Honda CR-V

FIRST UK DRIVE We hit British roads to see if moreupmarket SUV makes sense

- Richard Ingram

THE Honda CR-Vis still among the very best selling SUVs in America. And while its success in the UK isn’t quite as well documented, it remains a hugely popular model for the brand.

Now, though, Honda is taking the CR-V upmarket.The all-new version is not only posher,plusher and more expensive,but it’s also finally available with seven seats. Yet as top-spec models nudge almost £40,000, is a Land Rover Discovery Sport a better bet? We’ve tried the latest CR-V on UK roads to find out.

Take a seat in the front and it’s immediately clear that Honda has spent a lot of time improving perceived quality.Our top-spec EX test car came with a flocked leather dashboard and super-smooth wooden inserts. Only the cheaper plastics on the glove box and door bins escape the overarching premium feel.

Every version features a part-digital instrument cluster, and all but the entry level‘S’ model has a seven-inch central touchscreen. It’s improved somewhat over the set-up found in the Honda Civic, thanks in part to the inclusion of a rotary volume knob, but it’s still frustratingly complicated to operate at times.