Compare the2023 Honda CR-V HybridVS 2023 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda CR-V Hybrid have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the CR-V Hybrid deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The CR-V Hybrid’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Crosstrek Hybrid’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring has standard Parking Sensors to help warn the driver about vehicles, pedestrians or other obstacles behind or in front of their vehicle. The Crosstrek Hybrid doesn’t offer a front parking aid.

Compared to metal, the CR-V Hybrid’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid has a metal gas tank.

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

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the CR-V Hybrid for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Honda will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Crosstrek Hybrid.

There are over 68 percent more Honda dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the CR-V Hybrid’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. With 8 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Honda higher than Subaru.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 3 places higher in reliability than Subaru.

The CR-V Hybrid’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 56 more horsepower (204 vs. 148) than the Crosstrek Hybrid’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

On the EPA test cycle the CR-V Hybrid gets better mileage than the Crosstrek Hybrid running its gasoline engine:

The CR-V Hybrid has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Crosstrek Hybrid doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

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

For better stopping power the CR-V Hybrid’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Crosstrek Hybrid:

For better traction, the CR-V Hybrid has larger tires than the Crosstrek Hybrid (235/60R18 vs. 225/55R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring has standard 19-inch wheels. The Crosstrek Hybrid’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the CR-V Hybrid’s wheelbase is 1.4 inches longer than on the Crosstrek Hybrid (106.3 inches vs. 104.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the CR-V Hybrid is 2.3 inches wider in the front and 2.8 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Crosstrek Hybrid.

The CR-V Hybrid uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Crosstrek Hybrid doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The CR-V Hybrid has 2.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Crosstrek Hybrid (103.5 vs. 100.8).

The CR-V Hybrid has .5 inches more front hip room, 1.2 inches more front shoulder room, .5 inches more rear headroom, 3.7 inches more rear legroom and .3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Crosstrek Hybrid.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the CR-V Hybrid’s rear seats recline. The Crosstrek Hybrid’s rear seats don’t recline.

The CR-V Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Crosstrek Hybrid with its rear seat up (39.3 vs. 15.9 cubic feet). The CR-V Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Crosstrek Hybrid with its rear seat folded (76.5 vs. 43.1 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the CR-V Hybrid easier. The CR-V Hybrid’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 26 inches, while the Crosstrek Hybrid’s liftover is 30.7 inches.

The CR-V Hybrid’s cargo area is larger than the Crosstrek Hybrid’s in almost every dimension:

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring’s power liftgate can be opened or closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Crosstrek Hybrid doesn’t offer a power or hands-free opening liftgate.

The CR-V Hybrid uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Crosstrek Hybrid uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

When two different drivers share the CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring, the memory seats make it convenient for both. Each keyless remote activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position. The Crosstrek Hybrid doesn’t offer memory seats.

The CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Crosstrek Hybrid doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The CR-V Hybrid’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Crosstrek Hybrid has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

The CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring’s front and rear power windows all 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 Crosstrek Hybrid’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

On a hot day the CR-V Hybrid’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance with the keyless remote or at the outside door handle. The driver of the Crosstrek Hybrid can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The CR-V Hybrid’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Crosstrek Hybrid’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

The CR-V Hybrid’s standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The Crosstrek Hybrid doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

Both the CR-V Hybrid and the Crosstrek Hybrid offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the CR-V Hybrid has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Crosstrek Hybrid doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Honda CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Crosstrek Hybrid doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The CR-V Hybrid is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Crosstrek Hybrid doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The CR-V was chosen as one of Car and Driver’s “Top Five/10Best Trucks” for 3 of the last 21 years. The Crosstrek Hybrid has never been a Car and Driver “Top Five/10Best Truck” pick.

Motor Trend selected the CR-V as their 2018 Sport Utility of the Year. The Crosstrek Hybrid has never been chosen.

The Honda CR-V outsold the Subaru Crosstrek by 76% during the 2022 model year.