CR-V is just two letters from the word “crave.” But has the Honda CR-V ever been craved?
Respected, yes. Admired, perhaps. Certainly liked enough by people to be among the best-selling small crossover SUVs for several years running.
But craved?
There is an all-new CR-V for 2023 – and it’s obviously a lot more interested in being stylish than its rounded, softish predecessor (On the Road, October 2020). Like big brother Pilot and middle child Passport (On the Road, May 2022), the CR-V appears to have been hitting the gym, with bigger, blockier shoulders and some creases in the sheet metal that suggest muscles. The latest model is 2.7 inches longer than the previous edition, with a 1.6-inch longer wheelbase.
While the gasoline-powered CR-Vs keep their 190-horsepower output, the CR-V hybrid actually makes eight fewer horsepower than last year’s model.
In its press materials, Honda said there are upsides to this: “The fourth-generation two-motor hybrid-electric system made at TMP-O (Ohio Transmission Plant) features a new arrangement, switching from coaxial motors of the same size stacked on top of each other to a two-motor parallel axis system with engines of different sizes mounted side-by-side. The new system also includes new high- and low-speed lockup ratios for direct engine drive on the highway and in the city. Altogether, the new design improves responsiveness for a sportier driving feel and creates a more relaxed driving environment at highway speeds. It also allows for a higher sustained top speed, improves fuel economy and enables up to 1,000 pounds of towing.”
You’ll notice no mention of transmission. That’s because Honda’s current-generation two-motor hybrid-electric system doesn’t use one. That’s what it means by “direct engine drive.”
As before, my verdict is that its speed is adequate for the type of vehicle (0-60 mph in 7.6 seconds), and the hybrid continues to post strong Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy estimates (40 mpg city/34 highway/37 combined).
Going boxier and adding to the wheelbase helps the CR-V’s cargo-carrying capability. The new model can carry 39.3 cubic feet of stuff with the rear seats in place compared to the old one’s 37.6. Fold those seats down and it’s a cavernous 76.5 cubic feet, a more modest improvement on the last gen’s 75.8.
Rear seat legroom remains the same, but it didn’t really need improvement. Only a few small vehicles can boast of 40.4 inches for the folks in the back to stretch their legs.
Amenities abound
The ’23 CR-V also gets treated to a new instrument panel, which is similar to the one in last year’s Civic that has also spread to the new-for-’23 Accord. Instrumentation is low and out of the way.
The rest of the dashboard (apart from the infotainment screen) is even lower, sightlines are brilliant and the vents are covered in that really cool mesh that runs the width of the car, with toggles to control the direction of airflow and real, honest-to-goodness knobs to control temperature, fan speed and the like.
There are five trim levels of CR-V this year, three of them gasoline-powered (LX, EX and EX-L) and two of them hybrids (Sport Hybrid and Sport Touring Hybrid).
Ours was the top-of-the-line Sport Touring, which carries a base price of $39,845 including destination. That buys pretty much every amenity Honda offers. It includes leather-trimmed seats, steering wheel and shift knob, wireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto, 12-speaker Bose premium audio system, wireless phone charger, dual-zone automatic climate control with air filtration, heated steering wheel and heated front seats, power moonroof and Honda’s complete active safety suite all standard.
And – that’s it. One price and done, with the window sticker’s bottom line reading $39,845.
That price tag is by no means cheap, but it stays on the sane side of $40,000 and undercuts the CR-V Hybrid’s direct competitor, the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. The most recent one of those we tested, a 2021 model, came in $2,643 higher. With two years of price increases, the gap is undoubtedly wider than that.
Honda is on a product roll right now, and the CR-V joins a list of newly updated, very desirable – maybe even craveable – vehicles.
Mike Hagerty, is the vice president of membership for Western Automotive Journalists (waj.org). He has been writing about cars since 1997. Read more of his auto reviews at MikeHagertyCars.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mikehagertycars.
