2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid Review: Mind Games

Conversation icebreakers and clickbait listicles often start with a similar conceit - a hypothetical question meant to get you thinking and talking. The listicle, of course, answers these questions in a way alternately designed to enrage the reader or to promote whatever crap is being sold by the shady owners of the website that week, but it’s a great method of encouraging conversation.

Among car people, of course, these rhetorical questions hover around one’s ideal garage. For example, given a mythical million dollars, choose five cars. Or pick an automaker and take three cars from anywhere in their history. One that gets me as one who doesn’t buy cars often, of course, is the “forever” car. Buy one car now that you have to drive for the rest of your life.

A sports car, of course, is first in mind for these exercises - but then I recall that I’m old and getting older. No matter how many miles remain on my personal odometer, there’s no denying that the redline will someday come. So comfortable and long-lasting are the primary considerations. And when longevity is a concern, Honda is usually top of mind. The 2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid isn’t flashy, nor is it fun to drive. But if I’m rolling the dice on a forever car, I want one that I know will be with me to the bitter end.

As I said, however, it isn’t flashy. It’ll never impress the neighbors if that’s important to you. Somehow the styling has become even more bland and anonymous compared to the previous generation, which is saying something for any midsized crossover which is generally the domain of the anodyne. It’s inoffensive, clad with the de rigueur black plastic on the wheel wells and rockers. The hexagonal detailing to the grille is handsome, at least, making the front view a bit more interesting than some. Get used to seeing it, as the parking lots will soon be filled with CR-Vs.

The interior is mostly black and plain, though the orange/red stitching on the leather seats on this Sport Touring trim does lighten the mood a bit. The texture on the dash seems to remind me of the hexagonal grille, too, making things a bit more lively. It’s a straightforward, comfortable place to spend a day or a lifetime, with easy-to-use controls and Thank God real knobs for volume and the essential HVAC functions. Wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto supplement the easy-to-use baked-in infotainment should you prefer good old-fashioned terrestrial radio or the satellite equivalent to whatever playlist you’ve cooked up. Wireless phone charging mates with plenty of nooks and spots to stash your stuff while in motion.

Driving the CR-V Hybrid is as one would expect from the best crossover in the business - comfortable and simple. It’s not an engaging drive, that's for certain - while the steering is direct and the suspension is well-damped, the car simply disappears around you. You don’t think about it. You won’t find yourself seeking twisty backroads, but neither does a long day in the saddle make you beg for a massage. The CR-V Hybrid simply does exactly what the driver and passengers need, no more no less.

The 204 horsepower listed above is a combined total-system number between a 147 hp four-cylinder and a 181 hp electric motor. It’s not a rocketship, but neither will you find yourself lagging at a stoplight or tricky highway merge. Honda’s CVT works nicely here, too, combining the strengths of both power systems and laying the horses down without drama. 

I do worry, however, about a number way up there at the top of the page - the MSRP. Forty grand is a hard number for me to wrap my head around, as it would have purchased one damned fine luxury car or midrange sports car when I started driving in the (oh, God, I’m old) mid-Nineties. Today, forty thousand dollars is south of the average transaction price for a new car. There is a ton of value here when you figure in fuel savings and impressive resale value typical to a Honda-badged vehicle, but it’s a lot to swallow. Fortunately, there may be a way around that.

You see, I’m cheap. And I live very near the CR-V’s assembly plant in East Liberty, Ohio - an area that (knocks wood nervously since I’ve moved the snowblower to a storage unit) doesn’t see a great deal of winter accumulation all that often. As such, I’d be VERY tempted to eschew the all-wheel drive on this Sport Touring trim, opting instead for the Sport Hybrid with front-wheel drive. This would save $6,150 on the as-delivered price, and net a nice round 40 mpg EPA combined fuel-economy rating. 

Either way, it’s hard to go wrong with the 2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid. It’s a smart choice, whether it’s your forever car or just your next family hauler. 

[Images: © 2023 Chris Tonn/TTAC]

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