2012 Honda CR-V Breaks Cover

Making its world premiere in final production guise at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show today is the all-new, fourth generation Honda CR-V that will first go on sale in the States as a 2012 model on December 15th, and the rest of the world next year.

Honda had prepared us for the new CR-V's evolutionary looks through a thinly disguised concept model that was displayed at the Orange County International Auto Show in California in late September.

The transition from concept to production reality didn't bring many changes other than a less aggressive choice of wheels, a matte instead of a glossy finish for the plastic cladding on the body, and clear graphics on the headlamps and tail lamps.

The new 2012 CR-V looks sleeker than its predecessor and has a more aggressive stance thanks in part to the new roofline and the Volvo-esque rear end design.

At 178.5-in. long, 71.6-in. wide and 65.1-in. tall with a 103.1-in. wheelbase, the new model retains the same width and wheelbase measurements with the previous CR-V, but is 0.8-in. shorter in overall length and 1-in. in height.

Inside, the 2012 CR-V boasts a fresh design that looks more premium and which includes multi-layered instrument panel gauges. New technologies include a Pandora internet radio interface, an SMS text reading and response function through the new intelligent Multi-Information Display (i-MID) on models equipped with Honda's navigation system.

The CR-V continues to be a 5-seater model with a standard "Easy Fold-Down" 60/40 split rear seat. According to Honda, there's 39.3 inches of headroom (LX model) and an increased passenger volume of 104.1 cu-ft., up 0.3 cu-ft. (LX model).

Underneath the skin, the 2012 model introduces an updated 2.4-liter i-VTEC 4-cylinder engine with 185 horsepower and 163 lb-ft. of torque (up 5HP and 2 lb-ft over the previous engine) paired with a standard 5-speed automatic transmission.

In addition, the 2012 CR-V gets an available, all-new Real Time All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) with Intelligent Control System.

According to Honda, the new FWD version of the CR-V returns an EPA-estimated fuel economy of 23 city, 31 highway and 26 mpg combined - an increase of +2/+3/+2 mpg over the previous model.

The AWD mode is rated at 22 city, 30 highway and 25 mpg combined - an increase of +1/+3/+2 mpg compared to the 2011 CR-V AWD.

We expect Honda to announce pricing within the next few weeks - if not days.