A fast wagon with small-car finesse

Honda's most luxurious Civic wagon goes fast, with small-car finesse

WASHINGTON--My assistant, Ria Manglapus, normally drives city-suburban routes in testing vehicles. I usually cruise highways. But circumstances required us to switch roles in our evaluation of the 2007 Honda Civic CR-V EX-L--another station wagon masquerading as a sport-utility model.

Ria had a round-trip journey of about 380 miles to Norfolk, Va., with sons Bori and Q in tow. The Manglapus trio often picks up other family members and friends when they travel. The CR-V, available with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, has comfortable seating for five.

My time in the CR-V was scheduled for local shopping trips with my wife, Mary Anne. That meant city-suburban commuting and many shopping-center parking lots.

At the end of our 10 days in the CR-V EX-L, Ria and I compared notes. Our conclusion: The front-wheel-drive version of the CR-V is a smart choice for the highway. And unlike real sport-utility vehicles, it isn't stupid for the city.

Ria averaged 29 miles per gallon in the CR-V in her highway runs. She also saved money at the pump, because the CR-V uses regular unleaded gasoline. That's smart.

I averaged 21 mpg in the CR-V in city driving--not great, but not bad either, especially considering that I spent much of that time wasting gasoline idling in traffic jams. But the best part of city life in the CR-V was parking. It was a cinch--easy in, easy out. It often fit into spots that proved too small for mid- and full-size sport-utility vehicles.

Of course, fuel economy and parking ease aren't the only factors marking a car or truck as worthy. There are matters of safety, road manners and fun to consider. We pay attention to those things. But this column is more concerned about how cars and trucks blend into a real world of limits--household budgets, neighborhood streets with pedestrians and bicycle lanes, highways with speed limits, cities with limited parking space, and suburbs with two-car garages and homeowners' associations.

We are not Car and Driver or Road and Track magazines. Most of our audience seldom, if ever, drives on race tracks. Our ``car enthusiasts'' are people who buy and operate cars and trucks with their own money.

Thus, when we look at a vehicle such as the CR-V, we view it from a more inclusive definition of ``performance.'' For example, if it is a family vehicle, can it comfortably accommodate a family on a long road trip? Ria's drive proved that the tested CR-V EX-L can do that and

``It pampers you,'' Ria wrote in her notes. The EX-L is the most luxurious version of the of the CR-V line, which also includes the base LX and the mid-level EX.

Leather-covered seats, onboard navigation with voice recognition, a rearview camera, XM Satellite Radio, and a sunglass holder with a ``conversation mirror''--a nifty device that helps parents keep an eye on children in the back seats--are all standard on the CR-V EX-L.

Normally, it takes about three hours to drive to Norfolk. But Ria ran into heavy Easter traffic. ``It took 5 1/2 hours,'' she wrote. ``The traffic was unbearable.'' But being in the well-crafted cabin of the CR-V eased her tension, she wrote. ``It was so comfortable the boys fell asleep--even without pillows.''

And Ria experienced something on the highway that I discovered in the city: Although it is a wagon with a relatively small, 166-horsepower, in-line four-cylinder engine, the CR-V is fast and agile. ``It had enough power to weave in and out of traffic and get ahead safely,'' she wrote.

In the city, the CR-V moved with the finesse of a smaller, tighter vehicle. Is there any fun in driving a wagon/crossover utility model? In the CR-V, the answer is an unqualified ``Yes.''

We like the CR-V. We like all of the luxury touches in the EX-L version. But our real-world assessment is that the less expensive but well-equipped EX model makes more sense for the pocketbooks of most families.

It comes down to how much you are able and willing to spend. But in any format--LX, EX, or EX-L, front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive--the CR-V is a winner.

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