Yahoo Autos 2023 Honda CR-V Gets a Handsome Redesign, New Sport Trims for Hybrid
Honda has redesigned the CR-V for 2023, and the new model looks good inside and out.
EX, EX-L, Sport, and Sport Touring trims are available. A hybrid powertrain is standard on Sport and Sport Touring.
The nonhybrid 2023 CR-V will go on sale this summer, with the hybrid model following shortly after.
The latest version of the Honda CR-V has arrived, and it looks significantly better than before. With a cleaner design than the last few generations of this compact SUV, the new 2023 CR-V is handsome on the outside, more modern on the inside, but still instantly recognizable as a CR-V. Key differences under the skin are less significant, but do include a more spacious cabin, new features, and updates to both the turbo-four and hybrid powertrains.
Size and Engines
Because the latest version of the subcompact Honda HR-V grew significantly, the compact CR-V also needed to expand to preserve the spacing within Honda’s SUV lineup. The new model has a 1.6 inch longer wheelbase, a 2.7 inch increase in overall length, and an 0.4 inch uptick in width. Honda says this results in more rear legroom, and cargo space for the hybrid is improved, now matching the nonhybrid with 36 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats and 77 cubic feet of space with the rear seats folded. The nonhybrid does have a movable floor that lowers to expand the space behind the seats to 39 cubic feet.
Honda has not made any major changes to either of the CR-V’s two powertrains, which include a turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four and a hybrid setup that uses a 2.0-liter gasoline engine. The nonhybrid has adjustments to the 1.5-liter engine’s torque curve and tweaks to the continuously variable automatic transmission that are meant to reduce noise and vibration—given the old CR-V’s noisy, coarse engine note, any improvement in this regard will be welcome. Meanwhile, one of the hybrid's two electric motors is torquier than before, but peak system horsepower is down a bit, from 212 hp to 204 hp. Even still, Honda now says that the hybrid can tow up to 1000 pounds, while the old model did not have a tow rating.
