We have seen the 2012 Honda CR-V in the glossy gallery showcasing the top-of-the-line version, cruising far from the prying eagle-eye photographer, and the studio interior photo with nice lighting, resulting in a very soothing-looking cabin. You can read on previous coverage on 2012 US CR-V <here>. We have here the shot from LA, compiled all over the web to get a better idea on the detailing. Asian powertrain option also has been discovered. Read on!
The headlamp flanked the grille, which slightly protrude inside the headlamp. Amber light for US car, clear lens for Asian car is expected (last few photos at the end of article). Black cladding is used extensively, dominating the sills and arches.
Steeply raked and highly raked rear glass and D-pillar. Accentuate further by upward kink glass house profile and rear bumper shutline. Note the character line running along the waist and into the fuel filler door and ends at the meeting point of bumper shut line and rear light.
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This is the Instrument Panel of the likely basic version, which loses out the touch-screen Navi unit. This is consistent with the spyshots from China covered earlier on <here>. It has the jumbo button like the recently launched Honda Civic. But the cheapo appearance of the audio system does downgrade somewhat the previously soothing looking IP. It also has lost a bit of taut, high quality looking of current Honda CR-V cabin. As with any previous CR-V, the gear gate is non-gated.
This is the driver interface. The steering wheel adopt latest Honda design epitome, with jumbo-sized button and silver inserts. The steering is not the same as the one on Honda Civic, with clear difference in centre boss cover and the silvered part is different in design. Only the steering wheel mounted button looks the same. One can see the meter binnacle in this photo too. More detailed illustration of meter binnacle can be found below:
I can't help from thinking that the interior design of latest crop of Honda cars have been simplified for cost reason. Above is the glovebox of the new Honda CR-V. There is no secondary storage space at its top like the current Honda CR-V.
This two components has a in-the-recession kind of design outlook with the audio system leading the march.There are only 11 button, all XXL sized to fill the space, preset channel number button is tiny circular item and to top it off, the Hazard Light switch is located at the top, with no intention to be flushly fitted to the ICE fascia. The photo below showcased the grain texture of the new IP. What say you? I think I'll skip current generation of Honda cars.
The design of the door trim carries similar design trend to that of latest Honda Accord and the recently launched Honda Civic. It is a two-piece affair, with dark colored top part and lighter hue lower portion, with an integrated arm rest. As with the current crops of Honda, the door inside handle is no longer chrome, but is a silver painted.
Take note that the arm rest is a padded item. However, the door pull handle of the outgoing Honda CR-V is now gone. It has been replace by the door pull handle, with nestled integrated with the power window switch, observable in the photo of power window switch panel.
The front accomodation is illustrated. Gone is the full flat floor of previous generation, in comes a full length floor console with abundance of storage space. Pros to this is the secure placement of loose item and make a more organized cabin. The cons however, you loose the freedom to store any bulky item between the seats, assuming it won't fit into the storage cubbies in the first place.
The rear accommodation is as roomy as ever. However, the sliding mechanism of the rear seat has been deleted. The rear seat is now fixed in place. The argument for this is because the new seat configuration features a spring-loaded tumble mechanism, which can be seen on the right side rear seat in above photo. The added value is that it brings a new convenience in folding the seat in hurry.
Closer to the Malaysian shore, Sohu auto has managed to snapped the China spec Honda CR-V. As expected, powertrain option is different from that of US version. Typical to Asian taste, a smaller powertrain is available. In this case, it is the update 2.0l R20A7, succeeding the outgoing R20A1. Making 153bhp instead of 147bhp, the newer engine is slightly more powerful. The 2.4l is also an updated item, dubbed K24Z8 replacing the K24Z1. The new powertrain has significantly higher horsepower at 188bhp compared to 167hp of the older engine.
Above is the 2.4l model of the China market CR-V. The higher end variant is equipped with different alloy wheel design with perhaps a larger one too, the door outside handle is chromed and sunroof is featured too.
It has become a trend now that the new Honda is always launched elsewhere instead of its homeland. Until today, the new Honda Civic is nowhere near the Japanese shore. The CR-V too, but at least it has been teased on Honda Japan website, a RHD version some more, perhaps indicating an imminent launch. It was rumored that Malaysia will gets the new Honda Civic sometimes next year. The previous CR-V arrived a year later than the Civic. This is perfectly understandable as both are CKD-ed in Malaysia, and to have a concurrent two projects is perhaps a tall order for small CKD plant over here. But hopefully we don't have to wait until 2013 for the new CR-V!
