The Honda CR-V is a super-practical mainstream pick for thousands of families. We pick the trim that'll likely fit you best and help you sort out hybrid and nonhybrid choices.
Honda's bread-and-butter model used to be the Accord, but for years now it's been the CR-V that has families beating a path to showrooms. And why not? The CR-V is big and roomy enough to be practical, is infused with a bit of Honda zip from behind the wheel, and can handle a bit of soft-roading or inclement weather without ruffling its feathers.
Here's our take on how to get the best bang for your buck if a CR-V has made it to the top of your shopping list, as it did for hundreds of thousands of people last year.
At $32,370 to start, the basic CR-V LX is the utility pick, nothing fancy but it'll get the job done. It's like a bargain-price IKEA bookcase, offering useful storage and that's about it. However, seeing as you're going to be living with it day to day, rather than just looking for somewhere to store college textbooks, it's worth going for a more grown-up CR-V.
View Price on AmazonFirst off, we'd recommend going straight to the hybrid models. Pairing a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with an AC electric motor returns a respectable 205 horsepower, both quicker than the entry 1.5-liter turbocharged engine and more efficient. If you live in a state that doesn't see much in the way of snow, you may wish to go for a front-wheel-drive CR-V to really eke out every mile per that ever more expensive gallon.
Everybody else should just go for a CR-V with all-wheel drive, as whatever it costs extra is made up by a little more capability in poor weather and also resale down the road. We'll choose a $40,175 CR-V Hybrid in the Sport L trim, which gets a 10.2-inch touchscreen display, eight-speaker upgraded audio, power tailgate, moonroof, and 18-inch wheels.
How much brightly colored Gore-Tex clothing do you own? If the answer is "a lot," then congratulations, you are an Outdoorsy Person or at least want to be one. The good news here is that Honda builds a CR-V specifically for you. It's not so much an optional upgrade as a pick between two nearly identical trims, but it's worth a look.
The CR-V TrailSport has most of the same features as the Sport L hybrid, but only comes with all-wheel-drive. This latter can split power front to rear 50/50, so it's slightly more capable than other CR-V models, though the offroad-oriented Continental tires are also slightly less sticky for tarmac corners.
At $40,250, you're basically exchanging the Sport L's leather seating for the TrailSport's hiking-shoe ethos, which feels like a fair exchange. Injecting a bit of outdoorsy personality into a mainstream crossover for nearly zero penalty is a smart move for Honda, and it might suit you well.
As noted, our middle-of-the-road pick of a CR-V Hybrid Sport L gets you leather seats, premium audio, and a bigger touchscreen. You'll interact with each of these features everyday, so they're well worth the price of admission.
It's a bit harder to make a case for the Sport Touring trim at $44,000, with its 19-inch wheels and 12-speaker Bose audio. Both of those attributes fall firmly in the Nice to Have category, not the Must Have one. You do get a heated steering wheel in the Sport Touring, but that's also standard on the TrailSport.
Seeing as the CR-V is bread and butter, not caviar on toast, a midrange trim is the smarter choice.
Source: caranddriver.com
