The Honda dashboard is functional yet not particularly inspiring, but it feels robust. The quality of the plastics has been improved, but you get better quality with a BMW X3 and a Land Rover Freelander.

The seating position is excellent, however, and visibility is good out of both the front and rear. The dashboard layout is logical but the stereo controls can be a little fiddly and they are not that user-friendly.

The ride is a little firm and it can get somewhat unsettled on poorly surfaced roads – this may be because we drove the car on 18-inch alloys, and the smaller 17-inch ones might offer a more cosseting ride.

Honda has reduced the noise coming into the cabin by three decibels, which means a really serene environment inside the cabin.

Seats have plenty of adjustment but they are too flat – you sit on them rather than sit in them.