If you were marched blindfold to both this and the previous Honda CR-V, sat in disguised cabins and allowed to drive both, you might wonder from their dynamics which is the newer car.
Relative to its rivals at the time, the old CR-V was a real achievement, a breath of fresh air blowing through the turgid ranks of its classmates with enough of a spring in its step to make you pleased you didn’t splurge the extra on a Land Rover Freelander 2.
At best, this new model has trodden water while all the time its rivals have advanced. When new, the 2.2-litre diesel was a groundbreaker; at launch it seemed merely adequate, and by 2015 it was deemed redundant.
While the old CR-V also possessed ride and handling that really raised the eyebrows, now it’s not bad, but nor is it outstanding in any notable way – and falls behind the likes of the Mazda CX-5 and BMW X3.
And that is an effective metaphor for the CR-V as a whole. It gives the impression that wrapping it up in fresh new looks is somehow enough and that the rest of the car does not need to be similarly renewed. That said, the addition of a 1.6-litre diesel is timely and should ensure that CR-V sales stay strong.
But it is no longer a car about which we can get at all excited. You might wonder why we ever thought it a possibility in this class of car. To which we’d point out its predecessor and that Honda badge on its nose, a sign that still speaks of engineering excellence far beyond the run of the mill.
Sadly, and in the Honda CR-V at least, there is little evidence of that mindset at all.
