Honda CR-V diesel: Credit where it's due: the marketing people at Honda have shown real ingenuity and originality with recent advertising campaigns. Both the "moving parts" advert for the Accord estate and the hypnotic mantra of "hate something, change something" for the firm's first diesel engine, are among the best car adverts of recent years.
But do the cars live up to the hype? Has Honda really changed the way we view diesel? Will the birds swoop in support as we drive past, will flowers bloom and sheep frollick?
It's the oil burning unit that has us back behind the wheel of the CR-V, the Japanese firm's definitive soft-roader. It was designed with US soccer mums in mind, so there was no need for a diesel even in its SUV entrant.
Yet an off-roader - whatever its mud-plugging ability - without a diesel option seems a little ridiculous. Only the likes of Porsche could get away with such antics.
Given the brand's strong engineering pedigree, it seems incredible that Honda took so long to come to the diesel party. It says it waited until it could build a diesel refined enough to feel like a petrol engine. Clearly, diesel characteristics are esteemed at Honda.
Yet, perhaps that's only part of the reasons. The key market for Honda remains the US, where diesel forecourts are the habitat of truckers, not middle-class mothers with a car full of kids. To succeed here, Honda simply didn't need diesel.
Attention has focussed on Europe now, however, and there's also a need to meet company-wide emissions and fuel consumption targets. Hence the introduction of the 2.2-litre diesel in the new Accord.
This relatively new engine is very impressive. When we first drove it in the Accord, Honda engineers were so confident it was better than its premium competitors that they offered us the chance to test it against equivalent offerings from Audi and BMW. It made the Audi seem ancient and even challenged the BMW's impressive torque potential.
The timing of the diesel launch coincided with moves to push the brand upmarket here, as a real contender against the German brands. It has the engineering pedigree to do so, even if the model range fails to match up to premium end choices; there's no flagship corporate cruiser for example.
Honda's Accord can certainly hang out with the likes of the 3-Series and the A4, though it fails to deliver much on styling, apart from the distinctive Tourer Estate.
As for diesel, the engineers have certainly delivered, offering fuel consumption and torque delivery while keeping rattle to a minimum - they've even added some petrol sounds through the exhaust system.
So, if it's so good in the Accord, surely it would suit the CR-V too. Alas no. In the CR-V, the diesel offers plenty of punch and all the pulling power you would desire for a soft-roader. It feels at home in this high-roofed family hatchback, but where it disappoints is in noise quality. Honda, in its haste to get the new diesel engine into its soft-roader range, seems to have left off some of the ultra effective sound proofing that features in the Accord.
The result is a traditional diesel with all the cold-morning clatter and traffic-idling rattle one expects from oil burners. Inside the cabin, there's less noise, and the low set body matched to the heavier front end makes the car's handling all that more refined. It's only when you get out that the noise catches up with you.
The car's most enjoyable feature is the low-end torque, available upon request at traffic lights and during overtaking.
The 138bhp on offer is more than adequate for a vehicle of its size and both top speed and acceleration times are comparable with the best of the rest. Fuel consumption is also quite impressive, topping 40mpg.
On pricing, Honda has stuck to its guns, aiming at the premium end of the market. At €42,515 it's in line with the likes of the Land Rover Freelander. However, it's a full €10,000 less than the BMW X3. While the BMW has the badge that counts, the CR-V is both longer and taller than the Bavarian.
The CR-V has done remarkably well for Honda, despite the lack of any sort of styling. It's rather square, squat shape and relatively small wheels make it look an odd buy for people looking for some bulk in their motoring diet.
The ride quality is good and the handling remains at the top end of the market. It's also quite spacious inside and the regular boot is up among the best in class before the rear seats are folded down.
It's greatest failing in our mind is the interior trim, which looks rather drab. Though made of good strong plastics, it lacks the refinement one would hope for this price. Then again, its competitors, even the X3, don't exactly wow us with plush trim.
Whether the diesel option will win new converts to the CR-V remains to be seen. The big sellers here, such as Hyundai's Santa Fe and Tucson, are significantly cheaper, but the CR-V is more of a premium product.
The Honda reputation for reliability should win favour with suburban soft-roaders. Honda, a relatively small player, has been quiet over the past few years, despite some real stars in its line-up, in particular the supermini Jazz. There's also real potential for growth with the new Civic, due for launch later this year and looking every bit as eyecatching as its competitors.
However, this CR-V has all the traits of regular diesels on the market, if more refined in performance. In the Accord the engine offers the sort of diesel unit one would expect from a firm full of petrolheads: muted and powerful. In the CR-V it loses some of the all-important sound-proofing.
In the Accord, the diesel did change our views on oil burners. Here in the CR-V it's really just another diesel entrant, lacking that touch of originality that so wowed us with the Accord.
