Honda's CR-V is one of the Australia’s favourite 4x4s, at this time they seem to be coming under ever closer scrutiny by purchasers with offers from Subaru Forester, Hyundai ix35, Kia Sportage and Toyota RAV4 all chasing your hard earned.

So when is a 4x4 not a 4x4?

Honda would like you to believe when it's the new CR-V.

And it puts up a very convincing argument.

It's safer for the occupants in a crash and even protects any pedestrians it may hit. (The bonnet is made to deform if contact is made with an adult or child pedestrian and the windshield wiper pivots are designed to deform to reduce injury).So the mere fact that it offers part-time four-wheel drive is different (Honda’s Real Time 4WD™ system) to help get you out of a muddy car park Honda says "not all 4x4s are the same".

Far from being a polluting, inefficient monster truck, the CR-V is whiter than white. It takes up no more road space than a family car (it's shorter than the Honda Accord), returns combined fuel consumption of 10 litres/100km) in everyday driving.

This model is also, less polluting, more practical and better to drive than its predecessor. It's also available with Honda superb DOHC i-VTEC inline 4 Cylinder 2.4 litre - 2354 cci-125 kW 218nm engines - one of the best around.

Like the RAV-4, which was really, the first of this type of vehicle it's now in its third generation and it’s more car-like to drive. Honda Australia switched source from Japan to Thailand and it joins Honda Australia’s other Thai sourced vehicles, Accord, Civic and Jazz.

So, what’s it like? Let’s find out:

On the Road

The new CR-V is one of the nicest new cars to drive that you can buy. It has excellent ride comfort. It's quite soft. It still understeers, eventually. Yet turn it into a roundabout and it grips like no other SUV on the planet. Not only that, you have a feeling of total control. It's extremely driver friendly and very pleasant however you want to drive it. The four-wheel drive system now has a Dual-Pump system. So it engages much more quickly when needed. But the CR-V is a ‘soft roader' with no centre diff locks or low range for ‘serious' off roading.

I'd better explain how the Dual-Pump system works. The CR-V’s Real Time 4WD system sends power only to the rear wheels when there is insufficient traction for the front-wheel-drive system. The system consists of the conventional front-wheel-drive system, a compact transfer case that distributes torque to a propeller shaft running the length of the vehicle, a dual-pump system with a multi-plate clutch, a cam unit mechanism, the rear differential and left and right rear-wheel drive shaft’s.

The core of the system is the dual-pump unit. It consists of two hydraulic pumps, one driven by the front wheels via the propeller shaft and one driven by the rear wheels via the rear differential. A hydraulically actuated, multi-plate clutch, similar to the clutches used in Honda automatic transmissions, connects the propeller shaft to the rear differential. There is also a one-way ball cam and pilot clutch system.

This consists of two plates and six large ball bearings that move in ramped grooves. When a slight difference in rotation speed between front and rear wheels occurs, the ball cams move in their grooves and instantly engage the main multi plate clutch. This happens before the two hydraulic pumps generate pressure so that drive is transferred without any lag.

Behind the Wheel

The CRV offers the slightly raised driving position many women feel more confident with and which is also very friendly to bad backs. The chunky tyres handle Sydney’s goat track roads with ease. The CRV is smaller, lower and lighter than the last generation CR-V; it's also bigger inside, faster, more fuel efficient, with better handling. You could say Honda has done quite a good job.

But the main virtue of this new CRV is the friendly driving experience. It isn't merely "just like a car". It's actually better than most cars. On my first test of the CR-V, I much preferred its handling to the current RAV-4's. You think it's going to be like driving a wardrobe, but it clings on like a very expensive AWD, leaving understeer to much later than you expect. Yet the steering is slow and soft, so you don't feel like you're driving a rally car.

Other new SUVs like the Outlander, are sharper and more ‘in touch' with the road. But they're not as, nice and friendly as the CR-V. It's like a woolly American car with a very clever race car chassis underneath and is probably the most pleasant car to drive I've driven lately. Nothing ever irritates, and that's a true test.

Performance

Our CR-V Sport does a leisurely 0-100 kph in 10.3 seconds while the pulling power is easily exploitable with its slick, 5-Speed auto with Grade Logic. The engine seems a little noisier than in the Honda Accord, and perhaps not as refined as in the RAV- 4, but it is still a strong performer.

Comfort

Approximately 20 convenient storage areas are accessible throughout the interior, ranging from an upper and lower glove box to eight individual cup holders. A centre console replaces the retractable centre tray table. Each front door has a storage pocket and a bottle holder. A two-tier glove box is standard, with the upper glove box replacing the previous open tray storage by using a flip-down cover. Up front, there are two-cup holders in the centre console. In the rear seat area, the centre armrest folds down to reveal two more cup holders.

A new dual deck cargo shelf system, available in the Sport and Luxury, allows for two levels of storage in the rear cargo area. The shelf provides 330mm of vertical space underneath – enough room for a collapsed stroller or similar item – while still retaining a convenient area to place smaller items on top up to 10 kilograms. The shelf is hinged at the front for easy access to items underneath. The cargo shelf can also be placed on the floor for conventional cargo area space utilisation.

Aside from the rather firm ride, the CR-V is a very comfortable car with a roomy interior and plenty of space for five adults - the flat floor in the rear is particularly helpful with three in the back. The rear seats slide and recline to improve comfort for passenger, air conditioning is standard across the range and all cars come with electric windows, as you would expect.

For those of you needing to be entertained CRV has a good quality AM/FM radio, built-in 6-disc CD changer with MP3/WMA playback, auxiliary input jack, CD/MP3 text display, six speakers (including two dashboard tweeters) and steering wheel-mounted audio controls (volume and channel present ).Three-Spoke Steering Wheel with Tilt and Telescope Column The three-spoke steering wheel on the CR-V is smaller in diameter (38cm) and feels nice in your hands, combined with a quicker steering ratio.

Conclusion

I find the new CR-V to be a supremely well-thought-out and well-executed little SUV. Recommended On-Road Price in Sydney for the base CRV is $36, 290, through to $42,945 for our tester. From its featherweight tailgate to its two-tier cargo area, to its tight dynamics, Honda really sweated the details on this one. No, it doesn't have the might of a V6 RAV4, but slow it isn't, and its design smokes the Toyota's inside and out. Especially, where the Honda just looks feels and functions with not much flash and not much dash but it absolutely swims in class like an SUV costing much, much more.

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