The Sport is akin to a hybrid version of the EX, and we figure that the $1340 price difference will pay itself back in less than three years, depending on annual mileage and local fuel cost. In pure dollar terms, the new hybrids make a ton of sense. Likewise, changing the torque distribution from 60/40 to 50/50, as in this new model, is a straightforward mechanical-engineering problem for Team Honda. Making a front-drive version is as easy as leaving the rear-drive mechanicals on the shelf. This is possible because the rear-drive system, unlike some Toyota hybrids we can name, employs a rear driveshaft off the transmission in lieu of a rear-mounted electric motor. It's rated at a compelling 40 mpg combined (43 city and 36 highway). There was never a front-drive CR-V hybrid before, but now there is in the CR-V Sport. Last year's model was good for 38 mpg combined (40 city and 35 highway), and our 2021 long-term sample earned 29 and 31 mpg in two tries at the same test. Our all-wheel-drive test sample is rated at 37 mpg combined (40 city and 34 highway), and it earned 31 mpg on our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test. LOWS: Slightly shrunken cargo area lacks underfloor storage, pity there's no plug-in-hybrid version.Īt the pump, the extra performance, the newfound ability to tow, and a bit of year-over-year weight gain have taken the slightest bit of shine off the fuel-economy ratings. Meanwhile, the electric motor is pulling steadily all the way through, hence the utter lack of head bobbing at each simu-upshift. That's because in that scenario, the engine is just a series-hybrid generator, and the rpm sweeps are there for show, a deliberate programmatic dance that provides the necessary power while avoiding the CVT-like drone we all loathe. When you accelerate hard from a dead stop, you'll hear several engine rpm sweeps that sound like shifts, but the process lacks hiccups in acceleration or any sense of shift shock. (Ironically, the battery eats into storage, raising the cargo floor flush with the sill and trimming load capacity from 39 to 36 cubic feet.) When we stomped on the loud pedal during our acceleration runs or climbed a grade, the 145-hp 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle engine's main duty was that of stationary real-time generator in partnership with a second 161-hp electric machine that's thoroughly ignored in the spec panel below because, well, it's just a generator-and also the starter motor. This is no pure EV, though, because its battery, a tiny 1.1-kWh lithium-ion unit, is made for temporary storage, not distance. The hybrid is instead powered (most of the time) by a 181-hp AC synchronous electric motor. The effect of all of that is magnified by the absence of a continuously variable automatic transmission. The Sport duo can also be identified on dealer lots by their black touches, including grille and grille bar, roof rails, alloy wheels, and mirror housings. ![]() ![]() Besides superior fuel economy, these two models deliver the sportiest and smoothest driving of the lot, with the Sport Touring being the most well-appointed in the entire lineup. If you want your 2023 CR-V to be a hybrid-and you do-look for the Sport or Sport Touring badge. That characterization absolutely does not apply to the new hybridized CR-V, which features a comprehensively reworked hybrid powertrain and a whole new attitude that starts with the fact that it's not positioned as a stand-alone hybrid model. The output and fuel efficiency of the powertrain-a turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four engine and continuously variable automatic transmission-hadn't budged. But that review used the word "incremental," because while the vehicle's interior space and driving environment had unquestionably improved, no new ground was obviously broken. We came away mighty impressed with the new sixth-generation 2023 Honda CR-V after sampling an EX-L some weeks back.
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