Our regular reader from the UAE Arjun Shrie who previously updated us on the Civic's entry into the Middle East has returned with a few photographs and information on the CR-V for the Middle East. Arjun says the CR-V was launched yesterday in Dubai and the dealers have already registered 100 bookings. In India there are no signs of this model, Honda India's continuous focus is on fast-forwarding deliveries of Brio, City and Jazz.
Over to you Mr Shrie!
The UAE market previously sourced the Honda CR-V from Japan until last year's twin disaster that sent supply into a downward spiral. After the disasters Honda gradually moved supply for the UAE from Japan to USA. Now the new Honda CR-V, New Civic, Accord and Oddysey (MPV) are shipped from USA.
The 2012 Honda CR-V continues to be powered by the same 2.4-litre 4-cylinder engine, with power now bumped up to 188 hp and a meaty torque rating of 222 Nm. A 5-speed automatic transmission, carried over from the previous model, is standard. Honda talks of an improved all-wheel-drive system that sends most of the drive to the front wheels but can send torque to the rear wheels anytime, unlike the old system that used to wait for the front wheels to lose traction before shifting to the rear axle. The CR-V is a mild off-roader and cannot do serious mud plugging.
The cabin has space for five and retains the textured hard-plastic demeanor but that is not to say that the interior is unattractive.
The new CR-V in the UAE is offered in three flavors - LX, EX and EX-L (Leather).
The LX gets 17-inch alloys, a 4-speaker stereo with CD and AUX port, mirror-mounted indicators, ABS, stability control and front airbags. The higher EX and EX-L models get 18-inch wheels, a 6-speaker stereo with USB/AUX ports, cruise control, HID headlights, fog lamps, dual-zone auto AC, sunroof, Bluetooth pairing, rear camera and an “i-MID” LCD display.
The EX-L additionally gets side/curtain airbags, leather interior and electrically powered driver seat.
