LIKES
- New CR-V Hybrid
- Comfortable ride…
- ..and a comfortable interior
- Affordable base trims
- Intuitive and easy to use
DISLIKES
- Group-study looks
- Base infotainment is lacking
- Others go off road better
BUYING TIP
The 2020 Honda CR-V hits right at the heart of many buyers’ needs: comfortable, spacious, quiet, and efficient.
Inattention didn’t kill the family sedan, compact crossovers like the 2020 Honda CR-V did.
Our jury returns a favorable verdict to the CR-V and its cohort; they’re comfortable, spacious, and in the case of the popular Honda, relatively fuel efficient too.
The 2020 CR-V is updated this year—just a fluff and buff—and a new CR-V Hybrid joins the fray. It’s a 6.5 on our overall scale, which is buoyed further by good crash-test scores.
This year the CR-V is available in LX, EX, EX-L, and Touring trims. The base 2020 CR-V LX costs $26,145 while fully loaded versions run up the tab to more than $36,000. All-wheel drive is a $1,500 option on all trims.
The CR-V Hybrid is offered in similar trim levels, and only with all-wheel drive. It costs $1,200 more than a similarly equipped CR-V, and it's more refined to drive.
What the CR-V lacks in extroverted attitude it makes up for in practicality. The interior is spacious and comfortable for up to five adults, with more than 40 inches of rear seat leg room.
In back with all the seats up, the CR-V carries nearly 40 cubic feet of cargo; with the seats down, it grows to more than 75 cubes with a low load floor and wide hatch. Pickups can’t say the same.
The IIHS called the CR-V a Top Safety Pick and federal testers had good things to say, too. All CR-Vs get life-saving active safety equipment including automatic emergency braking.
Base CR-Vs make do with a 5.0-inch display for audio that’s out of fashion already and one (1!) USB port. Our pick is the EX trim, with or without leather. It includes a 7.0-inch touchscreen for infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, 18-inch wheels, blind-spot monitors, keyless ignition, power-adjustable driver’s seat, heated front seats, uprated audio and faster USB charging ports—more than one.
Styling
The restyled 2020 CR-V favors mass appeal over outward style.
Not many people will notice this year’s styling changes over last year’s version. The lower front bumper was very lightly changed and the rear bumper changed even less.
For better or worse, the CR-V’s exterior represents a conservative, group-studied and non-offensive look. The interior’s nicer, but we can’t hang our hat on much there either.
We give the CR-V a 4 for style.
Visually, not much separates the CR-V Hybrid from the bunch aside from different fog lights and blue-tinged badges.
From the side, the CR-V gives its best look but it’s far more reserved compared to the Toyota RAV4 and even the Mazda CX-5. The Honda has a nice character line that swoops up and plays into a line on the rear hatch with good effect. Big 18-inch wheels in most trims fill up the available space in the wheel arches, and Touring trims add new 19s that look positively premium.
Inside, the CR-V prefers a pragmatic approach that favors controls up higher on the dash, like the Odyssey minivan. Down low there’s plenty of room for storage, although that’s hardly flashy.
Performance
The 2020 CR-V now offers a hybrid powertrain alongside an excellent turbo-4.
The 2020 CR-V’s powertrain options range from efficient to even more efficient.
The base 1.5-liter turbo-4 has good power but its gift is fuel efficiency. A CR-V Hybrid is even more fuel-efficient and slightly more powerful. Both are easy to drive.
The CR-V is a 5 for performance. No demerits here.
The CR-V Hybrid is powered by a 2.0-liter inline-4 gas engine that mostly generates power for a lithium-ion battery that drives electric motors. The gas engine can clutch in to mechanically drive the wheels, although Honda says that doesn't happen often. The net output of the engine and electric motors is 212 hp, which is almost imperceptible to the gas-only CR-V, but the hybrid's trick is fuel economy: the EPA rates it at 38 mpg combined. The CR-V Hybrid is all-wheel drive only, and it's more refined than the base CR-V.
The CR-V’s 7.8 inches of ground clearance will suit nearly any all-weather situation—snow storms and torrential rains look out. We’d stop short of taking the CR-V to the boulder field, but the small Honda crossover is far more capable than many buyers will ever ask it to be.
Light steering has a generously sized on-center spot, which helps the CR-V stay calmer in straight lines and especially at highway speeds.
Bully for the CR-V’s ride, too. Even on the 18- and 19-inch wheels, the CR-V absorbs rutted pavement well and the small crossover gives us confidence behind the wheel that we wouldn’t necessarily find in other cars that cost less than $30,000.
