Compare the2023 Honda CR-VVS 2023 Kia Niro

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 Kia Niro doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear 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 Niro doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

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 Niro’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The CR-V offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Niro doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

Both the CR-V and the Niro have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, 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 rear parking sensors.

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 Niro has not been tested, yet.

The CR-V’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Niro runs out after 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. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Niro.

There are over 37 percent more Honda dealers than there are Kia dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the CR-V’s warranty.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 4 places higher in reliability than Kia.

The CR-V’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 51 more horsepower (190 vs. 139) than the Niro’s 1.6 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the Honda CR-V is faster than the Kia Niro:

Both the CR-V and Niro have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. The CR-V has a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

The CR-V has 2.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Niro (14 vs. 11.1 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The CR-V 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 Niro doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

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 Niro doesn’t offer a CVT.

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

The CR-V stops shorter than the Niro:

For better traction, the CR-V has larger tires than the Niro (235/60R18 vs. 205/60R16). The CR-V’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Niro (235/60R18 vs. 225/45R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the CR-V has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Niro.

The CR-V has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Niro; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the CR-V is 1.2 inches wider in the front and 1.4 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Niro.

The CR-V’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (57.6% to 42.4%) than the Niro’s (61% to 39%). This gives the CR-V more stable handling and braking.

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

The CR-V has 10.2 inches more front hip room, 1.7 inches more front shoulder room, .6 inches more rear legroom and .5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Niro.

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

The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Niro with its rear seat up (39.3 vs. 22.8 cubic feet). The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Niro with its rear seat folded (76.5 vs. 63.7 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 Niro doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The CR-V has a 1500 lbs. towing capacity. The Niro has no towing capacity.

The CR-V’s standard 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 Niro’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. The CR-V EX-L’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches. With the Niro SX’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

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 Niro’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The CR-V’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Niro’s standard projector halogen headlights and light instantly. LED lights also last over twenty times longer than halogen.

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

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

The Honda CR-V outsold the Kia Niro by over 8 to one during 2022.