1997 Honda CR-V

The bigger, heavier, thirstier and glitzier sport-utility vehicles get, the less I can relate to them. The beauty of the early SL-Ns was in their simplicity and lack of pretense - endearing qualities that, to me, are lost in rolling living rooms like Lincoln's monstrous Navigator.

That?s why a week spent recently in Honda's new CR-V rekindled mv faith. No, this isn't an SW in the classic Willys or Land Rover sense. Purists will deride its lack of both a manual gearbox and a low-range transfer case. But use the Civic-based CR-V like 98% of Americans use their utes, and the Honda's beauty is obvious.

For starters, the package is outstanding. Inside, the …