I drove Honda's $43,000 CR-V Hybrid. It's one of the finest compact SUVs money can buy.

• The Honda CR-V is one of the most popular compact SUVs in the US and Honda's best-selling model.
• I was impressed by the CR-V's refined hybrid powertrain, quiet ride, and excellent cabin ergonomics.
• I also feel the CR-V's cabin could feel more upscale and is missing some tech content.

The CR-V, or Comfortable Runabout Vehicle, was Honda's first homegrown SUV when it debuted in 1997. Before then, the Japanese automaker had been selling rebranded sport utilities from Isuzu and Land Rover.

Since then, the CR-V has not only grown into one of the most popular compact SUVs in the market, competing against the likes of the Toyota RAV4 , Nissan Rogue , and Hyundai Tucson , but it's also become Honda's best-selling model every year since 2017.

Honda successfully launched the sixth-generation CR-V in 2023, with more than 361,000 units sold in its first year, a 52% increase over 2022.

I recently spent a week driving a 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid on the roads of suburban Atlanta.

I was impressed by CR-V's advanced hybrid powertrain, quiet ride, and excellent cabin ergonomics.

I didn't have much to complain about, but I do feel that the SUV's cabin could feel more upscale for the price and is missing some tech content.

My test car came out to $42,605.

The base front-wheel-drive CR-V LX starts at $30,100, while the most affordable hybrid trim, the front-wheel-drive CR-V Sport, starts at $34,350.

My CR-V Hybrid in top-of-the-range Sport Touring trim starts at $40,800.

Freight fees and premium Urban Gray Pearl paint pushed the as-tested price to more than $42,600.

The CR-V features a more squared-off and rugged look than its predecessors.

Much like its recently restyled big brother, the Pilot SUV, the CR-V benefits from Honda's new upright, athletic styling theme, which eschewed the previous generation's rounded bread loaf looks for a boxier aesthetic.

Up front, the CR-V sports a large, upright gloss black grille.

LED daytime running lamps and headlights flank the grille.

The CR-V's signature vertical tail lamps have been updated for the sixth generation.

The vertical tail lamps, which are now LEDs, date back to the original first-generation CR-V and are paired with incandescent turn signals.

The rear bumper features a pair of large chrome exhaust tips, only the right one housing an actual exhaust outlet.

The CR-V is one of the longest offerings in the compact SUV segment.

The CR-V is four inches longer than the Toyota RAV4, 2.5 inches longer than the Hyundai Tucson, and about two inches longer than the Nissan Rogue.

The CR-V Hybrid's 8.2 inches of ground clearance is on par with hybrid variants of the RAV4 and Tucson.

The CR-V Hybrid is powered by a four-cylinder engine coupled with a pair of electric motors.

The CR-V is powered by an updated version of the Honda's trick two-motor hybrid-electric system.

Honda's hybrid system features an 181 horsepower electric traction motor and a 161 horsepower electric generator motor mounted side-by-side in the engine compartment next to a 145 horsepower, 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine.

Total system output comes with the 204 horsepower and 247 lb.-ft. of torque.

In most instances, the CR-V Hybrid operates as a series hybrid, with the electric motors driving the wheels and the ICE engine focused on charging its small 1.06 kWh battery pack. However, the system can switch to parallel hybrid mode during highway cruising, with the ICE engine connecting to the front axle through a clutch.

The system sends power to the pavement through an E-CVT that's designed to mimic the feel of a traditional automatic transmission.

My all-wheel-drive CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring boasts EPA fuel economy figures of 40 mpg city, 34 mpg highway, and 37 mpg combined. Front-wheel-drive hybrid models get about three additional mpg.

I was able to achieve roughly 36 mpg during my time behind the wheel.

The CR-V can be started remotely by holding down a button on the key fob.

Key fob-activated remote engine start is standard on all CR-V trim levels except the base LX.

The CR-V Hybrid is available with all-wheel-drive.

Unlike many hybrids, which place an electric motor on the rear axle to create a virtual all-wheel-drive system, the CR-V Hybrid uses Honda's Real Time AWD system with a physical linkage to the rear wheels.

Honda's Real Time AWD system, available on all trim levels and standard on the Sport Touring, can send up to 50% of the engine's power to the rear wheels when needed.

The CR-V Hybrid delivered a smooth and comfortable driving experience.

Compact crossover SUVs like the CR-V are not meant to be barn-burning hot hatchbacks. This is especially true for efficiency-focused hybrids.

However, that doesn't mean they have to be mind-numbingly boring.

The CR-V Hybrid lives somewhere in the middle.

Its more rigid body structure results in a quieter cabin and a more sure-footed driving experience. The CR-V's ride was beautifully refined and comfortable.

