Honda’s Comfortable Runabout Vehicle (or CR-V for short) is a legend in the crossover space. Though the Toyota RAV4 is widely regarded as the first proof of the crossover concept, the CR-V took the segment by storm when it launched a few years after the RAV4 in 1996.

Today, though, the landscape has grown significantly, and the CR-V now squares up against new competitors pushing the boundaries of design, technology, and propulsion. And so, it begs the question: Is there still room in the market for a no-frills mid-trim CR-V today?

Well, first looks reveal that the doors on this new CR-V are quite long, indicating how much the vehicle has grown over the decades. The exterior design is a return to Honda’s stylistic simplicity and elegance. It’s not extremely modern nor retrofuturistic nor boxy; the CR-V is very unassuming from the outside, and just blends into normal traffic. Black cladding gives it a more utilitarian look compared to the RS variant, but the vehicle is still quite sporty with the gloss-black honeycomb grille.

Inside, I absolutely adore what Honda has achieved with this interior. A meeting of old and new, it mixes contemporary style and technology with the straightforward functionality of a simpler time. Tactile buttons and knobs are available for everything important such as HVAC controls. Front and center is a modest nine-inch screen that won’t look gaudy and too outdated in a few years’ time, yet the car still sports modern functionalities like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The gauge cluster is fully digital, but Honda has resisted the temptation to integrate fancy animations and chosen to stick with clean and legible graphics. There’s a splash of wood trim on the dash and the door cards as was common in the ’90s to soften the space and provide a bit of warmth. The interior surfaces feel great to the touch and are made with hard-wearing materials that won’t flake or peel or scratch through constant use.

The cabin is large and airy with more than ample legroom for all passengers. The third row is neither exceptionally tight nor amazingly generous—par for the course within this segment.

As for electronics and tech, the CR-V VX is loaded with a laundry list of passive and active safety systems and driver aids. Adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow is particularly useful in bumper-to-bumper traffic, but features like 360° cameras, blind-spot monitors, and vehicle hold also add to your ease of use.

Being a Honda, the experience behind the wheel is exceptional. The steering is lovely; variable weight means it’s light at a parking-lot pace and beautifully weighted once you get going. The ride is soft yet poised, and does a good job of attenuating the harshness of the outside world (or a lunatic driver such as myself).

The 1.5-liter turbocharged engine is responsive, and is mapped exceptionally well. Despite being a small-displacement mill tuned to churn out 187hp and 240Nm, it’s neither peaky nor laggy. There is turbo lag present, but it goes unnoticed for the most part. The transition between on and off boost is so subtle that it feels more like a 2.0-liter. The only time you are ever made aware of its actual displacement is when you try to drive over curbs or tall humps from a standstill. We achieved a fuel consumption of 6.8km/L in the city—about as good as Mazda’s 3.3-liter in-line-six mild hybrid.

One thing that grinds my gears, though, is the lack of gears in the CR-V. The fact that the CVT—given its infinitely variable gear ratios—is most likely responsible for making the most out of the 1.5-liter engine is not lost on me. However, the jarring sensation of accelerating while the transmission holds 3,000rpm like a lawn mower is simply not a pleasurable experience.

Honda has done a lot of work to improve its CVTs, and this certainly is leaps and bounds ahead of the first CVTs Honda introduced in the GD-generation City and Jazz. For the most part, it attempts to mimic a traditional automatic to give the driver a more normal driving experience,  but you will inevitably notice it holding steady gears. If you set that aside though, this is an impressive engine-and-tranny combo.

This VX AWD variant is the sensible CR-V. It sports a good mix of features—plus AWD—making it a solid value proposition. Though it lacks the hybrid tech and the fancy looks of other seven-seater crossovers like the Hyundai Santa Fe or even its own more expensive RS sibling, it does use a tried-and-tested formula that promises reliability and performance for many years to come.