Clever hybrid tech impresses with 40 mpg 2023 Honda CR-V Sport

Enlarge / Boxy looks don’t prevent the 2023 Honda CR-V Sport from impressing us. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)

Honda has a new version of its bestselling CR-V, the sixth to bear the name. Like many waistlines following the pandemic, it’s slightly larger than the old CR-V. But don’t let size matter—the $32,950 Sport version (or the $34,450 Sport AWD) features a hybrid powertrain capable of up to 40 mpg (5.9 L/100 km), and relative to the competition, it’s even capable of being an engaging drive.

It seems a little odd, knowing that this Honda is now in its sixth generation, a fact that speaks as much to the supremacy of the SUV within American driving culture as it does to my changing perception of time as I age. The new CR-V hews to Honda’s current corporate face, with bold hexagonal grille and headlights and daylight running lights that slash up to the tops of the front wings.

Most of what used to be called brightwork ought to be called darkwork for the CR-V Sport, since it’s mostly made from glossy black plastic. Our test CR-V was the $39,100 Sport Touring, which boasts a little platinum-painted flair on the front that appears to glow when it catches the light right.