Does the 2023 Honda CR-V Have What It Takes to Beat Its North American SUV Foes?

While the Japanese automaker openly brags about the CR-V nameplate being “America’s best-selling SUV of the past quarter-century,” the truth is that last year there was another (wink-Toyota RAV4-wink) that beat it to the delivery crown. As such, no one needs to wonder how come Honda has decided to raise the stakes with the sixth generation of the crossover SUV.

Indeed, the CR-V is the top-selling model among Honda’s American family, beating the Civic and Accord to the punch. And, frankly, no one will be too surprised if the trend continues – even if the Japanese carmaker recently celebrated Civic’s 50th anniversary with the e:HEV order bank opening or promised the curtain will finally drop for the all-new Civic Type R come July 20th.

But, now, let us take a deep dive for a closer look at the 2023 Honda CR-V goodies, especially its newly refreshed “sporty” hybrid system that should go along nicely with the SUV’s new-found premium finicalities. After all, the company hopes CR-V hybrid sales will represent no less than half the annual sales of the nameplate going forward.

Scheduled to launch this summer, the 2023 Honda CR-V will first arrive in partnership with the 1.5-liter turbo that churns out 190 horsepower and 179 pound-feet (243 Nm), followed by the hybrid variants sometime later this year. The automaker boasts that its 2023 CR-V has key features like a more rugged yet sophisticated exterior design, bold styling choices for the Sport and Sport Touring grades, as well as a spacious and comfortable interior.

Speaking of the latter, there’s a standard digital instrument cluster along with a seven- or nine-inch infotainment touchscreen with wired or wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, depending on the chosen trim level. The all-new CR-V of course rides anywhere with a “retuned” Real Time All-Wheel Drive with Intelligent Control and it also features new perks such as Hill Descent Control or a Snow driving mode, plus the entire array of Honda Sensing aids.

Naturally, given the sales evolution of 2021, the main competitor to beat is easy to ascertain but not as easy to level up against. This is because Toyota sells its legendary 2022 RAV4 in three flavors in the United States: regular ICE from $26,975, Hybrid starting at $29,575, and a ritzy plus eco-friendlier $40,300 RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid! So, while we do not know anything about the 2023 CR-V pricing details just yet, we can still compare its technical assets against this main rival.

Honda’s all-new fourth-gen two-motor hybrid system (available on Sport, Sport Touring) is now more powerful at 204 horsepower but the 2.0-liter Atkinson cycle 4-cylinder engine with direct fuel injection and mated to a pair of electric motors is still punier than RAV4’s 2.5-liter dual electric motor configuration that’s rated at 219 horsepower. Sure, the difference is kept to a minimum, and it remains to be seen in real-life situations how the rest of the pack’s items fare – transmissions and weight also play a factor, of course.

One thing is for sure. Honda’s CR-V hybrid does have a new trick up its crossover SUV sleeve: enhanced towing capacity. The company says that as “traction-motor peak torque rises to 247 lb.-ft./335 Nm of torque (up 15 lb.-ft./20 Nm) the hybrid-electric system is more refined at highway speeds and for the first time offers up to 1,000 pounds of towing capacity.”