Boxy is out. Svelte is in. Well, maybe not svelte. We're talking SUVs, here. But at least sleek, as makers learn buyers want style as well as function in their sport utilities, even in the relatively smaller, compact class. And Honda, ever the quick learner, has responded with the fully re-styled, 2007 CR-V.

Head on, the 2007's low, jutting jaw-like front bumper and skid-plate look pull its visual mass downwards, reducing its perceived height. Large, sharply angled headlight housings crowd the upper grille and bleed down into the lower air intake. Stout fender flares stretch out to wrap tightly around the tires, giving the new CR-V a sturdy, planted stance.

The side aspect shows most clearly the '07's departure from the boxy, mini-SUV look. Starting from the gently rounded hood, the relatively fast windshield flows into a roofline that drops ever so slightly as it passes over the sharply tapered glasshouse, ending at the tailgate's top edge, which itself is pulled forward to a point almost directly above the rear wheel well. A strong character line runs from the top of the front wheel well back beneath the full-round door handles to bifurcate the side marker lens of the rear taillight. To us, it looks a little like the Mercedes-Benz R-Class in the overall outline.

The rear view presents more of the classic SUV look, with a trapezoidal backlight bookended by the trademark CR-V taillights and atop a fairly tall and relatively broad, high-relief tailgate panel. The oversize license plate recess will accommodate almost any country's registration telltale. A repeat of the front end's skid plate look masks the rear bumper mass and draws the eye to tires pushed out to the edges of the CR-V's side panels.