By lowering the powertrain, relocating the spare to beneath the boot floor and reducing the weight of the tailgate and bonnet, Honda has dropped the CR-Vs centre of gravity by 35mm. The result is that this family wagon ticks off twists with some precision, its commendable subjugation of roll, suppleness and game behaviour encouraging speeds far brisker than you’d expect of such a device.
Better still – and more relevant, really – is that it rides well, the suspension’s pliancy making for relatively serene progress unless you’re testing the on-road limits of the all-wheel drive and electronic stability control.
That four-wheel drive has been upgraded to provide smoother transitions from its front-drive default. A pair of pumps determines whether there’s a speed differential between axles, prompting drive to the rear wheels to kick in, a process smoothed out by a cam-and-pilot clutch that speeds the process of engagement. In the dry at least, it’s hard to tell when the rear axle is intervening.
This unexpected agility is accessed via a sufficient-go i-CDTi engine. It’s pleasant to drive behind, even if there’s a bit more diesel cackle than with the Freelander’s impressively civilised TD4 diesel. It pulls convincingly, runs out to 4900rpm and settles to a pleasingly subdued cruise. Though not as powerful or torquey – 138bhp and 252lb ft – as RAV4 T180’s 175bhp/195lb ft, it turns in a competitive 9.4sec 0-60mph time and a top speed of 116mph.
It scores less well at the pumps, however, its official combined figure nearly six mpg adrift of the RAV4’s excellent 40.4mpg.
The sole petrol option is a 148bhp 2.0-litre VTEC.
Overall, Honda’s benchmarking of this SUV against saloons like its own Accord and the VW Passat seems to have paid off.
