2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid

The Honda CR-V is our highest-rated compact SUV of 2023 and a Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award winner. The CR-V Hybrid starts at $32,450.

The Honda CR-V has been totally redesigned for 2023, and Honda reckons that half its buyers are going to opt for this hybrid variant. Sounds good to us. Who wouldn’t want the most muscle and the best fuel economy in a single vehicle? It’s a win-win.

It’s a joy to drive, especially when going past gas stations. It’s easy to live with — offering practicality, comfort, and safety. And it’s a safe bet that the new CR-V Hybrid will hold its value just as well as the previous generation, keeping a lid on overall ownership costs.

Details, details, details. It’s clear that Honda has spent a lot of time and effort studying every aspect that goes into making the ideal compact SUV with the broadest appeal possible. And that’s why the redesigned CR-V is our Compact SUV Best Buy for 2023.

The non-hybrid Honda CR-V is reviewed separately.

Easy, effort-free driving has been something of a CR-V trait. It’s still evident in the new 2023 CR-V Hybrid, with the extra attraction of a quiet cabin. But there’s now an added dimension of enjoyment to this king of the suburban road, which is a bit of a surprise.

A pleasant one, though. There’s poise, pep, and agility to how the CR-V Hybrid drives, a perfect complement to its energetic drivetrain. Yet not at the expense of comfort. If there was a 2023 CR-V Hybrid in our driveway, we’d look forward to every trip — even that one to the dentist.

A few years ago, we wouldn’t have bothered to mention the presence of a shift lever for the automatic transmission. But with the rise of push-button gear selectors in many other vehicles, the conventional shifter in the 2023 CR-V Hybrid caught our attention. It’s great, it works, and it feels intuitive.

Hybrids have brake energy regeneration systems that sometimes result in an odd feel to the pedal. Not this one. Stopping power is precise and strong, with enough feedback so drivers can tell how much pressure to apply.

Driving enjoyment doesn’t come just from accelerating or zipping around corners. It’s also in things like that confident braking feel, along with great outward vision (helped by the wide windshield), assistance from things like standard blind-spot monitoring, and how all the various systems work together. The 2023 CR-V Hybrid excels at this stuff.

We’ve spent hundreds of hours driving and researching the current collection of compact SUVs, including this new Honda CR-V Hybrid.

Body-stabilizing seats. That’s what Honda calls the front seats in the new CR-V Hybrid compact SUV. And there was us thinking that all car seats — with their cushions and side bolsters — were designed to stabilize the body sitting in them. Fancy terms notwithstanding, they’re supportive and comfortable enough for long trips. And naturally, there’s the raised driving position that makes SUVs so popular.

The most affordable new CR-V Hybrid is the Sport trim, equipped to a decent level. But it also has a 7-inch infotainment touchscreen, which seems a bit small these days. Even the Sport Touring’s 9-inch touchscreen is relatively modest. Honda is kind enough to supply an actual volume knob, though.

The sharp graphics and clean looks of the driver information display are a visual delight. And we think the black metal mesh strip running across the dashboard looks good. But we can also imagine an owner buying a small paint brush and keeping it in the glove compartment, just so they can clean out that mesh from time to time. Thank goodness the sticky-fingered kids will be sitting in the back.

Adults (with sticky hands or otherwise) will find plenty of space in that second row. The extra length of the new CR-V’s body is mostly between the front and rear wheels, which has increased rear legroom to an expansive 41 inches. That’s exceptional for the class, and enough for 6-footers and beyond to feel comfortable. Rear seat belt reminders are fitted to every 2023 CR-V.

Cargo space goes from “massive” with the rear seats up, to “almost twice as massive” when they’re folded down. Seriously. The figures are 39.3 and 76.5 cubic feet — more than the previous generation and yet another way that the CR-V beats the competition.

The cargo floor is mercifully low. And there’s no difference in interior volumes between this hybrid variant and the combustion-only CR-V.

With a new generation comes a new body. It’s a couple of inches longer than the model it replaces and a fraction wider. Honda has also improved body rigidity, which has advantages in safety and allowed engineers to optimize the suspension’s setup.

