The current Honda CR-V has been around since 2016, and despite a mild facelift in 2020, the Japanese company is getting ready for an all-new seventh-generation model. The new CR-V has been spied by our photographers during testing on public roads, revealing its larger body and a few design details under the camouflage. The all-new model is expected to be unveiled in the first half of 2022. This is not the first time we see a prototype of the upcoming CR-V as Honda’s midsize SUV has been spied before in March 2021. There was also a speculative rendering published just a few days ago showing an evolutionary design.
As we can see from the camouflaged prototype it seems like the new CR-V will be a clean-sheet design that will share a few cues from the smaller HR-V. The hood is longer, the rear shoulders are more pronounced and the rear windscreen is more heavily inclined. Where there is heavy camouflage on the wheel arches, from certain angles we can see the sculpted profile of the SUV. At the front, the thinner LED headlights look like they are divided by a chrome strip running through the grille, while at the back, the horizontally-arranged taillights are less pronounced than before.
The new generation CR-V will bring a number of technology upgrades including a new digital instrument cluster and a considerably larger infotainment touchscreen – an area where the current model is showing its age. We also expect the option of a three-row 7-seat layout or a 5-seat with a larger boot. The CR-V already excels in the practicality department, and the larger new generation will probably be even better.
With its focus on electrification, Honda is expected to give the CR-V the e:HEV badge, following the Jazz and HR-V. Similar to those models, it will probably be hybrid-only in Europe, where the emission regulations are stricter. The pictured test car features two exhaust pipes at the back and no indication of a charging port so we suspect it could have a self-charging hybrid system, just like the current model. We will learn more about Honda’s Toyota RAV4 and Nissan Rogue challenger as we get closer to its reveal date sometime in 2022.
