Revealed by Fleet World last month, the 2015 model brings a new diesel engine plus a newly developed nine-speed automatic transmission and the world debut of the Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control (i-ACC) system.

The new 158bhp 1.6-litre i-DTEC four-cylinder diesel unit is from Honda’s Earth Dreams Technology series and is available in 4WD only. The Euro 6-compliant unit is unique to the European market and replaces the 2.2-litre i-DTEC diesel unit, bringing 10bhp more power and reduced CO2 emissions – down from 149g/km to 129g/km when mated to the six-speed manual transmission – along with fuel economy from 42.8mpg to 57.7mpg / 4.9 l/100

The i-DTEC is joined by the previous 118bhp diesel engine in two-wheel drive form and the 153bhp i-VTEC petrol unit with two and four-wheel drive.

The 2015 CR-V will also be available with a newly developed nine-speed automatic transmission replacing the previous five-speed automatic. The new gearbox brings responsive performance along with reduced fuel consumption and noise level at cruising speeds.

And the new CR-V also features a world first in the new i-ACC system, which comes as part of the optional Honda SENSING Pack, available on the EX version of petrol and diesel CR-V.

Developed in house and specifically for European roads and driving styles, the new system constantly scans the road ahead to accurately predict the likelihood of drivers cutting in front when motorway driving.

Prices will start from £22,340 OTR for the entry-level 2.0 i-VTEC manual S grade 2WD model and will top out at £35,620 for the new 1.6 i-DTEC 160PS 4WD nine-speed automatic.