Honda CR-V review (23/01/2013)

PERCEPTION can sometimes be a dangerous game in this business. Take the Honda CR-V, for example. I always thought of the car — although something of a pioneer in the soft-roader segment — as something primarily aimed at middle American buyers who largely wouldn’t know the difference between a decent car and a takeaway hamburger — or care less for that matter.

But that has not really been the case with Honda’s 4x4 machine which, despite rather dumpy looks through its first two generations (although it got a lot sharper in its third incarnation), has managed to clock up over five million cumulative sales since it was first seen back in 1995. It did do well in America, but it has also been very popular in many other markets and has sort of stealthily imposed itself on the worldwide market.

Looking back on the history of the car, therefore, my presumptions about it have been pretty wide of the mark. Nothing new there, you might say, but I’d like to think I’ve never actually done a disservice to a machine which in very many ways has been an innovator throughout its various lives and which has actually spawned a host of imitators because of its success.

And now, having driven the very impressive fourth generation of the CR-V, I have to say that whatever views I may have previously held about the car have been well and truly demolished. And it was no real surprise as I was sitting down to write this piece that it has started to rack up various 4x4 of the year awards from respected quarters globally.

Now, as it is not your traditional “down and dirty” 4x4 off-roader, many hardliners might dismiss the CR-V as being just yet another soft roader which would not be worth a speck of soot when asked to actually do things that don’t involve tarmac surfaces. To do so, however, would be to do this machine a major injustice.

There are times in this gig when you first sit into a car that you instinctively know it is right, and my first introduction to the new CR-V was just such a moment; it looks good, it feels good and it damn well drives good too.

The truth about most soft-roaders is, of course, that the majority of their buyers are not really that interested in what it might be able to do when introduced to a ploughed field or a forest track; rather they are far more concerned about its ability in the far more mundane task of simply lugging a family around the place.

However, although Honda could be accused of watering down the CR-V by announcing that they will produce two wheel drive versions alongside the — preferable, in my view — 4x4 version, the company is simply reacting sensibly to market demands. The Nissan Qashqai did not become a sales sensation because it could scale Everest. It sold well because it captured the imagination of family buyers.

Honda, understandably wants to tap into that zeitgeist to maximise sales, however, in doing so the company cannot be accused of dumbing-down the CR-V. They can only be accused of trying to make it more appealing to a broader selection of potential owners.

That said, we tried the 4x4 version of the car, which is fitted with the excellent 2.2 litre turbo diesel which will initially be the meat and drink choice for many owners — at least until the forthcoming ‘EarthDreams’ 1.6 turbo diesel comes on stream in the coming weeks. That unit was actually launched here in Ireland in the Civic this week and will be seen in the CR-V soon.

However, the engine is a familiar one across the Honda range, although it has had a makeover before its introduction here, largely in order to reduce CO2 emissions (a 12% improvement has been found) and generally make it a more “buyable” option in the current climate.

Power output remains at 110 kW (148 bhp) and the maximum torque figure remains at 350 Nm and while this might pale beside the likes of the two litre unit in the BMW X3, it is still a very nice unit to live with, has plenty of gumption and is still one of the more refined of its kind about the place. It will accelerate from 0-100 kph in 9.7 seconds and achieve a top speed of 19-0 kph. It will also return some 5.6 l/100 km (50 mpg).

Those are decent batting averages and this engine — try it on the road for yourself and find out how good it is — particularly when you experience the refinement of the package.

The 4x4 system has been refined too in the new CR-V with a new electronically activated all wheel drive system replacing the older hydraulically operated system. This detects wheel slippage more quickly and makes the car a much more sure-footed proposal in variable driving conditions.