2023 First Honda CR-V Hybrid Drive: The obvious choice

In 2021, CR-V It is Honda’s best-selling product in the US. It’s also the brand’s best-selling model in 2020 and 2019. In fact, it’s been Honda’s best-selling model in the US for nearly 20 years. So when it came time to update the CR-V, it was quite an important task for Honda and its engineers.

Sixth generation CR-V offers a new design, a new cabin and a choice between Turbo and Hybrid variants. The Hybrid gives you improved gas mileage, an upgraded interior and a driving experience that, together, makes it increasingly difficult to recommend any other CR-V variant. Let me explain.

(Full disclosure: Honda took me to Santa Barbara and provided me with hotel rooms, food and drinks while I chatted with the engineers and drove the brand new CR-V Hybrid.)

Honda CR-V Hybrid 2023: What is it?

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In case you’ve been driving around with your eyes closed for the last 25 years, the Honda CR-V is the Japanese automaker’s midsize SUV. It launched in America in 1997 and has been a hit basically ever since. Over the ensuing 25 years, it spawned five generations, and a hybrid model was added to the range in 2020.

This is the sixth-generation CR-V, set to hit the road in 2023. The new model features a new design, a more spacious interior and a choice between a 1.5-liter Turbo and an all-new hybrid setup. Hybrid models with Sport trim are front- or all-wheel drive, or Top AWD Sport TouringThat’s the model I drove.

Regardless of which template you choose, the first change you’ll notice is the design. Honda’s style has been a bit out of place at times in recent years, but the company has done a good job of bringing coherence back into the range with updates to models like civic and HR VUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU. This continues with the new CR-V, I’m happy to say.

Gone are the curvaceous looks and bulging chin of the fourth and fifth generations. Now, Honda is all about clean lines and sharp corners. At the front, there’s a longer hood, a cross-shaped grille and a new headlight array, giving the CR-V an angry look.

On the surface, the roof line has been flattened and has a sharper angle towards the rear, which also takes away the odd protruding taillights of the previous generation. Honda retains the separate design with the taillights located along the rear door and the fork offset 90 degrees. It’s an updated LED array that looks neat and new while keeping the backside familiar.

All these design updates and new body panels help hide the fact that the new CR-V is larger than the old model. The wheelbase is 1.6 inches longer and the whole car has increased by 2.7 inches in length. The new CR-V is also 0.4 inches wider than the previous generation.

This gave Honda space to cabin redesign, which executives say is a top priority. There’s a new, larger center console, redesigned seats and improved sound insulation throughout the cabin.

On top of that, there are nice new 19-inch black alloy wheels for the Sport Touring model and several new paint colors, including the canyon blue metallic finish you can see in this.

2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid: What’s under the hood?

On Turbo models, Honda has updated the familiar 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder from last year’s model. Capable of making 190hp, that engine can be ordered with front- or all-wheel drive in both EX and EX-L trim levels. In each case, you only have one choice when it comes to transmissions: the CVT.

But the point worth mentioning here is the Hybrid, which came with an all-new powertrain in ’23. Both the Sport and Sport Touring variants come with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and two hybrid motors that make a total of 204 horsepower. This is 3 more horses than the old model and 14 more than the 2023 Turbo, making the new hybrid the most powerful CR-V variant ever.

The front-wheel drive CR-V hybrid receives an EPA rating of 40 mpg combined, while the all-wheel drive model loses 3 mpg. In a day of driving an AWD Sport Touring model, I didn’t quite hit that number. In the morning, as I was traveling through the hills and valleys of Southern California, I topped out at 31.3 mpg. In the afternoon, when there’s a bit more driving on the highways and downtown (where regenerative braking comes into play), peaks at 33.5 mpg.

To support that economy, paddles on either side of the steering wheel allow you to switch from drive entirely with one pedal down is just a hint of regenerative braking.

