2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid Road Test and Review

2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

The Honda CR-V has become one of America’s best-selling vehicles in recent years. It’s a beloved brand’s entry in the hot compact crossover class – a segment that the CR-V helped create back in the Clinton administration. And these days, the gas-electric CR-V Hybrid is the best-selling CR-V model.

For this review, we spent a week testing the 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid, priced from $34,450, so we could learn what customers were rushing to and whether you should join them. Keep reading as we explore its pros and cons, so you can find out if it’s the right small SUV for you. 

The Mileage Question

The first question for a hybrid is about its fuel economy: What kind of mileage does it get? The answer is that it’s excellent by most standards, but it also faces tough competition. 

In EPA testing, the 2025 CR-V Hybrid achieves 43 mpg in the city, 36 mpg on the highway, and 40 mpg combined with front-wheel drive and 40 mpg city, 34 mpg highway, and 37 mpg combined with all-wheel drive. That’s excellent gas mileage for an SUV, especially in stop-and-go conditions – but on the open highway, it’s not much better than some gas-powered models (including the non-hybrid CR-V). We saw just under the EPA estimates in our AWD test vehicle, averaging 36 mpg in a week of mixed driving. Whether we were on the highway, running errands, or commuting to work, we tended to see a similar average in the mid 30s. We generally do even better when we test the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, but that’s still competitive mileage for a hybrid compact crossover. 

2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

It Drives Well, Too

Folks aren’t just buying the CR-V Hybrid for its gas mileage. It drives well, too. The gasoline engine switches on and off seamlessly as needed, and it delivers smooth, lively acceleration without the raspy drone you’ll find in some hybrids. Don’t expect the performance to blow your doors off, but the 204-horsepower CR-V Hybrid is quick and refined for an affordable compact crossover. 

We also appreciated the new CR-V Hybrid’s ride and handling, which picked up some fresh polish this year. Some drivers will wish for lighter steering, but its touch of firmness helps it hustle around a corner with confidence. The tautly tuned suspension is up to the task, and the CR-V Hybrid is comfortable yet supremely composed. And an active noise cancellation system helps keep the cabin quiet. Overall, it’s one of the best-driving affordable SUVs out there.

2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Roomy and Comfortable

It’s not only economical and fun to drive, but the CR-V Hybrid is incredibly useful, too. It has a traditionally SUV-high seating position, easy visibility, well-shaped and comfortable front seats, and enough space for three adults in the back. Every CR-V Hybrid includes heated front seats and a 10-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, while the top Sport Touring trim level adds a heated steering wheel. However, you can’t get ventilated front seats or heated rear seats. 

For cargo, you get 36.3 cubic feet of space behind the backseat and 76.5 cubic feet with the backseat folded down. Those are among the best figures of the compact-crossover class, though a gas-only CR-V has a bit more space. Ample cabin storage includes a biggest-in-class center console bin. Towing capacity measures a modest 1,000 pounds, though. 

2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Simple Body With Some Sporty Details

The current-generation CR-V debuted for the 2023 model year. Overall, its design is more upscale than adventurous. High, slim headlights give the front a bit of an aggressive touch. And the high taillights, which partly run up the sides of the rear windshield, help you pick your CR-V out of a line of parked SUVs (except for all the other CR-Vs). But the body is plain and simple – an upright profile, big windows, and no swoopy or sharply creased bodywork. To some people, it’s dull; to others, it’s a welcome show of restraint. 

The CR-V Hybrid gets a few extra details. Honda calls it a “Sport Hybrid,” emphasizing its improved acceleration as well as its better gas mileage. To support this vibe, Honda also sells every 2025 CR-V Hybrid with black alloy wheels – which may not be every hybrid lover’s first pick. The top Sport Touring like our test vehicle also gets extra chrome trim in the front bumper. 

Meanwhile, the 2026 CR-V Hybrid will debut an off-road-themed TrailSport trim level with all-terrain tires and a few exclusive styling touches, like a front bumper that’s styled to imply an underbody skid plate. This isn’t a transformation of the CR-V, but it may suit someone who likes a touch more ruggedness from their economical small crossover. 

2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Well-Built Interior With Straightforward Controls

The old CR-V’s interior wore a luxury veneer when it first hit the market in 2017. Its woodgrain trim and small, sluggish 7-inch infotainment touchscreen were weak points by the end of the model’s life. The new CR-V Hybrid is a big step forward in style, build quality, and technology. 

