Talented CR-V is top of the charts

The Honda CR-V has evolved, introducing a 157bhp 1.6-litre diesel engine to replace the old 2.2-litre unit, a nine-speed gearbox, city braking technology, a new infotainment setup and a bafflingly smart adaptive cruise control system. It's a great all-round package.

By any measure, the Honda CR-V has enjoyed phenomenal success. The Japanese company has shifted over 750,000 of them in Europe alone and rather than that trend slowing down, sales are on the up. That's going to be helped with an improved version that delivers more of what CR-V customers like.

And what CR-V customers appear to like is safety, reliability, efficiency, practicality and lots of buttons to press.

A few years ago, buying a Honda CR-V was the signal that you'd almost given up on life. The styling was pretty bland, the engines unexceptional and it was just another one of those boring school-run cars. Then Honda started building in some design flair, the interiors went upmarket and the engines got a whole lot better.

These days, the CR-V is one of the more extrovert choices in its segment and the latest one hopes to convince you it's the smartest too.

The big news with this CR-V is the fitment of a 157bhp 1.6-litre diesel engine, which replaces the old 147bhp 2.2-litre diesel, an engine that was looking a bit off the pace in terms of efficiency.

The 118bhp 1.6-litre diesel carries on much as before and there's a 2.0-litre petrol engine offered that's probably going to be largely ignored by UK buyers.

Specify the CR-V with a manual gearbox and you can also have it in front as well as fourwheel drive guise.

But you shouldn't. That's because Honda has replaced the old five-speed auto with a ninespeed automatic that then sends drive to all four wheels.

It's an impressive piece of technology and does a great job plugging the diesel engine right into the meat of its 258lb/ft of torque available from just north of 2,000rpm.

The CR-V was never marketed as a particularly sporty drive and the updates to the car's suspension and steering don't aim for that goal. Instead, the steering has been revised to offer an 8% quicker ratio, while revised bushings, dampers and other suspension fettling aim to deliver a smoother ride. Refinement is something valued by CR-V owners and the latest car features added sound insulation material, thicker carpets and chunkier door seal rubbers.

The net result is a 6% reduction in cabin noise at speed.

The changes to the latest car could best be described as a facelift, although Honda has gone further than the usual grille, bumpers and lights.

Having said that, this latest CR-V does have a revised front grille, smarter bumpers and sleeker lights, the latter featuring LED daytime running lamps.

At the rear, the LED combination lamps have been restyled. There are revised 17 and 18-inch