HONDA’S engineers have slotted the company’s super frugal, low emission 1.6 diesel engine from the Civic under the bonnet of the Honda CR-V.
They’ve also whipped off the car’s four-wheel drive, lightened it up, and delivered a low-tax version of the popular SUV.
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CO2 emissions of the new front-wheel drive 120PS Honda CR-V 1.6 diesel are 119g/km, putting it in the 18% company car tax band for 2013/14.
Fuel economy is 62.8mpg, the CR-V beating its closest economy rival, the 61.4mpg Mazda CX-5 two-wheel drive diesel.
Final prices have yet to be cast in stone, but Lee Wheeler, Honda’s corporate sales manager, said he expected the Honda CR-V 1.6 diesel range to start at £23,000.
There will be three grades available – S, SE and SR. However, there will not be a top-spec ES model with the 1.6; that’s only available with the larger and less tax-efficient 2.2 diesel engine.
Lee confirmed that all three grades would have alloy wheels as standard, electric windows, DAB digital radio and six-speed manual gearbox. However, the top spec SR model will have CO2 emissions above 119g/km, a penalty for the bigger wheels.
Honda CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC ranges details are:
- Honda CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC S – 17 inch alloys, sat nav optional, 119g/km
- Honda CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC SE – 17 inch alloys, sat nav optional, 119g/km
- Honda CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC SR – 18 inch alloys, standard sat nav, leather optional, TBAg/km
Lee said he expected the Honda CR-V 1.6 diesel to open up the CR-V’s appeal to larger corporates – “many don’t allow four-wheel drive or have a cap at 120g/km CO2 emissions” – but also to SMEs and small fleets with its low running costs.
“We don’t have final whole life costings yet,” said Lee, “but we will have a competitive business car lease offer from Honda Contract Hire when it launches. I also think small items, like the £30 road fund licence for such a large car, will appeal to small businesses with an eye on costs.”
Honda says there are no plans to produce an automatic version of the 1.6 diesel CR-V or a four-wheel drive version.
“All the engineering focus has gone into reducing weight and honing the ride and car’s balance. Reintroducing weight – with an auto box or four-wheel drive – would go against this,” commented Lee.
The new Honda CR-V 1.6 diesel, which is built at Honda’s Swindon plant, goes on sale in October