Soft-roader's hard sell

Honda sticks with a proven formula in its new CR-V and adds some refinements, as DAVID LINKLATER writes.

If at first you don't succeed ... well, you're not doing nearly as well as Honda.

The original CR-V was the company's first effort at a family four-wheel-drive, but it played a large part in establishing the popularity of the "soft roader" genre in New Zealand.

Toyota planted its flag first with the RAV4, but Honda helped bring the concept to mainstream buyers thanks to the CR-V's understated styling and easygoing road manners.

It didn't really matter that the Honda had an embarrassing name (Comfortable Runabout Vehicle) or that the hydraulic four-wheel-drive system stayed in two-wheel-drive going down hills.

The CR-V delivered what New Zealand buyers wanted: a large family wagon that looked like an off-roader but drove like a car.

Even at the end of its life, the first-generation CR-V remains a strong seller. This year, only the arrival of the Ford Escape has kept the Honda away from a top-three class ranking behind the RAV4 and Suzuki Vitara.

So it's not surprising that the second-generation CR-V is all-new but somehow the same. Why mess with a proven formula?

Still, you might be hard-pressed to spot the CR-V when it's launched in New Zealand this month. Nothing is carried over from the old car, but the proportions and styling are the same.

The newcomer is just 17mm longer than the current car. It rides on Honda's latest global platform, also used for the Civic and Integra, but retains the same 2620mm wheelbase as the old car.

The new CR-V is bigger under the bonnet, with a 2.4-litre four-cylinder powerplant that benefits from Honda's latest i-VTEC engine technology.

It combines variable valve timing and lift control with a new variable timing control system that continually adjusts camshaft phasing to optimise performance and emissions.

Compared with the previous 2-litre motor, the extra capacity makes for a modest 10kW increase in power to 119kW at 6000rpm and a substantial 37Nm boost in torque to 219Nm at just 3600 rpm.

The i-VTEC engine is rated as an ultra-low emissions unit in Japan and brings claims of dramatically improved refinement and fuel economy.

We can't comment meaningfully on either. The launch of the new model at Honda's Tochigi research and development facility in Japan allowed one circuit of a 2km test loop with hardly a corner to call its own, and only the smaller-capacity, Japanese market 2-litre i-VTEC model was available.

However, that car's powertrain was impressively smooth and eager to rev right to the redline, unlike its rather raucous predecessor.

Ride and handling are much improved, claims Honda. The old car's double wishbone front suspension has been dropped in favour of redesigned MacPherson struts, as in the Civic and Integra. Torsional rigidity is up 50 per cent compared with the old car, while bending stiffness has improved by 30 per cent.

The hydraulic, dual-pump, four-wheel-drive system is carried over and still works well on-road, although the technology seems a little off the pace when rivals such as the Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute and Nissan X-Trail combine automatic four-wheel-drive systems with an extra manual locking function for soft, ultra-slippery or downhill terrain.

Honda has applied much of its people-mover packaging expertise to the new CR-V. Despite the similar exterior dimensions, the new car's cabin is 65mm longer, 20mm taller and 35mm wider.

The rear seats are divided 60/40, recline up to 45 degrees and also slide 170mm. A double-folding design allows the rear seats to be stowed away with the headrests in place to provide 952 litres of load-carrying capacity - 25 per cent more than the previous car.

The two-piece tailgate is retained but has been redesigned so that the glass can also stay attached to the bottom section when it's open. And, yes, the removable picnic table is still standard.

The all-new cabin is excellent and includes some pleasing details. The old car's gangly column-mounted automatic-transmission shift lever has been relocated to the dashboard and there's a novel joystick-style handbrake on the centre console.

Local specifications and pricing won't be announced until the new CR-V makes its official debut, but Honda New Zealand promises "no surprises" on either front.

As with the previous model, the new CR-V will be offered in both standard and dressed-up sport versions with manual or automatic transmissions.

The smoother performing, superbly packaged second-generation model will almost certainly be more expensive than the old car, but given Honda New Zealand's aggressive pricing policies there's no reason to think that the CR-V will relinquish its position as the best-value soft-roader around.