Review

Japanese manufacturers introduced their home-market "soft-roaders" to the U.S. almost a decade ago, quickly creating a burgeoning market for car-based sport/utility vehicles that combined adventurous spirit, interior flexibility, and all-weather performance with wagon-like road manners and fuel economy. The Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 seeded this market, offering cheap tickets into the tragically hip active-lifestyle vehicles. Now in its second-generation Stateside, the CR-V maintains its basic four-cylinder, Civic-underpinnings formula, though it continues its maturation beyond the "entry-level" label. For 2005, the CR-V attempts to leave the true budget market to Hyundai and Kia, aiming instead at the likes of Ford's Escape, a set of GM offerings, and Toyota's increasingly premium RAV4. For this year, EX and LX models are joined by a new SE, with a more luxurious presence and standard amenities like leather-trimmed and heated seats.

Signifying Honda's up-market intentions is freshened, more dignified exterior styling. Unfortunately, LX and EX models still sport the Tonka-like black bumpers and trim plastic that also continues to plague the lower-level Jeep Liberty trims and the CR-V's outlandish brother, the Honda Element. The SE, however, is much more presentable, with its body-color trim that evokes the larger Honda Pilot. Body lines are simple and crisp in the way Honda does best, and the distinct tall rear taillights are both functional and stylish. Three new colors--Silver Moss, Redondo Red Pearl, and Sahara Sand--also brighten up the CR-V this year.

Interior changes for 2005 amount to minor tweaks--appropriate enough, as we've found little to complain about with the functional interior. The chief issue has been that the materials feel just a bit cheaper than those used in the Toyota RAV4, and this doesn't change for '05.

The most notable features inside this five-place sport/ute are related to storage. There's a convenient box in the center console for phones, chargers, change, and whatever else may need to be tucked away while driving. If that's not enough space for all your stuff, above the glovebox is a shallow shelf. Two cup holders reside in a small table that folds up between the front seats, and one more folds out from beneath the climate-control dials. Also clever are the grocery-bag hooks peppered throughout the class-leading 33.5 cubic-feet of cargo space (72.0 cubic-feet with the seats folded down). We especially enjoy the removable picnic table (stored under the rear floor), which makes the CR-V a great football-tailgating command post. Both EX and SE models boast a moonroof, cruise control, a six-disc CD changer, and new-for-2005 steering-wheel-mounted audio controls, while top-level SE models come standard with a cornucopia of amenities including heated mirrors and a leather-trimmed steering wheel and shift knob.