Dreams are powerful things. They can inspire us, forewarn us and scare us but they don’t, in all probability, ever have a Honda CR-V at the heart of them.

The Japanese firm would, of course, prefer things to be different but while we might gaze wishfully at the NSX or, if you prefer your thrills on two wheels, the Fireblade a run-of the-mill SUV will just never tug on our hearts in quite the same way.

There’s also the not-too-small matters of cost and practicality: Most of us would have to remortgage our homes to pay for an NSX and neither it nor the Fireblade are the first words in practicality and, sadly, practicality is right at the heart of most of our purchase decisions.

And so here we are, back at the CR-V, wondering not how fast it goes round corners or how quickly it will reach 62mph (9.2 seconds in case you were actually wondering) but will it carry five passengers and their luggage, in comfort and how much strain will fuel consumption put on our wallets.

If you want to know the answer to those particular questions, and indeed others that you might not have even thought of asking, then you’ll have to read on.

One thing you are generally guaranteed in cars of this ilk is a comfortable, and commanding, seating position and the CR-V delivers on both counts. The pedals, seat and steering wheel all line up nicely and there’s a generous amount of adjustment – both reach and rake – in the steering column. On EX trim, reviewed here, the seats adjust electrically. Lower trims only offer electrical assistance on lumbar support.

You won’t be left wanting for space in the front of the CR-V. Push the front seats all the way back and there’s a enough room to accommodate even the leggiest of passengers while there’s absolutely loads of headroom, even in my review car which was fitted with a panoramic sunroof.

There’s ample elbow room too, with a good-sized armrest between driver and front-seat passenger. Beneath that is a huge cubby with a tray that you can slide fore and aft or even remove entirely which, impressively, leaves enough space for a laptop. Unfortunately the door bins are a bit narrow and the glovebox on the small side.

Room in the back is even more impressive. The doors open nice and wide so getting in and out is easy and, once you’re in there, there’s simply a vast amount of space. Head and leg room easily match the best in class and there’s plenty of room for six pairs of feet across the floor – thanks in no small part to an almost invisible central tunnel – and three bums across the rear bench because of the car’s generous width.

The slim front pillars and deep front side windows allow for a decent view at junctions while the large door mirrors make it easy to monitor what’s happening around the flanks. The windowline tapers gently towards the rear and, in fact, the view out the back is decent.

As an added bonus you get front and rear parking sensors and rear-view camera is standard on all but the entry-level S-trim. LED headlights are standard right across the range.

There’s a decent amount of soft-touch plastics and leather(ish) materials wrapped around the upper areas of the dashboard, some stitched leather on the door panels, gloss black inserts and metal-effect highlights that all give the cabin an upmarket ambience.

It’s well put together, as well, as long as you don’t look too hard. There are examples, here and there, where it doesn’t quite live up to the standards set by some of its closest rivals. The door handles, for example, flex if you give them a firm pull.

The dashboard layout is the same as the one you’ll find in the Civic. That means you get the same digital instruments and, unlike the displays in the Citroen C5 Aircross and VW Tiguan, they’re not configurable. It is, though, easy to read and the rest of the controls are large, thoughtfully positioned and simple to operate.

The entertainment system is disappointing. The touchscreen is, by today’s standards, a diminutive seven inches (and that’s the larger version). The resolution is low, the software slow to respond to inputs and the menu system could hardly be described as intuitive.

Thankfully Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring is standard from SE trim so you can, if you want to (and you will), avoid Honda’s offering. SE trim does also include built-in sat-nav – though if you’ve got your mobile plugged in you won’t be using this either – four USB sockets and a nine-speaker stereo. In comparison, S trim has a positively tiny five-inch touchscreen and just one USB socket.

The 2.0 i-MMD driven here pairs a petrol engine with a small battery pack. It’s lively, with the CVT gearbox responding instantly when you put your foot down and there’s plenty of grunt to propel you to motorway speeds without any fuss.

The suspension is on the soft side so you get a comfortable, compliant ride over most surfaces. Even the most intimidating of potholes are dealt with effortlessly and it feels smooth and steady over higher frequency imperfections.

There’s a significant, though not uncomfortable, amount of body lean in corners – this is a large SUV with a high centre of gravity after all – so it’s a little resistant to changing direction quickly but, on the plus side, the steering is nicely weighted and precise which does help you guide it accurately and confidently along narrow, twisty, country lanes.

There’s a fair amount of wind and road noise at motorway speeds and the CVT gearbox – as is the norm with these types of transmissions – does let the engine revs soar when you’re accelerating hard or tackling a steep incline and, as a result, engine noise starts to permeate the cabin. However, for most of the time, and particularly those moments when you’re trundling around on electrical power alone, the cabin can be eerily quiet.

For a big SUV the hybrid SUV offers genuine real-world efficiency. It’s let down a little by the below-par infotainment system and the CVT gearbox that, at times, can send the engine racing, but there is lots of room for both passengers and their luggage, it’s comfortable and pleasant to drive.

Honda CR-V 2.0 i-MMD Hybrid EX – AWD CVT

Price: £39,840

As tested: £40,390

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder petrol

Transmission: CVT

Max power: 107kW

Max torque: 220/243Nm @ 1,900 – 5,000rpm

Max speed: 112mph

0-62mph: 9.2sec

Fuel consumption (mpg)

Urban: 55.4

Extra urban: 49.6

Combined: 51.4

Emissions (CO2): 126g/km

For more information visit www.honda.co.uk

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