Category: Small 4x4s 
Price Range: £19,725 to £26,210
Comfortable and well equipped, with superb ride quality.
Not quick and not pretty.
Terrific family transport, but now so on-road orientated that it may as well be a proper car.
From £19,000 to £25,000. On sale in the UK from January 2007.
The big leap forward between old and new CR-Vs comes in the form of much improved ride quality. There was nothing particularly bad about the old one - in fact, for a 4x4, it was pretty good. The difference now is that the ride is very good, full stop. The Nissan X-Trail has set the ride quality standard for the last couple of years, and Honda's engineers have risen to the challenge in fine style. The suspension soaks up all manner of irregularities, without being too soft to keep the body in shape during cornering.
The front suspension is, as before, by MacPherson strut, but the geometry has been revised to improve stability and response. The new trailing arm rear suspension system has been beefed up and made more compact to maximise boot space; it works well on both fronts. The car's composed, balanced feel is aided by the lower centre of gravity, achieved by various changes including moving the spare wheel from the back door to under the boot (which has also enabled the door to be top- rather than side-hinged, which is handier in daily use; it's another car-like element of this SUV that's in denial about being an SUV).
It's impressively quiet in there, thanks to improved airflow, thicker glass in the windows and improved sound deadening all round.
Most of the time, the CR-V is front-wheel drive. If you're cornering with extreme vigour, or if you chance upon a slippery surface, the rear wheels will be pressed into action. Refinements to Honda's Real Time four-wheel drive system make it more responsive than before, cutting in more quickly and less noticeably, but it's a fair guess that many CR-Vs will go through their whole lives without ever triggering their all-wheel drive capability.
Honda has opted for economy and efficiency over performance. We're being offered only two engines, neither of them particularly powerful, with the inevitable result that you won't be beating any personal best times in the CR-V. Both engines run more cleanly and frugally than in the equivalent last-generation cars. The figures are in keeping with other 2.0-litre petrols and 2.2-litre diesels in the class, but the advantage the X-Trail, X3 and Freelander 2 all have is that their line-ups also include more powerful engines.
As far as it goes, the new 2.0-litre i-VTEC unit is just fine: smooth, willing and responsive, but with a modest 148bhp and 140lb-ft in its armoury it's a little overwhelmed by the size and weight of the car, certainly when you add people, luggage and a hill. The 2.2 i-CDTi diesel, carried over unchanged from the last CR-V, produces 138bhp and a useful 251lb-ft of torque. Its 0-62mph time is 10.3 seconds, and it peaks at 116mph.
The automatic gearbox is in keeping with the smooth, relaxed style of the petrol engine. Just stick it in Drive and breeze around in a quiet, gentle, planet-friendly manner, giving way to WI members in Metros and waving to the daffodils.