After 25 years of being a best-selling crossover, the styling of the CR-V has (to our eyes) finally gained a presence and maturity with this latest incarnation. And even though the hybrid variant is a more recent addition, it benefits from these same attributes.

Hybrid drivetrain
No-brainer, best of both worlds…however you want to phrase it, the 2023 CR-V Hybrid doesn’t have to sacrifice power for fuel economy or the other way around. It doesn’t even have to compromise on cargo space.

Apple CarPlay/Android Auto
Whoever invented the way to integrate a smartphone and its apps into a car’s infotainment system, we salute you. This is standard in both trims, but the top Sport Touring has wireless Apple CarPlay.

Wireless charging
It’s great to go the whole wireless hog. The charging pad is in the center console of the Sport Touring trim.

All-wheel drive
Optional in the Sport trim and standard in the Sport Touring, all-wheel drive earns its keep in bad weather. Every CR-V Hybrid also has a Snow driving mode, where throttle and transmission settings help combat wheelspin.

Hill descent control
A standard system with both front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive versions of the 2023 CR-V Hybrid, hill descent control is also a newcomer to the CR-V world. It works between 2 mph and 12 mph, allowing the driver to concentrate on steering down a slippery slope while the vehicle takes care of the throttle, brakes, and transmission.

Traffic Jam Assist
Alleviating some of the grind of city driving, Traffic Jam Assist works below 45 mph and operates in conjunction with the lane-keeping system, making small steering corrections to keep the CR-V Hybrid on the right line.

Torque is the important thing here. It’s perceived as thrust, how quickly the vehicle gets moving when pressing the accelerator to overtake or zip away from traffic lights.

The updated drivetrain in this new CR-V Hybrid makes more torque than its predecessor from both its gasoline engine (a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder unit) and electric motor. The result is a lively and responsive driving experience.

Yet with a possible 43 mpg in the city in the front-wheel-drive (FWD) configuration, that old saying about having cake and eating it springs to mind. With all-wheel drive (AWD), fuel economy is still competitive for the class.

2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine/electric motor
204 total system horsepower
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 43/36 mpg (FWD), 40/34 mpg (AWD)

More CR-V Hybrid fuel economy information is available on the EPA’s website.

3-year/36,000-mile Warranty

The 2023 CR-V Hybrid has a basic new-vehicle warranty of 3 years or 36,000 miles, whichever happens first. This is typical for mainstream brands like Honda. The powertrain is covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles, while the hybrid battery has a warranty of 8 years or 100,000 miles. Again, all quite par for the course. Complimentary maintenance for the first 2 years or 24,000 miles is also included.

Our Expert Ratings come from hours of both driving and number crunching to make sure that you choose the best car for you. We comprehensively experience and analyze every new SUV, car, truck, or minivan for sale in the U.S. and compare it to its competitors. When all that dust settles, we have our ratings.

We require new ratings every time an all-new vehicle or a new generation of an existing vehicle comes out. Additionally, we reassess those ratings when a new-generation vehicle receives a mid-cycle refresh — basically, sprucing up a car in the middle of its product cycle (typically, around the 2-3 years mark) with a minor facelift, often with updates to features and technology.

Rather than pulling random numbers out of the air or off some meaningless checklist, KBB’s editors rank a vehicle to where it belongs in its class. Before any car earns its KBB rating, it must prove itself to be better (or worse) than the other cars it’s competing against as it tries to get you to spend your money buying or leasing.

Our editors drive and live with a given vehicle. We ask all the right questions about the interior, the exterior, the engine and powertrain, the ride and handling, the features, the comfort, and of course, about the price. Does it serve the purpose for which it was built? (Whether that purpose is commuting efficiently to and from work in the city, keeping your family safe, making you feel like you’ve made it to the top — or that you’re on your way — or making you feel like you’ve finally found just the right partner for your lifestyle.)

We take each vehicle we test through the mundane — parking, lane-changing, backing up, cargo space and loading — as well as the essential — acceleration, braking, handling, interior quiet and comfort, build quality, materials quality, reliability.