006.
The Honda CR-V picnic table has garnered so much cultural notoriety that OEM examples are fetching upwards of $90 in online marketplaces such as eBay.
While modern cars are chock full of advanced technology features, some newer models still feature unique designs cleverly conceived and hidden by engineers.
As reported by Drive in November 2024, US car maker Jeep is known for including ‘Easter egg’ designs in some of its models, with the Avenger – the brand’s first electric model – also featuring some personal designs.
Jeep’s Head of Design, Daniele Calonaci, previously said he included numerous hidden designs in the Avenger, most notably the silhouette of a little boy looking at stars on the SUV’s windscreen.
“This little kid is actually a profile of my son, so I dedicated this vehicle to [him],” Calonaci previously told media, including Drive.
Jeep’s Head of Global Communications, Andy Bowman, said the hidden designs have become somewhat of a tradition among designers, with some often going on an ‘Easter egg’ hunt.
“[They] might go through an entire vehicle launch, be at the showroom and be like ‘I had no idea, and I designed that thing’. There’s a lot of fun had in that regard,” he said.
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
