The 2015 Honda CR-V facelift has been unveiled in Thailand, which marks the debut of the 'ASEAN' version of the car. The US and Europe versions have already been showcased.
What our neighbours up north will get is important for us to take note of as it will give a hint of what we will eventually get when the car is launched here.
In terms of exterior looks, the ASEAN CR-V gets the same revised bumpers, "Solid Wing Face" grille and DRL-equipped headlamps as the European market CR-V. The US market CR-V facelift looks slightly different because their regulations call for a different front bumper design - from what we see, the difference here is mainly the bumper underguard design.
Another difference between between the US and Euro CR-V facelifts is the Euro model gets larger wing mirrors, which the ASEAN version also gets. Our alloy wheels are the same design as the US market version, while the European version (still called a "prototype" at the moment) was fitted with five V-spoke alloys.
Under the hood, the 2.0 litre variant soldiers on with a 155 hp, 190 Nm four cylinder engine mated to a five-speed automatic. There are bigger changes to the 2.4 litre variant - like the US market facelift, the ASEAN 2.4 litre variant's gearbox has been swapped for a new CVT transmission.
Looks like we're not going to get the new ZF 9-speed automatic that accompanies the new 1.6 litre i-DTEC diesel engine in Europe, not in this model anyway.
The Thailand 2.4 litre engine has always been a little down on power compared to the Malaysian market version - it only made 170 hp and 220 Nm while our Malaysian spec 2.4 litre does 190 hp and 222 Nm. For the facelift, the Thai engine gets a small boost in power to 175 hp and 225 Nm. Our engines are all without direct injection though, while the US market 2.4 litre gets a direct injection engine.
The Thailand CR-V facelift gets new safety equipments similiar to that found in the Accord such as the Honda LaneWatch left side view camera and a three-angle reverse camera. The infotainment system now has a seven-inch touch screen system with HDMI input support.
Four variants are available - a 2.0 S which goes for 1,200,000 Baht, a 2.0 E 4WD for 1,325,000 Baht, a 2.4 EL for 1,495,000 Baht, and a 2.4 EL 4WD for 1,580,000 Baht. Five colours are available - Brown Copper Sunset Pearl, White Orchid Pearl, Alabama Sterling Silver Metallic, Black Crystal Pearl, and Grey Modern Steel Metallic. The last two colours come with a beige interior while the rest gets a black interior.
