What’s in a name? The GTB in Ferrari 599 GTB stands for Gran Turismo Berlinetta. The SLR in Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren stands for Sport, Light, Racing.

So what, then, was Honda trying to say when it christened its soft-roader the CR-V? It wasn’t Cool Racing Van or even (as I and others have believed for some years) Compact Recreational Vehicle. In fact it stands for Comfortable Runabout Vehicle, which may just be the blandest description any manufacturer has ever coined to describe one of its cars.

Then again, when it comes to exciting car names Honda has always lagged behind its Japanese rivals. Toyota once named one of its cars the Estima Lucida G Luxury Joyful Canopy while Nissan countered with the Leopard J Ferie. There are many more, my personal favourite being the Mitsubishi Mum 500 Shall We Join Us.

What hope, then, for this all-new Comfortable Runabout Vehicle against such adventurously entitled opposition as the Land Rover Freelander, Hyundai Santa Fe and Nissan X-Trail? It goes on sale just before Christmas in three trim levels and with two engine options, priced from about £19,000 for a low spec car with a 1.8 litre engine to £25,000 for a top spec model with a 2.2 litre diesel motor.

Both engines produce 140bhp, though the diesel’s extra torque should make it convincingly the more sprightly performer, if not on paper then certainly on the public road.

Parked outside my house it looked a little odd, particularly at the back, but at least it’s more distinctive than the rather dull-looking CR-V it replaces. The airy cabin offers a big boot and good space but is let down by the detailing, particularly too many cheap, hard plastics and a dash that tries to blend analogue and digital readouts harmoniously and fails.

One missed trick is the lack of a third row of seats. These have been commonplace in mid-sized MPVs for years and while the Santa Fe is the only car in this class currently to offer a sixth and seventh seat, others are coming. At the same time parents up and down the land are discovering just how difficult it is to strap in three full-size booster seats across the back of any car, let alone a mid-size SUV. This means that if a family of five is to travel safely and legally three rows are now non-negotiable.

These gripes aside, the diesel CR-V I drove had many of the benefits of an SUV with few of the drawbacks. It’s quite light and only uses four-wheel drive when needed, so its fuel economy is more than passable (34.9mpg for the petrol motor, 43.5mpg for the diesel), you get the lofty driving position, the kids will all have a good view out and it will tow a two-tonne load.

Yet it doesn’t drive like an SUV. The most impressive aspect of the CR-V is that soon after you start driving it you’ll likely forget you’re in an SUV at all. It rides better than any this side of a Discovery yet handles with real aplomb. Its steering is better by far than that of the new Freelander and despite modest performance — neither version will hit 62mph in less than 10sec — it’s actually rather engaging on the right road.

Not having driven the petrol-powered car, I can’t say for sure that the diesel is the pick of the two but I’ve driven both engines in the Civic and found the petrol needed to be worked hard to perform properly. By contrast the diesel lopes along quietly and effectively on a whiff of throttle.

Families will like its reclining, sliding, folding and tumbling rear seat, parents will love its split-level parcel shelf and ultra-light tailgate and owners will draw comfort not only from its three-year 90,000-mile warranty but also the fact that the car will be so well engineered it’s hardly likely to need it.

A worthy rival, then, for the much vaunted new Freelander? I’d say so. The CR-V is unremarkable but effective, a worthwhile step forward over the similarly inoffensive car it replaces. A Comfortable Runabout Vehicle? Couldn’t have put it better myself.

The opposition

Model Land Rover Freelander 2 HSE TD4 £30,935
For Looks great, genuinely capable off-road
Against Rather expensive, steering feels strange

Model Nissan X-Trail Aventura 2.2 dCi £23,395
For Good to drive, by small SUV standards
Against Getting old, limited performance

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