THE first predictive cruise control car I ever drove was aHonda CR-V.

As soon as the radar picked up a car being closed on too quickly off went the gas and on came the brakes.

Believe it or not that was 10 years ago and in an automatic the long haul to Cornwall was effortless.

Except for a ghostly Morris Minor which joined the motorway at a Cheshire services and failed to activate the system.

It was either made of gas or not of this world, which is not as crazy as you think.

Well okay it is pretty mad but there is a medium at large, some kind of poltergeist fancier who claims the reason this part of the network has so many accidents is that it is haunted. Nothing to do with years of roadworks delays and toilet paper executives rushing to a high powered meeting.

Apparently what brings startling visions of legionnaires and other spine chillers is that the M6 runs through an ancient Roman burial site and was the location of a bloody slaughter of a Scottish army.

Apparently people have vanished into thin air and some claim to have seen phantom HGVs. Those are the ones with invisible indicators.

They say that part of the motorway is full of negative energy. Not sure but it is full of expensive sandwiches.

What I can confirm is firmly of this world is the Honda CR-V now with even more of the technology fitted 10 years ago.

Since the introduction of the first-generation model in 1995, the Honda CR-V has gone on to become the world's best-selling SUV.

The latest model has a fresh and sophisticated exterior design, with broader, muscular wheel arches, sharper contours on the bonnet and rear quarters, as well as the latest Honda family ‘face' with a signature headlight graphic special to the CR-V.

Inside, the latest CR-V has pushed upwards in terms of quality and space.

There is also the most comprehensive specification list for all four trim levels, bringing new levels of comfort and luxury.

At the heart of the new CR-V is Honda's 1.5-litre VTEC turbo petrol engine. Equipped with an all-new, smaller low-inertia mono-scroll turbocharger, the unit offers an effective blend of power and efficiency.

This engine configuration is offered with either a six-speed manual transmission, or a new iteration of Honda's CVT, which has been tailored specifically to the SUV application.

Right so it performs how well? The two-wheel-drive SE will reach 62mph in 9.3 seconds which is fine and dandy for what is a large car returning a combined consumption of 44mpg.

Not that I see this as the main attraction of this £27,855 version.

Spooky apparitions aside, this is a great car for long trips, smooth, quiet and untroubled by rough surfaces.

SE level equipment includes navigation, seven-inch touchscreen four USB ports, climate control, parking sensors rear view camera and that's over and above the DAB radio with Bluetooth the range starts with.

Safety remains a major feature with traffic sign recognition, intelligent speed limiter, lane keeping system and trailer stability assist which tells you this is seen as a good towing vehicle.

This is a well laid out cabin with loads of room front and back for adults and luggage. The SE can be equipped with seven seats.

This is not a car for flinging around, there is no pretence about that but then that is not in the spirit of the vehicle.