The handling was predictably numb but still precise enough to get the job done.

With just 204 total system horsepower on tap, the 3,926-pound CR-V Hybrid isn't terribly quick.

But the two-motor hybrid system worked perfectly and delivered the juice it had smoothly, linearly.

According to Motor Trend, the all-wheel-drive CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring can accelerate from 0 to 60mph in 7.6 seconds.

The CR-V's cabin is both outstanding and a bit disappointing.

The CR-V's cabin is comfortable and smartly organized, with exceptional build and material quality.

Despite its more than $40,000 price tag, the CR-V's cabin looks closer to an economy car than a state-of-the-art family SUV.

It certainly gets the job done, but it lacks the upscale feel and design presence of a Hyundai Tucson, which makes you feel a bit special.

While this isn't a dealbreaker, it's something I think about when evaluating the sea of compact SUV options in the marketplace right now.

The CR-V is equipped with seats that are designed to combat fatigue.

I found the CR-V's seats to be supportive and comfortable on long drives. I'm also a fan of the bright orange contrast stitching on the Sport Touring black leather seats.

In front of the driver is a molded leather-wrapped steering wheel.

The heated wheel boasts controls for the CR-V's digital gauge cluster, multimedia, and driver assistance tech.

The CR-V comes with an analog speedometer paired with a seven-inch TFT display.

The digital display can be configured to display the CR-V's tachometer, power flow meters, multimedia features, and driver assistance features.

The centerpiece of the front dash is a nine-inch touchscreen display.

The CR-V comes standard with a smaller seven-inch display, with the nine-inch display available on higher trim. While acceptable in this segment, it falls short of the larger 10 or 11-inch display found in other offerings.

The screen run Honda's corporate infotainment system, which has been around for more than half a decade now. It works well, is fairly easy to navigate, but the interface is beginning to look a bit dated now.

Like in other Honda products, I give the company kudos for keeping the physical home, volume, and back buttons, which is increasingly rare nowadays.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come standard on the CR-V.

The design of the CR-V's center console draws heavily from other Honda products, which is a good thing.

The buttons and knobs are all logically placed and easy to use on the go.

The CR-V comes standard with a backup camera.

However, it is not available with a surround-view camera that's become commonplace among its competitors like the Rogue and Tucson.

Unlike many Honda models, the CR-V maintains a traditional shift lever instead of a push-button shifter.

The shifter features a "B" transmission setting that allows for greater regenerative braking and allows the CR-V to be driven with one pedal.

My test car was equipped with the optional power moonroof.

The CR-V is not available with a larger panoramic glass room found on some of its rivals.

The CR-V has 41 inches of second-row legroom.

This figure is on par with the Tucson Hybrid and beats out the RAV4 by more than three inches.

The CR-V is equipped with Honda's handsfree power liftgate.

Available only on the Sport Touring trim, the hands-free power tailgate automatically opens when you kick your foot under the rear bumper when in possession of the key fob.

Open the power rear liftgate and you'll find a solid 34.7 cubic feet of storage space.

That trails the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid's 38.7 cubic feet and the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid's 37.5 cubic feet.

Fold the rear seat down and cargo capacity increases to 76.5 cubic feet.

That figure beats the Tucson Hybrid by two cubic feet and the RAV4 Hybrid by a whopping 6.7 cubic feet.

Unfortunately, the CR-V Hybrid's rear seats do not fold flat into the floor. As a result, there is a pronounced hump that prevents larger items from laying flat.

Due to the placement of its battery under the cargo floor, hybrid CR-V variants do not come with a spare tire.

Instead, there is a tire repair kit concealed in the left rear wheel hump in the cargo area.

Non-hybrid CR-Vs come equipped with a spare tire.

The CR-V comes loaded with standard safety and driver assistance tech.

The CR-V comes standard with the Honda Sensing suite of safety tech that includes collision mitigation braking, road departure mitigation, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow, traffic sign recognition, traffic jam assist, blind spot awareness, cross traffic monitor, driver attention monitor, and auto high-beam headlights.

My verdict: The CR-V Hybrid isn't perfect, but it's still pretty spectacular.

As the heart of Honda's product lineup, it can be argued that the CR-V today is as important to the Japanese automaker's fortunes as the Civic or Accord was during their heyday.

This means it was absolutely imperative to nail it with the sixth-generation CR-V.

And it has.

The CR-V's smooth and efficient hybrid drive system, isolating cabin, comfortable ride, and extensive standard safety tech are exactly what most compact SUV shoppers are looking for.

While it may not have the fancy design and luxury flourishes of some rivals, the CR-V excels at the meat and potatoes of what an SUV needs to do on an everyday basis.

For me, it's one of the finest compact SUVs money can buy.

Read the original article on Business Insider