Compare the2023 Subaru CrosstrekVS 2022 Honda CR-V

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Crosstrek CVT are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The CR-V doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Subaru Crosstrek has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The CR-V doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Crosstrek has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The CR-V doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Crosstrek Limited has standard Reverse Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The CR-V doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Crosstrek. But it costs extra on the CR-V.

The Crosstrek Premium/Sport/Limited has standard STARLINK Safety and Security, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The CR-V doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Crosstrek and the CR-V have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Subaru Crosstrek is safer than the Honda CR-V:

	Crosstrek	CR-V
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	122	309
Neck Compression	52 lbs.	96 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Subaru Crosstrek is safer than the Honda CR-V:

	Crosstrek	CR-V
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	428 lbs.	567 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	201	386

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Honda With 4 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Subaru higher than Honda.

Engine

As tested in Motor Trend the Crosstrek Sport/Limited 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder is faster than the Honda CR-V (automatics tested):

	Crosstrek	CR-V
Zero to 60 MPH	7.8 sec	8.6 sec
Quarter Mile	16 sec	16.7 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	87.7 MPH	84.9 MPH

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Crosstrek lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability without compromising ground clearance. The CR-V doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Crosstrek gets better mileage than the CR-V:

			MPG
Crosstrek
AWD	Auto	2.0 DOHC flat-4	28 city/33 hwy
		2.5 DOHC flat-4	27 city/34 hwy
CR-V
AWD	Auto	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	27 city/32 hwy

The Crosstrek has 2.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the CR-V (16.6 vs. 14 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Subaru Crosstrek higher (7 out of 10) than the Honda CR-V (6). This means the Crosstrek produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the CR-V every 15,000 miles.

Tires and Wheels

The Crosstrek’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the CR-V LX/SE’s standard 65 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Crosstrek Premium handles at .81 G’s, while the CR-V Touring pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Crosstrek Premium executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the CR-V Touring (27.3 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Crosstrek’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the CR-V’s (35.4 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Crosstrek has a greater minimum ground clearance than the CR-V (8.7 vs. 8.2 inches), allowing the Crosstrek to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The Subaru Crosstrek may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 to 250 pounds less than the Honda CR-V.

The Crosstrek is 5.6 inches shorter than the CR-V, making the Crosstrek easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The Crosstrek has 1.8 inches more front legroom and 5.7 inches more rear hip room than the CR-V.

The front step up height for the Crosstrek is 1.5 inches lower than the CR-V (17.5” vs. 19”).

Servicing Ease

The engine in the Crosstrek is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the CR-V. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

The power windows standard on both the Crosstrek and the CR-V have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Crosstrek is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The CR-V prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Crosstrek’s front power windows open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The CR-V’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. The CR-V SE/EX/EX-L/Touring’s rear windows don’t close automatically.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Crosstrek’s available exterior PIN entry system (not available on Crosstrek Base). The CR-V doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Crosstrek’s variable intermittent wipers have an adjustable delay to allow the driver to choose a setting that best clears the windshield during light rain or mist. The CR-V LX’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Crosstrek Limited has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The CR-V doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Crosstrek’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The CR-V offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Crosstrek owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Crosstrek with a number “5” insurance rate while the CR-V is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Crosstrek is less expensive to operate than the CR-V because typical repairs cost much less on the Crosstrek than the CR-V, including $13 less for a muffler, $64 less for a starter, $121 less for fuel injection, $59 less for a fuel pump and $307 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Subaru Crosstrek and the Honda CR-V, based on reliability, safety and performance.

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