Honda's Cr-V

Our gripes about the '97 Honda CR-V centered around sluggish acceleration and its high entry price. For '98, Honda has addressed both problems, just not fully at the same time.

For its rookie season, the Civic-based sport/cute was imported in only one flavor: automatic transmission, on-demand four-wheel drive, and a host of uplevel equipment. This drove its base price to a lofty $19,300. Powered by a 2.0-liter/126-horse DOHC four that's soft on low-rpm torque, it could manage a leisurely 11.7-second 0-60-mph run. Also, its automatic hunted between gears trying to maintain freeway speed on the mildest uphills. Aggressive drivers didn't have the option of rowing a manual shifter to improve performance, while the frugal couldn't swap luxuries for lower payments.

For '98, American Honda expanded its order form to include CR-Vs with manual transmissions or-note that conjunction-front-drive only, and lower trim levels. The five-speed transforms the CR-V from a plodder to a competent rush-hour competitor. An assertive, high-rpm launch provided a surprising 9.4-second 0-60-mph sprint with a five-speed CR-V LX-an impressive improvement of a 2.3 seconds for those without a calculator. Meanwhile, ordering a front-driver in the lower LX trim plummets the CR-V's base price to $18,750. An uplevel EX, with standards like ABS, alloy wheels, keyless entry, and a CD player, and options like a roof rack, CD changer, and spoiler can race beyond $22,000.

Not available is a five-speed with front-wheel-drive. The lowest-priced CR-V, a front-driver basing at $18,350, comes only with an automatic, while the five-speed variant is fitted only to the more expensive 4WD system. Honda predicts but a quarter of CR-Vs will be ordered with five-speeds. Another 15 percent will be front-drive. Other than these hardware differences, the CR-V is unchanged for '98.

The CR-V drivetrain blurs the distinction between all- and four-wheel drive. In normal operation, the system-Honda calls it "Real Time 4WD"-sends all engine torque to the front wheels, while the rear differential snoozes. Front-wheel slip causes a pressure difference between a pair of hydraulic pumps, which prompts engagement of a clutch in the center differential to divert power sternward. It operates virtually instantaneously: We perceived but a hint of front tire slip before the rears got power.

The first CR-V offered most of the fun parts of an SUV-higher seating position, greater load-carrying capacity, light off-road ability, the image of freedom-plus much of the practicality of a small minivan and the comforts of a sedan. Now it's notably quicker or usefully cheaper, but not both at the same time.

Mercedes-Benz M-Class Accessory Buyer's Guide
The ML320 is like a blank canvas. As M-B's sport/utility was a clean-sheet design, very little in the way of accessories existed at the time of its introduction. But this rig is hot, so that's changing fast, as the fertile minds of the aftermarket have begun to introduce a raft of M-specific goodies. Here's a look at some of the new products just hitting the market for the M-Class, and there's certainly more to come.