By Otsile Kadiege

Honda has taken the wraps off the all-new, sixth-generation CR-V. The newcomer boasts a new sporty exterior design, a modish cabin, a host of new gizmos, advanced and powerful two-motor hybrid-electric powertrain a raft of safety features, and new grades.

Exterior design

The new CR-V rugged and sophisticated styling while its increased exterior dimensions give it a stronger, more aggressive presence. Upfront, the new CR-V is fitted with slim LED headlights as standard. It has a prominent radiator upright grille with gloss black mesh patterns and chrome trimmings on the EX and EX-L grades.

Its side profile features a sharp crease above the door handles, contrasting wheel arches as well as side skirts. The Honda CR-V Sport rides on grade-specific Berlina Black 18-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels, while Sport Touring features black 19-inch split 5-spoke alloys. Its rear end features a roof spoiler, signature vertical LED taillights and faux exhaust trims.

Interior design and technology

Inside, the CR-V oozes sportiness and modernity thanks to a heated three-spoke multifunction steering wheel, a cleaver striking metal honeycomb mesh spanning the dash which neatly conceals the air vents and Body Stabilizing Seats which are said to reduce fatigue.

The CR-V EX features gray or black cloth upholstery with an 8-way power driver’s seat and black trim on the dash. EX-L adds gray or black leather seating surfaces, a 4-way power passenger seat and piano black dash trim. Honda CR-V Sport comes with exclusive black cloth upholstery and black dash trim, while the Sport Touring comes with either black or gray leather seating surfaces and piano-black dash trim. Both Sport and Sport Touring come standard with a black headliner and orange contrast stitching on the seats (black leather or cloth), console, steering wheel and shifter.

On the EX and EX-L grades, the new CR-V comes with a 7-inch digital instrument panel featuring an all-digital tachometer  or a digital power flow meter on Sport and Sport Touring derivatives. A new 7-inch touchscreen audio system is standard on EX and Sport with physical knobs for volume and tuning, and a simplified menu structure. CR-V EX-L and Sport Touring have a standard 9-inch touchscreen with an infotainment system featuring wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

As standard, the new CR-V also features a 2.5A USB-A and 3.0A USB-C. For rear seat passengers, two illuminated 3.0A USB-C charging ports are standard on Sport and Sport Touring. CR-V Sport Touring models comes with a 12-speaker Bose premium audio system.

Safety

The new CR-V features advanced active and passive safety technology which comes standard on every CR-V. This includes the latest version of Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) architecture which Honda says has been enhanced for even better compatibility with larger vehicles.

A new Honda Sensing® suite of safety and driver assistive technologies integrates a new wide-angle camera and millimeter-wave radar. The new camera features a 90-degree field of view, while the radar has a 120-degree field of view. This wide angle improves collision prevention performance via improved ability to recognize attributes of objects, such as a vehicles or pedestrians, as well as white lines, road boundaries like curbs, other vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcycles, and road signs

Blind spot information (BSI) is now standard. Also new are Traffic Jam Assist (TJA), Low-Speed Braking Control and Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR), as well as more natural responses for existing features, such as Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low-Speed Follow, and Lane Keeping Assist (LKAS).

New hybrid powertrains

The CR-V Sport and Sport Touring feature an all-new 4^th-generation two-motor hybrid-electric system with a newly refined 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine that adds direct fuel injection and is mated to a pair of electric motors that are now mounted side-by-side. This new configuration is said to allow for the use of a larger propulsion motor with increased torque output. The total system output is 152kW (204hp) and 335Nm (247lb.-ft.).

The CR-V EX and EX-L grades are powered by an updated 1.5-liter turbo engine paired to a CVT gearbox. The engine makes 142kW (190hp) and 234Nm (179 lb.-ft.).

The new 6th-generation CR-V will be built in three plants in North America, including the East Liberty Auto Plant in Ohio, the Indiana Auto Plant, and Honda of Canada Mfg.