Photo: Honda
Just a few days after the American version, Honda has revealed the Euro-spec CR-V facelift ahead of its debut at the Paris Motor Show. The changes mainly target the headlights and grille of the car, though some serious powertrain changes have also been made.
Honda is keen to follow the downsizing trend and has announced that on all-wheel drive versions of the CR-V, the 2.2-liter i-DTEC has been replaced with an all-new 1.6-liter i-DTEC.
Now that doesn't sound terribly exciting for the fun side of things, but hold on to your VTEC hats folks, things are way better than they seem. The 1.6 i-DTEC unit produces 160 PS (118 kW) and 350 Nm of torque (258 lb-ft). That's actually 10 more horsepower than you get with the old engine and 5 hp more than the petrol 2.0 VTEC.
This new engine can work with either a standard six-speed manual gearbox or an optional newly developed nine-speed automatic transmission, in which case emissions can drop to as low as 135 grams per kilometer.
Now, we're not completely sure how Honda managed to secretly make this engine or if it runs on twin turbines, but the CR-V is now miles ahead of the competition, especially the Mazda CX-5 and the Volkswagen Tiguan. In one fell swoop, Swindon might have found a way to completely recover from its recent problems.
Remember, it's not all about performance or even fuel consumption here – smaller engines with reduced emissions are much cheaper to tax in most European counties.
The front-wheel drive CR-V will continue to be powered by the same 120 PS 1.6-liter diesel it received last year. In an official press statement, which you can find below, Honda announced that production of the 2015 CR-V facelift will continue to take place at the "state-of-the-art plant in Swindon, UK".
Now that doesn't sound terribly exciting for the fun side of things, but hold on to your VTEC hats folks, things are way better than they seem. The 1.6 i-DTEC unit produces 160 PS (118 kW) and 350 Nm of torque (258 lb-ft). That's actually 10 more horsepower than you get with the old engine and 5 hp more than the petrol 2.0 VTEC.
This new engine can work with either a standard six-speed manual gearbox or an optional newly developed nine-speed automatic transmission, in which case emissions can drop to as low as 135 grams per kilometer.
Now, we're not completely sure how Honda managed to secretly make this engine or if it runs on twin turbines, but the CR-V is now miles ahead of the competition, especially the Mazda CX-5 and the Volkswagen Tiguan. In one fell swoop, Swindon might have found a way to completely recover from its recent problems.
Remember, it's not all about performance or even fuel consumption here – smaller engines with reduced emissions are much cheaper to tax in most European counties.
The front-wheel drive CR-V will continue to be powered by the same 120 PS 1.6-liter diesel it received last year. In an official press statement, which you can find below, Honda announced that production of the 2015 CR-V facelift will continue to take place at the "state-of-the-art plant in Swindon, UK".
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