2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid Review: Excellent Isn’t Always Sexy

The CR-V Hybrid isn’t the SUV you want, but it’s the SUV you probably need.

Published January 15, 2024

Car media caters to car enthusiasts, but most people who arrive in showrooms are normal people. They aren’t heading out to track days or accessorizing their off-roaders. They just want a practical car that meets their needs.

The Honda CR-V has long excelled at being just that. Add in the model’s affordability and quality, and you have a formula that has made this compact crossover one of America’s perennial best-selling cars.

The sixth-generation CR-V is all-new for 2023. Its changes track neatly with what Honda did with the Accord. The CR-V gets a statelier and more rugged-looking exterior (albeit not quite an expressionless-face-emoji front end like the Accord). It gets the upgraded interior from the new Civic. And as with the Accord, the CR-V Hybrid is no longer just the efficiency model; it’s the premium one, too, with 204 horsepower and 247 lb-ft of torque.

Honda lent me the top-tier CR-V Touring Hybrid model for about 10 days. And I sampled the SUV in its natural environment: schlepping my family around suburbia over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

The 2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid: What We Think

You can’t really make owning a Honda CR-V Hybrid feel thrilling or sexy — despite Honda’s best efforts. But few, if any cars are as brilliant at being boring. The CR-V is expertly tuned for everyday driving. It’s pleasant to live with and spacious. I defy someone to find a better fully-loaded family SUV package for $40,000.

My only real knock would be with the efficiency. It’s a steep price ($4,200 minimum) to upgrade to a hybrid from the standard CR-V. It’s not as efficient in city driving as competitors, and I did not even come close to the EPA estimates in real driving.

To learn more about our testing methodology and how we evaluate products, head here.

The CR-V turns being boring into an art form

Honda knows how to tune cars. And the same expertise that preps the Civic Type R for track day sets up the CR-V for the performance it needs on the Trader Joe’s run.

The CR-V Hybrid can’t hang with the Accord on sporty driving dynamics; it’s higher-riding and about 700 pounds heavier. But while not being quick or sporty, the CR-V is distinctively well-balanced. It controls itself in corners without feeling super stiff over bumps. The steering is relaxingly light without being sloppy. And provided you don’t do anything extreme or hooligan-ish, the hybrid powertrain feels as refined and quiet as a hybrid with a CVT can get.

Inside, the CR-V is a Civic with a ton of space

Like every new Honda, the CR-V gets its version of the Civic’s interior. It’s clean, intuitive and more modern-looking than the previous-gen. The leather-trimmed seats on the Sport Touring AWD trim feel like decent quality for the price point. And to deploy the technical term, you get a crap-ton of space.

The CR-V Hybrid has a cavernous 36.3 cubic feet of cargo area behind the second row and up to 76.5 cubic feet with the seats folded. Wide door openings ease entry and exits for adults, children and car seats. It just makes dealing with everyday life easy.

I had a hard time hitting the CR-V’s EPA gas mileage

The EPA rates the Civic Hybrid AWD for 34 mpg city and 40 mpg highway (37 mpg combined). I came nowhere near that, averaging about 28 mpg over 180-ish miles — and that was before I left the car idling to take pictures.

I didn’t drive like a loon to reach that level of inefficiency. My city/highway mix was more like 80/20 than the EPA’s 55/45 testing. It was also quite cold in Michigan that week; temperatures averaged in the 20s and dipped below at night. That, plus the staccato rhythms of school pickups and family dinner trips, may have played a role.

That said, for what it’s worth, Car and Driver only earned 30 mpg combined in its testing.

I found a couple of features annoying

The CR-V’s power liftgate height is adjustable. When I got the car it was perfectly adjusted to “hit Tyler in the face as he bends down” height. I figured out how to adjust that.

I never quite got around to addressing my issue with the front seats, which automatically back up to let you out (but don’t return to where they were). I felt like I needed to adjust the driver’s seat every time I entered the car.

2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid: Alternatives

Compact crossovers are America’s most popular non-trucks. So, almost every manufacturer has a competitor in this segment. Looking at hybrids, the CR-V’s main rival is the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Other options include the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid (one of our faves), the Kia Sportage Hybrid and the Ford Escape Hybrid.

If the hybrid part isn’t a deal-breaker, the CR-V buyer could also be looking at the Subaru Outback and Forester, the Mazda CX-50, the Nissan Rogue and the VW Tiguan.

Unless you’re looking for Subaru off-road capability, it’s hard to find an area where the CR-V would come up lacking against its competition. The Tucson Hybrid might be a bit more fun to drive.

2023 Honda CR-V AWD Sport Touring Hybrid

Powertrain: 2.0-liter inline-four hybrid; CVT; AWD
Horsepower: 204
Torque: 247 lb-ft
EPA Gas Mileage: 34 mpg city, 40 mpg highway
Seats: 5

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