2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid: How to drive on the road

Honda wants you to know that the CR-V Hybrid isn’t just about saving fuel. The company is adamant that the new hybrid powertrain also aims to make this CR-V the most exciting CR-V. You will be pleasantly surprised as I have discovered that it is actually quite difficult to drive.

The CR-V Hybrid comes with four driving modes: normal, eco, snow, and a new sport setting, which Honda says gives you a more responsive accelerator pedal and “sports active audio control”. You change between these four settings via a toggle switch next to the gear lever, thankfully a real lever and not a PRNDL dial or buttons.

As I pulled off the highway and hit the hills around Santa Barbara, the sport setting lifted the CR-V. The more responsive throttles have been really noticeable on turns around the California wine country. And when I got the chance to hit the same roads in a lower-spec Turbo model without the sport mode, I felt like something was missing.

Turn around, brake the front and the car is quick to pull the car back a bit. Furthermore, the suspension did a great job in overcoming bends, bumps and potholes. It has a lot of movement and it doesn’t roll or roll to the same extent as the Kia Sorentobut only discards any changes to the surface.

When it came time to rejoin the freeway, the CR-V sped up very quickly to achieve freeway speeds – even with the surprisingly short ramps around Santa Barbara. On the highway, Honda’s midsize SUV is a pretty nice place to be.

2023 Honda CR-V: Interior

Inside, the new CR-V is quite sleek. The first thing you notice when you climb up there is the updated dashboard, which now features a cool honeycomb ventilation strip that runs the entire width of the cockpit. It looks sleek, but I worry about how difficult it will be to keep dust free.

Elsewhere, there’s a new 9-inch touchscreen in the center console, with a dedicated volume dial as well as the physical home button, back and skip buttons. This is compatible with Apple Car Play and Android Auto, all handled wirelessly in Sport Touring style. At this spec you also get a wireless charging pad to keep your phone powered up. Honda has also chosen some very pleasing dials for the AC controls.

The cabin houses Honda’s latest seats, which the company says features an all-new frame and cushion design for improved posture and stability. As someone about to suffer a rather painful low back injury, I can confirm that these are comfortable, supportive chairs.

From the driver’s seat, you’ll also notice improved forward visibility of the 2023 model. You get excellent views of the road around you, which helps navigate narrow streets and umbrellas. parked cars become easy. Honda says this is achieved by narrowing the pillars and shifting brackets for the side mirrors.

At the rear, there’s now 0.6 inches more legroom. That’s not enough to immediately notice, but it did feel roomy when I got back there to try out the new reclining rear seats. That’s right, Honda has provided the rear seats with eight reclining positions, giving your backseat passengers space to relax on the long haul.

Everything in the cabin is a bit nicer than the old model. Dark leather with contrast stitching looks sweet on my review unit, and the improved muffler does a great job of reducing road noise.

Furthermore, there are also some minor upgrades like a new, faster power tailgate, which can be activated by waving your foot around the rear bumper. And, cargo space in the trunk has increased by three cubic feet.

Honda CR-V Hybrid 2023: Is it good enough to upgrade?

It is clear that improvements over the old model can be seen on the CR-V ’23. This is a personal preference, but the styling alone has me eager to replace an aging fifth generation with this new incarnation of Honda’s crossover. It looks sleek and deserves it slightly higher price tag.

There are three different entry points for the CR-V Hybrid. The base level, front-wheel drive Sport starts at $32,450, while adding all-wheel drive to the Sport raises the price to $1,500. The model I drove was the flagship Sport Touring CR-V Hybrid, which starts at $38,600. All three samples are subject to a $1,245 destination fee.

Overall, fuel economy has improved, the interior feels more mature and the driving experience is so refined that it’s a really fun car to drive – especially when you compare Compare Sport models with non-hybrid vehicles.

All in all, Honda has made a worthy successor to the hugely popular CR-V, and there’s no doubt that it will continue to sell like hot cakes for years to come.