Honda Will Launch the All-New 2012 CR-V this Fall

Honda Will Launch the All-New 2012 CR-V this Fall
 Honda Will Launch the All-New 2012 CR-V this Fall
Honda, like your local artisanal bakery, has a habit of throwing away perfectly good stuff on a regular schedule. Except that while La Crise Cardiaque Belle is tossing out that morning�s croissants, Honda disposes of vehicles that are still near the top of the class. To wit: the present CR-V, introduced in 2006, still was good enough to take third place out of eight in a Car and Driver comparo with several much newer vehicles last year. It also continues to rack up sales for Honda, outselling Toyota�s RAV4 by almost 40 percent in March. But the proverbial palm flower crystal is now glowing in the CR-V�s hand, meaning that its time has expired. A new CR-V, Honda says, will join us in late 2011 as a 2012 model.
As for the rest of the details on the H�s upcoming soft-roader�you�re kidding, right? No companies play their cards closer to the vest than does Honda. Still, we can take a stab at a few likely details of the 2012 CR-V. Figure on a slight improvement from the current model�s EPA fuel economy rating of 21 mpg city/28 highway in two-wheel-drive form. Honda typically doesn�t jack up horsepower from generation to generation, and the brand-new Civic just launched with a five-speed automatic�not a six, like many of its competitors now pack�so don�t expect the CR-V�s power rating to leap beyond its present 180, either.
It certainly makes sense for the brass at Honda to stick with what works, but with so many of the company�s competitors in the process or rolling out outstanding compact crossovers, we�re not enamored with Honda�s conservative philosophy. Then again, after 22,000 CR-Vs found homes in March, maybe American consumers are.