STREAM (To be launched in Japan the 13^th July 2006)

About the Stream, well, as you can see, the information has finally leaked from Honda, and there are several magazines showing pictures from both the exterior and the interior of the car, together with the first specifications. Actually, I have even seen them in the TOV forum on the last CR-V news item.

The past generation of the Stream was presented as a new receipt, a minivan that was supposed to offer both the image and the driving experience of a compact sporty car. After watching the first photos and specifications, it seems clear that the new generation remains strongly committed to the same philosophy. From the outside, the Stream’s style builds up on the current generation of the JDM Honda Odyssey, which has been a major sales success in Japan, and it could easily be mistaken with a sports station wagon, where as the interior reminds me more of the past gen Honda Integra/Acura RSX than anything else.

Size wise, the Stream is just as large as the current version, but Honda has somehow managed to lower the car 45mm more, which makes it enter already into Station Wagon territory. Knowing Honda, I’m pretty sure that they’ll claim they’ve done it while at least maintaining every interior measure. In any case, it remains a 7 seater (by Japanese standards). The fact that the width remains at 1695mm could be an indication of something that has been suggested several times, which is that the new Stream may not make it out of Japan. I’m sure many people will regret it.

From a mechanical point of view, the most interesting news is the confirmation of a new 2.0L engine mated to a CVT transmission (with 7 speed manual mode). Unfortunately, it won’t be the much awaited new generation of VTEC. Instead, the Stream will use an upsized version of the current 1.8L i-VTEC Civic engine. By that means, I wouldn’t be surprised if the new 2.0L mated with Honda’s CVT is able to match the fuel economy figures of its 1.8L 5AT sibling. Also, going from the bigger 2.0L DOHC to the much more compact R20, Honda may have been able to save crucial cabin space, and that may have helped to reduce exterior packaging. It will be interesting to see if this engine makes it to other Honda cars globally.

For those who think that the R20 engine code might be a typo on the spec table of CarTop:
1^st) The magazine also clearly states it in their text.
2^nd) If you check the displacement (1991cc - CarTop says 81.0x96.5mm BorexStroke), it’s not a K20A (1998cc)
3^rd) You can check on the official leaked Honda spec-sheet that the 2.0L engine is indeed 1991cc.

As for the platform, I haven’t been able to find anything on this edition of MagX or Car Top. So it remains to be seen if it’s Global Civic based or Euro Civic based (which is ultimately Fit based).

Finally, you can clearly see the sporty ambitions of the new Stream by the mere existence of the so called RSZ versions in both 1.8L and 2.0L trims. 17” standard alloy wheels in a Civic based Honda minivan is not something we are used to.

CR-V (World debut this fall)

This time there is some additional info from MagX. The top-cover picture is the one that was taken in Australia and that we’ve seen already in TOV, but I thought that this version was better than other scan’s we’ve seen so far when concerning the rear window.

What MagX has to say, apart from claiming that they’ve been right since the beginning with the CR-V style (and they show all their previous scoop issues to proof it), is about powertrains and release dates. They claim that the new CR-V will be:

- Powered by three different engines: 2.4L (to be used in Japan and I guess also NA) and 2.0L gasoline (to be use at least in Europe), and a 2.2L Diesel engine (which I doubt will make it out of Europe). The 2.4L engine will be mated with a 5AT.

- Loaded with high-tech features (although that may be more accurate for Japanese and European versions than for American ones).

- A global model making its public debut in this year’s Paris Auto Show (starting the 30^th September).

If this is true, I guess that Honda would use an updated version of the current 2.4L i-VTEC unit for NA market. But with the new Stream making its debut in Japan, and the current CR-V already powered by the 2.2L diesel, I wonder if we can expect the new R20 in the European CR-V, or if Honda will introduce some updates to their Diesel engine starting with the CR-V.