Now, to be clear, the base CR-V Hybrid Sport still uses a 7-inch infotainment screen – tiny for 2025. But it’s more responsive and easier to use than last year’s system, and the upper Sport-L and the Sport Touring like our test vehicle get a 9-inch screen. Both dashboards share their design with other recent Hondas: A honeycomb strip conceals the climate vents, running below a touchscreen and above some physical controls. Buttons and knobs feel luxury-grade precise, trim pieces fit together well, and most materials are excellent for this price point. And the controls are mercifully simple to use. 

For 2026, the 9-inch touchscreen will be standard. Most CR-V Hybrids will also get a new 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster, replacing this year’s 7-inch unit.

2025 Honda CR-V Sport Hybrid Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Lots of Standard Features

As we mentioned, the 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid starts at $34,650. That price buys you a Sport model with front-wheel drive, and AWD costs $1,500 extra. The CR-V Hybrid does justify those prices by coming well-equipped even in its base form, with high-end features that include a moonroof, automatic climate control, push-button starting, a 10-way power driver’s seat, heated front seats, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, and 18-inch alloy wheels. 

The midlevel Sport-L, $37,650, adds a power liftgate, leather upholstery, memory settings for the power driver’s seat, a four-way power passenger seat, eight speakers instead of six, the bigger 9-inch touchscreen, and a wireless smartphone charger. The Sport Touring, like our test vehicle, costs $41,100 with standard all-wheel drive – that’s a $2,000 premium over an AWD Sport-L. That money buys a 12-speaker Bose stereo, GPS navigation, hands-free liftgate operation, a heated steering wheel (optional on other trim levels), rain-sensing windshield wipers, and bigger wheels. 

The CR-V Hybrid lineup doesn’t have a base model with a lower starting price. Nor does it have a true luxury model with amenities like a panoramic moonroof, ventilated seats, a height-adjustable passenger seat, heated rear seats, rear sunshades, a bigger touchscreen, a surround-view parking camera, or a head-up display.  

2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

CR-V Hybrid vs. the Gas Version

Honda continues to sell the CR-V with a 190-horsepower gasoline engine, which is available in a choice of three trim levels: the base LX ($30,100), the mid-level EX (at $32,350, similarly equipped to the Hybrid Sport), and the top EX-L (which costs $35,000 and matches the Hybrid Sport-L). 

Overall, the hybrid costs about $2,000 to $3,000 more than a comparably equipped gas CR-V. We’d pay that difference to get the better gas mileage as well as the quicker, quieter acceleration. However, if you mostly drive on the open freeway, you might not get so much benefit. While the CR-V Hybrid achieves an incredible 12 mpg improvement in the EPA’s city driving test, the hybrid system can’t help much on the highway – where the improvement is a mere 2 mpg. And if you wouldn’t like to pay for more features than you’d get from the CR-V LX, you’re looking at a pricier upgrade to the cheapest hybrid. 

2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

CR-V Hybrid vs. the Competition

The CR-V Hybrid faces a growing number of competitors. Leaders include gas-electric versions of the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-50, Subaru Forester, and Toyota RAV4. All are well-rounded crossovers with incredible fuel savings over their gas models. 

Of these models, the Hyundai and Kia have the most room, the flashiest styling, the speediest acceleration, the longest list of high-end features, and the lowest prices – with the Sportage Hybrid being particularly affordable. However, their controls aren’t as simple as the Honda’s, and they’re less economical. 

The CX-50 and RAV4 both use a Toyota hybrid system, and the Forester Hybrid shares many components with Toyota as well. They're noisier than the CR-V Hybrid or the Hyundai and Kia, but they tend to be more economical. The Mazda has the sharpest handling, best-finished interior, and longest list of premium features, but its infotainment is clunky and it’s not especially roomy. The Subaru has great outward visibility and more off-road potential than rival hybrids, but it handles lazily and has few upscale touches. The Toyota, the segment’s best seller, has a more rugged vibe than the CR-V and gets slightly better gas mileage – but its driving manners and interior feel downscale of the Honda. 

2025 Mazda CX-50 Hybrid ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Premium, Functional, and Fuel-Efficient

The 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid ranks among the best hybrid compact crossovers for acceleration, ride and handling, interior space, dashboard quality and ergonomics, and safety. And even though the competition tends to eke out a couple more miles per gallon, it’s incredibly efficient.

We understand if you’d rather have a more extroverted design, a longer list of luxury features, maximum cargo capacity, the best possible gas mileage, or a lower price. And if you mostly drive on the highway, an economical gas-powered crossover like the CR-V or the Nissan Rogue might be your best bet. But the excellent new CR-V Hybrid is worth the money to the right person. It’s a highly functional and efficient vehicle that feels like much more than just basic transportation. 

2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt