THE MOST FUEL-EFFICIENT AND MOST
POWERFUL CR-V IS FINALLY HERE
Because the 1.3-kW-hr
battery fits above the
rear axle and below
the cargo floor (shown
above), the CR-V Hybrid
gets a tire-repair kit
instead of a spare.WORDS MIGUEL CORTINAT
he irony couldn’t be more towering.
As I was driving a 2020 CR-V Hybrid
from Tucson, Arizona, to Los Angeles,
President Donald Trump announced
the U.S. was buying barrels of crude oil
after its price plummeted nearly 30
percent in one day. Oil prices were at their
lowest in more than a decade, and here I
was, driving the first gas-sipping hybrid
SUV Honda has offered in the U.S.
The CR-V Hybrid represents a big step
for Honda. It’s the first electrified CR-V
and the first all-wheel-drive hybrid vehicle
for the automaker. Are gas prices going to
go back up? They always do. But that’s not
the only reason to shop this new entry.
Available in all four trims—LX, EX,
EX-L, and Touring—the hybrid brings a
host of differences from the gas model.
The biggest lie under the skin. The
2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid uses the same
two-motor system as the Accord Hybrid,
which gets a 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle
engine that produces 143 hp and 129 lb-ft
of torque. An electric motor produces 181
hp and 232 lb-ft, and the hybrid CR-V’s212 combined horsepower make it 22
hp more powerful than the gas version.
That power is sent to all four wheels by
way of an e-CVT. A 1.3-kW-hr lithium-ion
battery lies under the cargo floor. All CR-V
Hybrids come with standard all-wheel
drive, the same mechanical system used in
the gas model, not an electrified rear axle.
To show off your green sensibility,
the exterior Honda badges have a blue
surround on hybrid models, the rear
bumper has been redesigned to hide the
exhaust pipe, and all CR-V hybrids except
the LX get five-LED foglights. All models
get a tire repair kit and miss out on the
two-level cargo floor the gas CR-V has, the
gear shifter has been replaced
by buttons, and the screen
on the instrument
panel adds graphics
displaying the power-
train’s work rate.
Also exclusive to the
hybrid are four driving
modes: Sport, Econ,
EV, and Normal.You buy a hybrid because you care about
the environment and want to save on gas,
and the CR-V Hybrid delivers 40/35/38
mpg city/highway/combined. That’s better
than the gas AWD CR-V’s 27/32/29 mpg
but not quite as good as the Toyota RAV4
Hybrid (41/38/40 mpg) or the Ford Escape
Hybrid (43/37/40 mpg).
Although hybrids don’t really shine on
the highway, I was surprised by the modest
fuel economy numbers I got during myJUST IN CASE
64 MOTORTREND.COM JUNE 2020FIRST DRIVE I 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid