HONDA CR-V

SUV swells significantly and introduces an unconventional plug-in hybrid powertrain

- ILLYA VERPRAET

TESTED 8.8.23, BERKSHIRE ON SALE OCTOBER

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:Nyl electric crossover and the Civic-on-stilts ZR-V. And it's still not done, because now comes the turn of a new 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 arrive a month earlier (October) and so that's the version we're driving here.

The CR-V e:PHEV has a 17.7kWh battery, giving it an official electric-only range of 51 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.