Ant Man - we still have a 2nd gen CRV and have owned it for over 7 years - brilliant reliability and a good allround car.
We wanted to wait for the 4th gen (didn't like the shape of the 3rd gen) CRV to test drive it before we made our mind up - we looked at and test drove the CRV (2.2d) / X3 / Q5 and looked at quite a few more. We waited about 6 months for the UK launch in October.
No-one could have been more disappointed
in the new CRV than my Wife, then me in that order.
SWMBO is 5' 3" and her knees were literally against the steering column when driving. The shape of the car is a little strange, both our opinions were that it was like driving a mini bus. The drive was completely uninspirational, it did not handle well at all, the engine was flat and despite numerous attempts I would still never find 6th gear if I was still trying.
In my opinion, the car had barely moved on regarding the drive experience from our 2002 car.
Undoubtedly, you get many more gadgets and higher spec for the money - but the price you pay regarding the drive cannot be quantified, the two cars (CRV vs X3) simply are not on the same page.
Of course, we all want different things and that's why there are hundreds of different models of cars on the road - test drive it to find out if it suits yourself and needs.