Comfort & Quality
The 2020 CR-V excels in hauling people and cargo.
The 2020 Honda CR-V aces cargo and people. Not many vehicles carry cargo and up to five adults as comfortably; those that do are usually called “luxury cars.”
The CR-V gets points above average for its front and rear seats, people-carrying abilities, and another for cargo space. It’s a 9 for comfort.
The front seats are excellent and feature 12-way power adjustment in EX models and higher. The view from the front seats is relatively unfettered and clean, thin roof pillars intrude far less than in-laws. Similarly, the low dashboard, high seating position, and tall ride height are especially useful in cities.
The second row is no sin bin either. The seats are easily accessible to sore knees with wide door cutouts; once aboard rear passengers get more than 40 inches of leg room. Three abreast are welcome too, just check the broadest shoulders at the door please.
Behind the second row is 39.2 cubic feet of cargo room with a wide and relatively low load floor. With the rear seats folded down, that space grows to 75.8 cubic feet, and a carpeted floor panel pulls up for hidden-item storage. The CR-V Hybrid's batteries cut into cargo space slightly and it holds only 33.2 cubic feet of cargo behind the second row and 68.7 cubic feet with the seats folded forward.
Every CR-V is built with high-quality plastics and soft-touch materials, which feel appropriate for its price. Touring trims fall temptingly short of luxury-car grade, but we wouldn’t begrudge the pick against premium-car competitors such as Buick or Volvo.
Safety
Great crash-test scores are complemented by exceptional outward vision in the 2020 Honda CR-V.
The 2020 Honda CR-V pairs good crash-test scores with great standard active safety features. Name a more iconic duo.
It gets a 9 on our safety scale thanks to both.
Federal testers gave the CR-V a five-star overall score, including five stars in front- and side-crash safety. The IIHS called the CR-V a Top Safety Pick thanks to top “Good” scores in all its crash tests, and a “Superior” score for its front-crash prevention. The TSP award applies to the LED reflectors standard on top Touring trim. In its newest test, the IIHS also rated the CR-V’s ability to prevent a forward crash with a pedestrian as “Superior.” The system is standard on all models for 2020. Blind-spot monitors are equipped on EX trims and higher.
In addition to good scores and standard equipment, the CR-V’s outward vision is exceptional. The low window line and narrow roof pillars make looking out of the Honda crossover easier than competitors such as the Toyota RAV4.
Features
There’s not a bad pick in the 2020 CR-V lineup.
We appreciate the ease of the 2020 Honda CR-V’s lineup: any pick is a good pick.
With a newly standard turbo engine, good base features, and standard active safety features across the board, any 2020 CR-V is a good deal.
With that kind of freedom to find a good deal comes opportunity—an opportunity to pick a good color. The 2020 CR-V is a 7 on our features scale.
CR-V Hybrid models are available in the same trim levels with the same equipment, but only with all-wheel drive powertrains. They cost $2,700 more than comparable front-drive models and $1,200 more than similarly equipped all-wheel drive models.
The base CR-V LX is well-equipped, but lacks a touchscreen that other trim levels make standard. The 2020 CR-V LX includes 17-inch wheels, cloth upholstery, power features, a 5.0-inch display for infotainment, one USB port, and Bluetooth connectivity.
Our pick for value and everyday usability is the EX trim level that adds a 7.0-inch touchscreen for infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, 18-inch wheels, blind-spot monitors, keyless ignition, power-adjustable driver’s seat, heated front seats, uprated audio and faster USB charging ports. The EX trim level costs $28,655 for a front-wheel-drive version, including destination.
Fuel Economy
The 2020 CR-V is efficient among rivals, a hybrid version is even better.
The 2020 Honda CR-V offers two powertrains: one is efficient, and one is very efficient.
This year, the sole gas-powered engine is a 1.5-liter turbo-4 that is very frugal. In front-drive configuration, the CR-V is rated by the EPA at 28 mpg city, 34 highway, 30 combined. That’s a 5 on our scale—nearly a 6.
With all-wheel drive, the CR-V is rated at 27/33/29 mpg by the EPA, which is a short penalty for all-weather traction.
Compared to its rivals, the CR-V fares well for efficiency. The Toyota RAV4 rated identically—30 mpg combined in front-wheel drive, 29 mpg with all-wheel drive. The 2020 Ford Escape manages similar numbers to the two, and the Chevy Equinox isn’t far behind with combined ratings of 27 mpg combined in most configurations.
Ford and Toyota offer hybrid versions of their crossovers that net 40 mpg combined, according to the EPA. Honda's doesn't, but it's more efficient than most crossovers.
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