The CR-V 2021 arrives at Honda dealerships in Brazil bringing few external changes, but with an important technological reinforcement in the safety systems. The medium SUV made in the United States has a suggested price of R$269,900 in the Touring version. Or R$274,700 for the State of São Paulo, due to ICMS.

According to Honda, the more than R$60,000 increase in relation to the price of the 2020 line is mainly justified by the loss of value of the real against the dollar. The brand has not revealed its intentions regarding sales, but they should be similar to those of 2020. That is, around 500 units per year.

This is a great challenge given the options available on the market, such as the renewed Jeep Compass and Peugeot 3008. As well as the new Ford Bronco Sport, Toyota Corolla Cross and Volkswagen Taos. In addition to the arch-rival Toyota RAV-4, which, unlike the Honda, has hybrid technology.

Anyway, the big highlight of the new CR-V Touring is the Honda Sensing safety package. There are active systems such as involuntary lane change assistant and adaptive cruise control (ACC) with automatic speed adjustment. Both operate between 40 km/h and 145 km/h.

There is also driver attention monitoring and torque vector control linked to the traction and stability controls. Six air bags (front, side and curtain type), Isofix system for securing child seats and an electric parking brake are standard items.

The lane keeping assistant is “demanding”. During the evaluation, the system only worked in places where there were well-painted and defined lanes on the road. In this case, the SUV remained well centered.

Visually, the changes are imperceptible. The front remains “pointy”, but has lost chrome parts, a type of finish that is now used on the sides and trunk lid. This highlighted the design of the 18-inch light alloy wheels, which are darkened.

A good new feature is the keyless trunk opening system. Just approach, with the key in your pocket, and put your foot under the bumper. In the cabin, the upper part is covered with “classy” materials that are soft to the touch. From the middle panel down, however, there are seven different types of textures, including plastic appliqués that imitate wood.

Another new feature is the physical button on the entertainment system which, according to Honda, responds to customer requests. This is welcome, as the 7' touchscreen is slow to respond and inaccurate. In fact, the system is complicated to use, with confusing grouping and unintuitive operation. The instrument panel is beautiful, colorful and shows data such as engine speed.

However, anyone who wants to reset the trip meter, look for a second indication (trip B) or the average consumption, will have difficulty. The head up display, which projects data into the driver's line of sight (no need to take your eyes off the road), helps a lot. Colorful, it brings summarized data including GPS.

The new induction charger (without using cables) works well, but only for phones with screens up to 6'. At least there is the benefit of USB ports, types 1 and 1.5 A. There is connection with the Android Auto and Apple Carplay interfaces.

The two-slide sunroof is beautiful and very functional. Additionally, it serves to entertain children on long trips.

Performance

The 2021 Honda CR-V Touring maintains the 1.5 turbo engine with direct injection from the 2020 line, as well as the CVT transmission and 4x4 traction. The four-cylinder gasoline engine generates 190 hp and 24.5 mkgf of torque. Despite the good numbers, the powertrain is not exciting. Especially in sprints, such as when leaving traffic lights.

However, once it takes off, the 2021 CR-V Touring seems to get smarter. And it goes well when regaining speed, as occurs when overtaking. In other words, the behavior is that of a model focused on families. The ample internal space confirms this. There is a distance of 2.66 meters between the axles and the trunk has easy access. In fact, there is 522 liters of capacity with all seats occupied. The Honda accommodates up to five adults and their luggage well.

According to the brand, with one liter of gasoline the car can travel up to 11 km in the city and 12.3 km on the highway. Thanks to improvements in start&stop, which turns the engine off and on again by itself. (From the Editor)