SPY PICS: Next-gen Honda CR-V

The all-new CRV can’t come soon enough for Honda Australia. While the mid-sized SUV has been a consistent top performer for the Japanese brand in recent years, in the first half of 2016, it has dropped out of the top five in the Medium SUV segment Down Under.

But insiders reckon the new CR-V due next year will change that. Having rediscovered its mojo with the likes of the updated Civic, Honda is out for blood and the bigger new CR-V is looking to overthrow league leaders such as the Hyundai Tucson and Mazda CX-5.

A large part of the abovementioned market leaders' popularity can be sheeted home to svelte exterior designs. Customers want sexy cars – even if they are SUVs -- and this is where Honda hopes to make headway.

Although the SUV in the spy photos (taken in Germany last week) is camouflaged, it's clear to see the vehicle is a smoother, sleeker, sportier proposition. Starting at the headlights and front grille, to its wheel arches along the sides and around to the curved roof line and rear tailgate, Honda has significantly modernised the design.

This in itself won't help sell more cars for the Japanese brand, but coupled with new engines – widely expected to comprise 1.5- and 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder mills – and improved interiors, Honda is hoping to find favour with a wider range of SUV buyers.

There's been no word of diesel models yet but talk of a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid is rife. Such a vehicle could give the car a high-tech halo model in Australia, not unlike the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV model.

Just don’t hold your breath, Honda Australia is very focussed on getting the basics right  after several years of poor sales.