The NX offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The CR-V Hybrid doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
The NX offers an optional Panoramic View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The CR-V Hybrid only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
Both the NX and CR-V Hybrid have rear cross-traffic warning, but the NX offers optional Parking Support Brake (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The CR-V Hybrid’s Cross Traffic Monitor doesn’t automatically brake.
The NX has standard Safety Connect®, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The CR-V Hybrid 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 NX and the CR-V Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, 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 and driver alert monitors.
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, with its optional vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the NX its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 129 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The CR-V Hybrid has not been fully tested, yet.