Consumer Reports, one of the country's leading sources of automotive information, has made a series of tests on small sport utility vehicles. The results of the tests done by the group would be published and available in its February 2007 issue. And if you are going to be reading that issue, you would be able to find out that Consumer Reports has found the Honda CR-V to top the other four small SUVs that the magazine has tested.

Despite being the top scorer among the group that Consumer Reports tested, the Honda CR-V has yet quite a long way to travel still. According to the magazine, comparing the Honda CR-V to the Toyota RAV4, which has also took the top score for a batch of tests done a couple of months back, the Honda CR-V has still some aspects to make up for. The Honda CR-V has already been part of the top scorers in Consumer Reports studies and it has joined the ranks of vehicles like the Toyota RAV4, and the Subaru Forester is the small sport utility vehicles segment.

As per the current test results, the Honda CR-V was given a rating of "Very Good". This was what the vehicle received for its overall performance score. The vehicle had to contend with four other vehicles namely the Honda Element, the Jeep Compass, the Saturn Vue Green Line, and the Chevrolet Equinox. The vehicles were tested and graded according to the magazine's criteria of what makes a good small SUV. Overall, the magazine was looking for a vehicle that was well-rounded. Specific criteria include good delivery and performance of the vehicle, flexibility of the interior, good fuel economy, as well as road proficiency. It was not mentioned though if the availability of parts, like Honda parts, were also considered.

The Honda CR-V was previously designed to have a boxy type of style. However, the new version holds a sleek kind of design and looks more like a car. It has gone through much improvement so much so that Consumer Reports has found the new Honda CR-V to have more straightforward controls. The interior has also changed so much so that drivers and passengers alike are going to love being inside the vehicle.

For power, the Honda CR-V gets it from its 2.4 liter engine with four cylinders. The engine has got the capacity and capability to produce 166 units of horsepower. This can give the vehicle just the right amount of acceleration and speed. To assist the engine, the vehicle also has been mounted with a five speed automatic transmission that makes the driving and ride experience to be more responsive and quite smoother.

If you are interested in knowing more about the whole Consumer Reports take on small SUVs, you should be able to purchase the February 2007 issue of the magazine on newsstands already. It has already hit stands just this 9th. The issue just does not include the whole report on small SUVs. There are also other interesting things included like ratings of portable and mobile Global Positioning Systems (GPS) navigators. There are also some reports on test drives done on two vehicles - the Chevrolet Avalanche and the Ford Explorer Sport Trac.