New 4Gen CR-V fully revealed !

A very sharp eye'ed reader and a very net-savvy TOV 'head' led us to the discovery of pictures of the new 4Gen CR-V on an european patent website. Apparently Honda has filed patents in Europe for the 4Gen CR-V and thanks to a lead from TOV reader Frank Opperman, TOV 'head' Jeff Palmer found computer generated 3D diagrams of the 4Gen CR-V on the website.

These diagrams more or less shows exactly how the new CR-V will look like. The computer graphic above is one of the diagrams and there are five more, from all angles of the car, available at our news and rumours article here.

Spy photos of a brand new Acura model !!

And meanwhile in our own U.S./Canada site (Temple Of VTEC), the excitement and attention are currently all focussed on spy-shots we just procured of the much awaited brand new Acura model, which has been called the 'sub-TSX' thus far. The photos are of a car shrouded in a flowery camouflage pattern which Honda has recently taken up (first seen in the new Euro Civic when it was being road tested) but the basic design can still be seen. According to people with connections, Honda has been extremely tight-lipped on any details about this car so nothing is known about engine or transmission specs. Brenda Priddy, from whom we bought the spy-shots from says sources are inclining to this as being the revival of the RSX (known as the Integra outside of the U.S.) which if true would be very exciting. The spy shots are of a four-door sedan but talks are that a coupe and a convertible version are also in the works.

Acura has been pursueing a rather erratic course lately in an attempt to establish itself as a credible entity apart from the Honda namebrand in the U.S., so it is uncertain if this new model will show up outside of the U.S. or not. There are a number of Acura models like the RDX, Ridgeline, ZDX, etc which are exclusively U.S. only (and the yanks often complains about how Honda keeps models to within Japan only. Pity those of us in the rest of the world ! Hahahah !!)

Our new and rumours article, with the rest of the photos (four in total) is located here -> http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1003309

Best spy-shots of CR-V yet

From both autoblog.com and the carscoop blog comes the best spy photos of the soon to be launched 4Gen CR-V yet seen by Honda enthusiasts. The bonus is both these sites are presenting different photos, with autoblog.com giving us 12 photos and the carscoop 9, making it a total of 21 very clear, closeup photos of the brand new CR-V !

The CR-V is one of Honda's most successful and most popular models so a lot of attention is being paid to this FMC. Being a global model, this means spy-photos of the car anywhere will be applicable to everywhere in the world, with only engine, drivetrain and trim differences. So if you are interested in the CR-V and is split between the current one and waiting for the new one, these photos should be of great interest to you.

The relevant sites to go are :
1. Autoblog.com CR-V spy-photos
2. Carscoop blog CR-V spy-photos

Note : the photo above is taken from the carscoop blog

New engine for US CR-V

Information from the Automotive News website is supporting rumours of a new engine to debut with the new 4Gen CR-V for the US market. This new engine is given the code 'K25' by the AN website which goes on to quote a specification of 201hp at 5,500rpm and a max torque of 170lbft (about 23kgm). Transmission is widely expected to remain unchanged with the current 5AT. The relevant news and rumours article in our site regarding this rumour is at http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1002394. The graphic above is taken from the AN website.

Note that this engine is unlikely to make it to Asia, given that we don't even have a K24 CR-V over here in most parts of the region. It is likely that the new 4Gen CR-V for Asia will continue to use the R20A engine though it is not known if it will retain the current i-VTEC implementation (to reduce pumping loss through the intake mainfold) or a revised one like the R18A on the new 9Gen USDM Civic.

Revisions for Honda Insight

At the same (Frankfurt Motor) show, Honda also showed a slightly revised Honda Insight. Honda says the revised Insight produced a much lower 96g/km of CO2, the first Honda hybrid to achieve this. Honda has been reported as saying the gain is from a series of enhancements, which include reduced engine friction, changes to the CVT transmission and to the air conditioning that benefits from a new cold storage system. Other changes are to the exterior (front grill, bumpers, etc), improved interior, and also an addition of two new interior colours. Two new exterior colours are also available. More significant changes are improvements to rear visibility and rear passenger headroom has also been adjusted. Revisions have been made to the engine and suspension for an overall improvement to ride comfort and stability.

TOVA notes : When Honda Malaysia launched the Insight late last year, I was told by the LPL that the rear headroom for our units have already been increased by 20mm. Now this revision for Europe also mentions an 'adjustment' to the rear headroom so I wonder if they are the same or has the revision now given even more than 20mm extra headroom over the original Insight. Interestingly, the Malaysian units are supposed to also feature revisions to the suspension for better ride, compared to initial version and this Frankfurt Motor Show revision talks about the same thing. I am wondering if this revised Insight is the same as the one we have already been enjoying.

Latest Update (Sep 16 2011) : When I enquired with Honda Malaysia, I was told that the Malaysia (and thus ASEAN) Insights do not feature the updates above. Unfortunately (and expectedly so) they are unable to inform me when Malaysian Insights will receive these updates. Do note that this does not in any way invalidate your purchase or interest in the current Insight as it is indeed a very good car especially given the very good price.

New 9Gen EURO Civic launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show

Honda launched the new 9Gen EURO Civic at the just started 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Offered only in 5-door hatchback form, Honda says the car will reach showrooms early next year. The new 9Gen EURO Civic is offered with 3 engine choices; 1.4 i-VTEC, 1.8 i-VTEC, and 2.2 i-DTEC (diesel), delivering max powers of 100ps, 142ps and 150ps respectively. Here are some links for you to check the car out:

Announcement at world.honda.com
Frankfurt Motor Show preview at world.honda.com
Official press photos at Temple Of VTEC

4G CR-V expected to debut in the U.S. in November

From posting in our TOV forums by Honda dealers in the U.S., it is generally believed that the new 4th Gen CR-V will debut in the U.S. as a 2012 model somewhere in November perhaps latest December of this year. What prompted several dealers to believe the launch is impending is the online order database called MOVE and the fact that orders are accepted only up to around November of this year. Another well connected Honda salesperson posted about his frustration getting advance info on the new CR-V, noting that except for features like USB, Bluetooth and iMid, he has been unable to get any indication of engine or transmission specs, something he could get hints about for other models.

The US launch date of November-December 2011 for the new 4Gen CR-V do jive with the insider info given to Tova-Honda-Fan by one of our readers, that the 4G CR-V will probably launch here around the 2nd quarter time frame of next year. It also tallies with the subtle body and unspoken verbal language from my 'friends' when I last talked to them about this new CR-V for Malaysia and ASEAN in general.

Note that the photo above is an official photo supplied by AHM for the 'concept' 4Gen CR-V which is believed to be very close to the actual production model.

Update : latest posts in the TOV forums supports the suggestion of a December launch date for the US 4Gen '2012' CR-V. The main debate now centers on the engine and transmission specifications.