The big thing about the latest generation CR-V is that there isn't, and won't be, a diesel version. That has been flagged for some time, before even the VW diesel scandal which has been significant in turning the tide against that particular powertrain.
As a nameplate the CR-V is the best selling SUV across the globe. But relatively small in Ireland, in no small part due to availability, or relative lack of. That said, the 80 petrol-powered versions which have sold since launch last November were almost all snapped up by existing CR-V owners, which shows a very high loyalty factor.
The hybrid has been just as eagerly awaited, and the initial allocation of 100 vehicles is already sold, as no doubt will be the other 200 or so which will reach Honda showrooms in Ireland through the rest of the year.
Though Toyota has been the hybrid leader, and is definitely the biggest player in the business, Honda has a pedigree in the system almost as long. They just didn't take it mainstream. The CR-V does that, and the Jazz supermini will be next for similar treatment.
Looking at the CR-V, stylistically it is a much more handsome car than its predecessor. It also has a seriously high quality interior, and more space. That's adding to the popularity, and given the fact that it has been available as a 7-seater in the petrol version has also been a significant factor in sales interest.
That last is a space where the hybrid version won't be, as given the need to accommodate the battery there isn't going to be a 7-seat version. My guess is this won't be a real issue.
The particular hybrid technology developed by Honda for this car is interesting in its own right. The petrol engine part is a familiar 2.0 Atkinson Cycle unit which is designed to work most efficiently in a hybrid system. The next bit is unusual. Instead of having a CVT automatic transmission, as most hybrids do, there's no gearbox of any kind in what Honda call their i-MMD technology.
Drive to the wheels comes from the electrical system almost all of the time, the battery powering an electric motor to the wheels topped up by a attached generator, which in turn is driven by the petrol engine. Depending on power load and driving conditions, the system will almost always 'shuffle' between pure EV mode from the battery, and the hybrid system. Only occasionally, typically in cruise situations above around 80km/h, will the petrol engine drive the car's wheels directly.
OK, that might be all a bit technical, but from an automotive engineering point of view it is at least intriguing, and for nerds like me, innovating and exciting.
For the owner of the car, it may prove to be as smooth and serene a driving experience as they are likely to get anywhere. And that's all they'll care about. The gubbins that makes it happen is the ongoing miracle of the development of a machine that first coughed into life just 140 years ago next New Year's Eve.
The new CR-V hybrid is available in four grades, at a starting price of €38,000. I've only had a short time with it so far, and ordinarily I'd wait before writing about it.
But you might like to see if you can get an order in before they're all spoken for this year.
