Learning CR-V

Giving customers what they want is the easiest way to guarantee success. And that’s exactly what Honda plans to do with the all-new, fifth-generation CR-V. Shapur Kotwal says it could be the start of something big.

- Shapur Kotwal

Honda is the largest producer of internal combustion engines in the world. Two wheelers, four wheelers, marine engines – it produces them all, and in massive numbers. Last year, for example, it manufactured a colossal 29 million engines. Part of this is because Honda engines, in general, are only slightly short of brilliant. They are light, smooth, efficient, powerful and have bulletproof reliability. And then there’s the fact that they are happiest when spun fast; the feel-good factor is tremendous. Yes, there was a period where Honda seemed to be stuck in the past, but now it seems to be back at the cutting edge of technology with its new direct-injection petrol engines, and cars like the super-efficient Accord Hybrid and the powerful NSX hybrid supercar.

DIESEL DILEMMA

So much for petrol engines. Diesels are a different story altogether. Honda only really got started with diesel recently, and its first engine wasn’t exactly drowned in praise. The words that actually come to mind are ‘ordinary’ and ‘disappointing’. Sure, the numbers are good – 100hp and class-leading fuel economy – and the 1.5-litre diesel has proved dependable as well. But the Earth Dreams 1.5 diesel is so un-Honda like in character, it smarts. It rattles like there are nuts and bolts banging inside the cylinder head, performance is one-dimensional, and though initial response is good, there isn’t really much to look forward to after that.

So I’m not expecting much when I pick up the keys for a CR-V diesel from the rental company. The 1.6-litre diesel engine isn’t likely to be a huge improvement over the 1.5 we have in India. The two engines share many parts, and then there’s the fact that this 1.6 is a mere 99cc larger. How much better can it be? And this new CR-V, with its larger seating capacity and greater mass is also a huge 142kg heavier than the current car.