Compare the2023 Honda CR-VVS 2023 GMC Terrain

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Honda CR-V are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The GMC Terrain doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

The Honda CR-V 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 Terrain doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the CR-V 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’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Terrain’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The CR-V has a standard Low-Speed Braking Control that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Terrain doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The CR-V has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Terrain’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the CR-V has standard Cross Traffic Monitor, helping the driver avoid collisions. GMC charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Terrain.

The CR-V’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Terrain doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the CR-V and the Terrain have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and rear parking sensors.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Honda CR-V is much safer than the Terrain:

	CR-V	Terrain
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Neck Tension	178 lbs.	290 lbs.
Neck Compression	45 lbs.	112 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	.91 in	1.73 in
Shoulder Force	201 lbs.	312 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.3 in	1.69 in
Torso Deflection Rate	7 MPH	8 MPH
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Head Injury Criterion	119	733
Head Peak Forces	no contact	101 G’s
Neck Tension	45 lbs.	89 lbs.
Neck Compression	89 lbs.	491 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	.94 in	1.65 in
Shoulder Force	223 lbs.	402 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.06 in	1.57 in
Torso Deflection Rate	7 MPH	7 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Head Protection	GOOD	MARGINAL

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the CR-V its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Terrain has not been fully tested, yet.

Warranty

The CR-V’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Terrain’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the CR-V for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Honda will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. GMC only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Terrain.

Reliability

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the CR-V’s reliability 24 points higher than the Terrain.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 16 places higher in reliability than GMC.

Engine

The CR-V’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 15 more horsepower (190 vs. 175) than the Terrain’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
CR-V
	FWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	28 city/34 hwy
	AWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	27 city/32 hwy
Terrain
	FWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/29 hwy
	AWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/28 hwy

Transmission

The CR-V has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Terrain doesn’t offer a CVT.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	CR-V	Terrain
Front Rotors	12.3 inches	11.8 inches
Rear Rotors	12.2 inches	11.3 inches

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the CR-V has larger tires than the Terrain (235/60R18 vs. 225/65R17).

The CR-V’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Terrain SLE/AT4’s standard 65 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the CR-V has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Terrain SLE/AT4.

Suspension and Handling

The CR-V has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the CR-V flat and controlled during cornering. The Terrain’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the CR-V is 1 inch wider in the front and 1.5 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Terrain.

The CR-V EX-L AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the Terrain Denali AWD pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the CR-V’s turning circle is .1 feet tighter than the Terrain w/17” wheels’ (37.3 feet vs. 37.4 feet). The CR-V’s turning circle is 4.3 feet tighter than the Terrain w/19” wheels’ (37.3 feet vs. 41.6 feet).

Passenger Space

The CR-V has .4 inches more front legroom, 1.2 inches more front hip room, .7 inches more front shoulder room, .7 inches more rear legroom and .3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Terrain.

Cargo Capacity

The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Terrain with its rear seat up (39.3 vs. 29.6 cubic feet). The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Terrain with its rear seat folded (76.5 vs. 63.3 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the CR-V. The Terrain doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Servicing Ease

The CR-V uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Terrain 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.

Ergonomics

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

The CR-V has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The Terrain doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

The CR-V’s 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 Terrain’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The CR-V has a 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. Dual zone air conditioning costs extra on the Terrain.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Honda CR-V, based on reliability, safety and performance. The GMC Terrain isn't recommended.

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

The Honda CR-V outsold the GMC Terrain by almost three to one during 2022.