Honda CR-V 2.2 CDTi CAR review

The castrati of SUVs is back, eh?

Steady. The CR-V isn’t the most macho of off-roaders but that hasn’t stopped it being popular. In fact it’s been the market leader for the past few years and given the Land Rover Freelander a girly slap in the process. But you’re right, it looks a bit apologetic for a supposed Freelander rival.

So the CR-V is happy having its SUV credentials laughed at?

Absolutely. The Freelander and BMW’s X3 might seem the obvious rivals but Honda actually benchmarked the CR-V against small executive cars like its own Accord. It sees the the CR-V as simply a more versatile estate car rather than a proper mud-plugger and that’s exactly how buyers see it too: Honda’s research found that 75 per cent of buyers had never taken their cars off road and never planned to. More important to them is the commanding driving position, slideable seats and useful boot. And not being seen as an SUV means side-stepping the hate lobby. With good reason too: the CR-V is actually safer and more environmentally friendly than a Mini Cooper S.