2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid Road Test and Review

Since its introduction in 1997, the Honda CR-V has sold over 5 million units. That makes it the best-selling Honda product of the last 20 years, as well as America's best-selling compact crossover suv in the same timeframe. The CR-V sells well because of Honda's proven reputation for quality, along with the general utility and value of this vehicle.

Now for 2020, Honda is bringing out its first CR-V with a hybrid drivetrain. In some ways, it's a natural evolution from Honda's other hybrids, using the same basic technology. However, the CR-V is also taking a different road compared with competing hybrid crossovers in some aspects of its design and operation. Finally, the 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid comes with the Honda Sensing suite of advanced driver assistance safety features as standard equipment on all trims.

The primary competition for the CR-V Hybrid is the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. One similarity between the two models is that they both include all-wheel-drive as standard equipment. However, the way the two companies implement that feature is different.

The Toyota uses a hybrid gas/electric driveline to power the front wheels and places an electric motor at the back to power the rear wheels. The Honda also places the hybrid gas/electric driveline at the front, but then uses a traditional driveshaft to send power to the rear wheels. Honda uses a clutch at the rear axle to disengage the AWD when it's not needed, which helps save fuel. In contrast, Honda's system enables the CR-V Hybrid to send plenty of power to the rear wheels when needed, and the system engages smoothly when the crossover encounters wheel slippage. We drove the CR-V Hybrid through loose sand, and the all-wheel-drive system engaged to keep the Honda moving and controllable even under tight cornering and acceleration. 

Honda starts the CR-V Hybrid at an affordable $27,750 for the base LX trim. That includes the AWD hybrid powertrain, LED headlights, keyless smart entry and push-button start, a multi-angle rearview camera, and the Honda Sensing safety package. Moving up to the EX trim adds LED fog lights, driver's seat memory, blind-spot monitoring, a moonroof, and a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. This trim is priced at $30,260.

The EX-L trim steps up to $32,750, adding leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel, ambient interior lighting, power tailgate, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and four-way power passenger seat adjustment. The top Touring trim sells for $35,950 and includes GPS navigation, front and rear parking sensors, 19-inch wheels, a premium audio system, wireless device charging, roof rails, rain-sensing wipers, and a hands-free tailgate. (All trims are subject to a $1,120 destination fee.) With a comparatively small price difference, Honda expects to sell few base trims, with the bulk of sales evenly distributed among the upgrade trims.

The exterior of the CR-V Hybrid is unremarkable. It's a good-looking crossover, well within the norms of current industry trends. Honda differentiates the Hybrid from the standard CR-V with blue highlights in the logos, a bold new front bumper, and a wing-shaped chrome strip under the rear bumper. The hybrid's rear bumper is also designed to hide the exhaust ports. Finally, the LED fog lights on the upgrade trims are exclusive to the CR-V Hybrid.

All four doors are large enough to allow adults to easily get in and out of the cab, and the CR-V is not raised up enough to make access a challenge for shorter or less flexible people. The CR-V Hybrid is available in the usual palette of black, gray, silver, and white, plus a nice rich blue and a true red if you want to stand out a little bit more.

The interior of the CR-V Hybrid is laid out with typical Honda efficiency. The 7-inch touchscreen on most trims includes a volume knob located on the driver's side of the screen. The touchscreen is mounted high on the dash to minimize the driver's tendency to take eyes off the road.

Easy-to-use climate controls are placed just below the screen, and the push-button gear and driving mode selectors are prominently placed. Honda very wisely placed the electronic parking brake control near the gear selector, instead of hiding it down by the driver's knee. The wireless device charging station (if equipped) is located down on the console along with dual USB ports. We thought the seats could use a bit more lumbar support, but overall the CR-V Hybrid is well laid out and easy to drive. 

The 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid offers a compelling technology package when you include the standard Honda Sensing safety and driver assistance feature suite. Like all modern vehicles, a rearview camera is standard, and Honda's multi-angle camera is handy for reversing safely. The infotainment system supports Android and Apple phone integration and includes GPS navigation in the top Touring trim.

