2025 Honda CR-V Review: The Final Boss of Family SUVs

Evolutionary adaptation is the process in which a living organism changes over time to better survive in its given environment. Insects have evolved to resemble leaves so they’re harder to spot by predators. Birds have developed specifically-shaped beaks that better help them consume their preferred nut, fruit, or nectar. And fun fact: snakes actually used to have limbs, but over millions of years of evolution, they lost them so that they could hide in tight spaces better.

When it comes to the species of the gas-powered family automobile, then, the 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid feels like what you get after more than a century of trial-and-error, evolution, and marketplace natural selection. It does everything the average person needs a car to do, in exactly the way a car should do it.

Spacious but not obtrusive, efficient but not slow, and expertly designed with practicality in mind, Honda’s hybrid crossover is a case study in just how good we’ve gotten at bending and blending metal, plastic, rubber, and combustion to accomplish the simple task of getting around.

The Basics

“You know what I like about driving cars like this? No one looks at you.”

Those were the exact words I said to my partner the last time we were in a Honda CR-V. First coming on the scene in 2022, this sixth-gen Honda compact crossover has been around long enough now that no one looks twice at it when it’s out and about. It blends into the background; it’s regular traffic. And, if you’re shopping for this type of vehicle, that’s likely what you want.

If one does decide to take a closer look, though, they’ll be met with a design that’s sharp yet restrained. Clean, straight lines and hard angles make it look less dowdy than some CR-Vs of the past while vertical taillights that extend into the D-pillars are a distinctive nod to its heritage.

But inside is where things really matter, and Honda has nailed that part too. In terms of balancing usability and aesthetics, Honda’s interior and UX designers seem to be some of the only ones in the game right now with their heads screwed on properly. Climate is controlled by clear knobs and buttons, the programmed-for-function infotainment touchscreen (7.0 inches standard, 9.0 inches in higher trims) isn’t overbearingly large and is flanked by a volume knob, the buttons on the steering wheel are actual buttons, the PRNDL lever is normal, and the whole place still manages to look and feel clean, classy, and uncluttered.

It’s also plenty spacious, even by segment standards. Rear legroom measures 41 inches, which is more than the 37.8 inches in its archrival, the Toyota RAV4. Ignoring the numbers and just climbing back there in person, the CR-V indeed feels cavernous for what it is. Upping its practicality cred are rear doors that open super wide, protruding from the body at an angle that looks near 90 degrees. Ultra useful for ingress, egress, or car seat mobility.

Behind those rear seats are almost 40 cubic feet of cargo room, which is more than enough space for a four-person road trip, and there are a deceptively useful number of cupholders, cubbies, and nooks to store knickknacks throughout the cabin.

There are up to four USB ports throughout—two USB-Cs in the back and two up front. One of those front ports remain of the USB-A variety because Honda knows if anybody in the family is still rocking USB-A, it’s dad.

Driving the Honda CR-V

The 2025 CR-V comes with either a base 1.5-liter turbo-four (LX, EX, EX-L) or as a hybrid using a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder and an electric motor (Sport, Sport-L, Sport Touring). I drove a top-trim hybrid for this review, but based on my experience with both motors, the punchier-yet-more-efficient hybrid is definitely the one to get if you can swing it. Base vs base, the hybrid system carries a $4,550 premium while AWD is a $1,500 option for all trims bar the top Sport Touring where it’s standard.

Honda’s two-motor hybrid makes 204 total system horsepower but the real metric to know is 247 lb-ft of torque from just the electric motor, which it can produce effectively from a standstill. The CR-V Hybrid feels appropriately punchy when you want it to, and it’s surprisingly adept and entertaining in the corners, too. Steering feels expertly calibrated for comfortable precision, the ride is appropriately smooth in a way that always feels in control and composed, and the whole thing never feels unhappy being thrown around a backroad.

A longstanding Honda virtue of stellar outward visibility is present here thanks to thin A-pillars. When sheet metal does get in the way, blind spot monitoring and a cross-traffic monitor are both present on all trims bar the base LX.

Standard on all trims, however, is Honda Sensing adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist, lane keep, and traffic sign recognition. All technologies taken together, the CR-V was very good at essentially automating highway cruising on a road trip, even when that cruising becomes a stop-and-go crawl. In-lane ping-ponging was never egregious and speed management was smooth and alert. You still need to keep an eye on it but as a tool to reduce mental load and occasionally free your hands for snacks on a long trip, this system came in clutch.

However, the real driving pleasure here, in my mind, is maximizing efficiency. A lot of hybrids do this but Honda’s hybrids come with a little simplified powertrain graphic in its digital gauge cluster outlining exactly where power is going and how much juice the hybrid battery has at any given moment. You can watch as the gas engine turns off on deceleration and friction funnels power back to the battery, and I felt myself driving smoother and more conservatively in the pursuit of maximizing the amount of time the CR-V spends not burning any fuel.

Fuel Economy

Per the EPA, official CR-V efficiency obviously varies depending on powertrain configuration but this AWD hybrid gets 40 mpg in the city, 34 on the highway, and 37 combined. 40 mpg combined is on the table if you go FWD, and the non-hybrid CR-V averages 29 mpg overall.

Here’s how the AWD CR-V Hybrid compares to its direct competitors from Toyota, Hyundai, and Kia.

Honda CR-V Features, Options, and Competition

The 2025 Honda CR-V starts at $31,450. Some notable standard features include automatic headlights, hill descent control, a rear seat reminder, the 7.0-inch touchscreen, a 7.0-inch digital gauge screen, Honda Sensing active safety and assisted driving, and wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Jump up to a $33,700 EX model or higher and you get remote start, all four USB ports (just the one USB-A up front is standard), heated front seats, a power driver’s seat, dual-zone climate, heated mirrors, and a moonroof. Top EX-L, Sport-L, and Sport Touring versions throw in parking sensors, the 9.0-inch touchscreen with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto support, satellite radio, a wireless charging pad, leather seats, memory for the driver’s seat, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and a power tailgate. Those trims all land somewhere in the high-$30K to low-$40K range, with the top-top Sport Touring hybrid AWD going for $42,450 with destination.

When you think of alternatives to the CR-V, one vehicle is persistently top of mind: the Toyota RAV4. Taken alone, the RAV4 is a quality product and boasts an ever-efficient hybrid version of its own, but compared to the CR-V, it is, there’s no other word for it, worse. It’s not as spacious or nice inside as the Honda, nor is it as refined or athletic as a drive. Other hybrid-available options include the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage which boast funkier styling and crazy-good warranties. The sporty and stylish Mazda CX-5 will always have a place on our recommendations list but that company’s recent CX-50 Hybrid, however, just isn’t very good.

The Subaru Forester, Volkswagen Tiguan, are Nissan Rogue may also be worth a look if you don’t need a hybrid, but in my view, the Honda CR-V sits at the top of the heap.

The Verdict

Every crease in the 2025 Honda CR-V’s sheet metal, every little engineering decision, every button on the dashboard feels like a deliberate call informed by years of manufacturing and selling cars to lots (and lots) of people. The CR-V is near-faultlessly practical. The CR-V is innocuously handsome. The CR-V is, for all of its intents and purposes, quite nice to drive.

If you’re looking for an affordable, efficient, stress-free way to transport two adults and two children and don’t want to think too much, look no further. The family car has reached its final form.

Got a tip or question for the author about the CR-V? You can reach him here: chris.tsui@thedrive.com