Honda CR-V

Honda's family SUV gains plug-in hybrid power for its all-new sixth generation Honda is churning them out at the moment. It soldiered on for years with an ageing range, but in just the past three years, it has given us a new Jazz, a new HR-V, a new Civic and two completely new additions to the line-up: the e:Ny1 electric crossover and the Civic-on-stilts ZR-V. And it’s still not done, because now comes the turn of a new Honda CR-V.Together with the Toyota RAV4, the CR-V was a bit of a trailblazer for ‘soft-roaders’ when it arrived in 1995. Almost three decades later, it’s onto its sixth generation.This model may be all-new, but if you’ve kept up with Honda’s recent launches, the mechanical package will sound very familiar. It’s mostly the same e:HEV-badged hybrid system as in the ZR-V and Civic, where the 2.0-litre Atkinson-cycle atmo petrol engine mainly drives a generator to provide energy for an electric motor to drive the wheels, but with a lock-up clutch for direct drive at higher speeds.There are a few key differences, though. A second, lower ratio now lets the ICE help out at lower speeds as well, which is particularly useful when you’re towing; and there’s the option of four-wheel drive, through a normal clutch-based system.What’s more, there’s also a plug-in hybrid version of the CR-V, which will be the first to arrive in the UK, in October, so is the version that we’re driving here.The CR-V e:PHEV has a 17.7kWh battery, giving it an official electric-only range of 50 miles, meaning company car drivers will pay only 8% benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax. And choosing the e:PHEV has a number of other consequences, not all of them entirely obvious.Instead of losing boot space to the battery, it actually gains 72 litres, for a total of 635. That’s because the battery is under the cabin floor, rather than under the boot, as in the e:HEV (due to differences in how they’re cooled). It doesn’t gain any extra power, since it uses the same motor, but because the battery is larger, there’s enough juice for the motor to run at peak power for longer, so Honda is confident that you should be able to tow 1500kg with the e:PHEV, instead of just 750kg with the e:HEV.It even gets a dedicated towing mode that uses sat-nav data to know when to save battery power or even recharge it from the engine so that there’s always enough in reserve for uphill or motorway sections.Inside the CR-V, the relation to the Civic is immediately obvious, as the dashboard looks much the same, including Honda’s basic but inoffensive touchscreen infotainment system.This will be a positive for some people, because everything feels completely indestructible and is easy to use, but if you’re stepping out of a Kia Sorento or a Hyundai Santa Fe, it won’t feel special at all, with coarse and scratchy materials never far away.The rear seats slide and recline and have very generous leg room. The boot is competitive for volume, but it’s deep rather than long and contains a step when the rear seats are folded down. For the time being, there’s also no seven-seat option, unlike with those Korean rivals.Honda’s product presentation used terms like ‘exhilarating’ and ‘sports car’ when describing the driving experience of this large SUV. You will be shocked to hear that the CR-V is neither of those things, I’m sure. What it is instead is nicely set up for a smooth and unobtrusive drive.Apart from some slight underlying firmness over broken paving, the CR-V rides smoothly on its standard adaptive dampers, stopping just short of floatiness. The moderately heavy steering is precise and even imparts a modicum of feedback. A bit more front-end grip would be welcome for ultimate confidence, but you have to be cornering at child-nauseating speeds to run into understeer. And the brakes are perfectly progressive – not a given with electrified cars.The powertrain also impresses. With 181bhp pulling 1916kg, it’s not fast, but the performance is perfectly adequate. What’s more important is that it feels effortless, thanks to the motor taking the strain and engine only making itself heard in extremis. And a benefit of Honda’s unusual system, where most of the power comes from the motor, is that it isn’t much slower in EV mode.It promises to be economical, too. We had a limited amount of time with the car so couldn’t run the battery dry for a proper range test, but with a full battery, it predicted 41 miles of electric-only range. When driven in Save mode, which is equivalent to running with an empty battery, it returned an indicated 49mpg and still felt powerful enough.Then again, the Toyota RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid returns similar numbers yet has 302bhp.Pricing starts at £45,895 for the e:HEV, but the e:PHEV is available only in one high-spec trim, costing £53,995. That’s about midway between the Hyundai Santa Fe PHEV and Sorento PHEV, although their shorter electric-only ranges mean they incur more BIK tax. The equivalent RAV4 PHEV is a little cheaper, while anything with a vaguely premium badge will be significantly dearer.So, although the CR-V e:PHEV could do with seven seats and a little more sparkle, it ticks a lot of the family SUV boxes, being comfortable, economical, practical and undemanding to drive, and with a strong EV range.