Honda CR-V (Japan, 2012-present)

Honda premiered the fourth generation CR-V at the LA Auto Show in November 2011. The updated model offers little more power, but better fuel economy and new looks.

The major change to the CR-V for 2012 is its new design. It is clearly an evolution of the design of the previous CR-V. It is more curvaceous than the third generation and incorporates modern Honda touches like the horizontal grill.

The CR-V keeps the same 2.4 liter, four-cylinder engine as the previous model, but it now achieves an output of 185hp, a 5hp improvement over the previous version, and uses 23 miles per gallon in the city and 31mpg on the highway for the front-wheel drive version, which is about 2mpg better than the previous generation. The four-wheel drive version shows equal improvements in fuel economy.

Honda knows that the CR-V is popular among young families and made improvements that would affect this group. It has simplified the mechanism for lowering the rear seats and added a number of features like: standard Bluetooth, a standard multi-information display, rear view camera, and a feature that reads text messages out loud to the driver. 

The 2012 CR-V is available in three trim levels LX, EX, and EX-L:

The LX is the base car, but gives buyers Bluetooth, air conditioning, cruise control and the new multi-function display.

EX cars get bigger 17in wheels, a six-speaker audio system and a sunroof.

EX-L vehicles get power seats, a seven-speaker audio system, navigation with FM traffic and DVD rear entertainment