The Herald - The Herald Magazine
First drive: Honda CR-V Hybrid
ALEXANDER House where we are based in West Sussex can boast a Roman road that ran past its western boundary. It also has strong links to Percy Bysshe Shelley, who was born in the area and whose father was a local MP.
Now this splendid Seventeenth Century manor can add another claim to fame. It is the venue Honda has chosen to unveil its new CR-V hybrid to the public – a marker along the path in the company’s Electric Vision, which will see two thirds of its powertrains in Europe electrified by 2025.
Here in the car park are the first hybrids in the UK – hot off the boat – ready to be driven alongside some petrol versions, because there are no diesels in this model any more.
Along with many other manufacturers Honda is reducing its diesel fleet as we move towards a brave new world that should finally end in all-electric.
In the meantime this latest offering from Honda is well thought out.
The CR-V, now in its fifth generation, is one of the world’s best selling SUVs so Honda already knows it has a crowd pleaser.
The hybrid looks no different from the fossil-fuelled version – it is under the bonnet that all the magic takes place.
The exterior is big and bold with nice headlights, roof rails sweeping back to a small sporty antenna and a lovely elegant rear that comes in the top trim level with a hands free powered tailgate. The only nod to its hybrid capabilities is the badge.
It also comes with beautiful alloys and a small integrated rear spoiler.
Inside the top trim levels the interior is leather but the hybrid boasts buttons rather than a gearknob, which has reduced the central console to a very clean looking unit with a colour touchscreen that in all but the entry level features sat nav, DAB, plenty of charging points and useful information about the car.
Every manufacturer does its hybrids slightly differently and Honda calls its system Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive (i-MMD). The first thing to say is that it’s not a plug-in; it’s a regenerative system that charges as it goes and creates power.
There are four parts to it – a conventional 2.0-litre petrol engine, a lithium-ion battery and two electric motors – one propulsion u
u and one generator. This powertrain works in three different ways. First, there is allelectric drive when the car is powered by the propulsion motor, which is fuelled by the battery. This is good for city driving where it is quiet and clean – so quiet that Honda has added an Acoustic Alert Warning system to that pedestrians will know it is coming.
Next there is hybrid drive when the engine powered generator supplies power to the electric propulsion motor to drive the wheels. And, finally, we have engine drive where it is connected directly to the wheels.
You can regenerate power – and watch it on a screen behind the steering wheel – by braking, taking your foot off the gas (when you’re going downhill for example) and by using paddles on the steering wheel to strengthen the regeneration. This works so well I nearly came to a stop at one point but I had also quite aggressively generated bags of power.
Like all hybrids, the transmission is automatic – or in this case it uses Honda’s CVT system, which I believe works particularly well in the front-wheel drive version, although the hybrid also comes as a four wheel drive.
Only the most arduous off-roaders will need the four-wheel drive and the lightness of the two-wheel drive makes it a bit more agile and smoother and it works better with the CVT. I fairly pushed the car along the roads of West Sussex almost to the coast and certainly over the South Downs and as far as Arundel Castle.
I also drove a 1.5-litre conventional petrol engine in all-wheel drive, which was perky and powerful, agile on the roads and very biddable for those who recoil at the thought of electricity under the bonnet.
This managed a respectable 39.8mpg with 162g/km CO2 and costs £37,005.
But it’s all about the hybrids these days isn’t it? And this new version of the CR-V offers great space and capability and plenty of features to satisfy the techies while doing its bit to save the planet. Hybrids really have come a long way.