Honda Sensing includes a collision mitigation automatic braking system that will apply the brakes if the driver fails to respond to collision warnings. Lane-keeping assistance helps keep the CR-V in the center of its lane, even around curves. Road departure mitigation is a related technology that helps keep the CR-V on the pavement. Finally, adaptive cruise control allows the CR-V to follow the prevailing speed of traffic and maintains a preset following distance when active.   

The CR-V Hybrid has a 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle gasoline engine augmented with an electric motor. The Atkinson cycle simply changes the rhythm at which the intake and exhaust valves open and close to maximize fuel efficiency. Both the engine and the motor are located at the front of the vehicle.

As mentioned, the CR-V Hybrid uses a mechanical all-wheel-drive system to power all four wheels. What's missing is the transmission. The Honda hybrid system uses direct drive through reduction gears. 

The combined power output of the Honda hybrid system in the CR-V is 212 horsepower and 232 pound-feet of torque. That represents a power boost of 22 horsepower and 53 pound-feet more than the conventional CR-V. The hybrid system is EPA-rated to provide 40 mpg in city driving, 35 mpg on the highway, and 38 mpg combined. Those figures represent an improvement of 13 mpg in city driving and up to 9 mpg in combined fuel economy.

The first thing you'll notice about the 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid is that it's quiet inside. When you take off from a stop, the CR-V will use the electric motor until you hit about 20 or 25 mph, but even when the gas engine is running, the CR-V is impressively peaceful inside.

The CR-V is about as quick as its gas-powered counterpart and about the same as its competition. It's fast enough that you won't ever feel like you're in the penalty box for choosing the hybrid. The ride is smooth on pavement, making the CR-V a perfect urban/suburban choice. While the all-wheel-drive system allows you to head to the campsite or through winter weather, don't mistake the CR-V for an off-road warrior. This is an on-road vehicle with enhanced traction capabilities.

Honda provides the CR-V with a competitive cargo capacity. With 33.2 cubic feet available behind the rear seat, the CR-V is a little smaller than the RAV4 Hybrid, and a little bigger than the Ford Escape Hybrid. The CR-V beats both those competitors in rear legroom, however.

One more great feature to mention is the adjustable regeneration capability from the Honda hybrid system. The CR-V Hybrid has a pair of paddle shifters on the steering wheel, but with no transmission to shift, Honda uses these to allow the driver to control how much electricity the CR-V generates when coasting down to a stop. The more regeneration is selected, the more the CR-V slows down dramatically when the driver's foot is off the accelerator. Less regeneration allows the CR-V to coast farther, but more regeneration replenishes the battery more quickly. 

The 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid competes directly with the 2020 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and the 2020 Ford Escape SE Sport Hybrid. Nissan has dropped its Rogue Hybrid from this year's lineup.

The top trim CR-V is about $2,000 less than the top RAV4 Hybrid model and a few hundred dollars more than the Ford. The Toyota and Ford are a little better on fuel economy. The entire competitive field offers standard advanced driver assistance, but each one has a unique feature set. With only three models to choose from, it's easy to test drive all the options and choose your favorite. One lesser-known competitor to consider is the 2020 Kia Niro hybrid. The Niro undercuts the rest of the field on price, but it is also substantially smaller than the CR-V, RAV4, or Escape.

Honda made the CR-V Hybrid to compete with the very popular Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. This compact crossover offers solid performance, excellent fuel economy, and a competitive feature set at an affordable price point. There's every reason to believe that Honda will continue to top the sales charts with the 2020 CR-V Hybrid.

The CR-V Hybrid has already earned a five-star crash safety rating from NHTSA and a Top Safety Pick designation from IIHS. This is an SUV you can trust for your family, and a sound purchase decision. With more power and better fuel economy, there's very little reason not to choose a CR-V Hybrid for your next SUV.