Compare the2024 Honda CR-VVS 2024 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid

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 CR-V are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Rav4 Hybrid doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

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 Rav4 Hybrid 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 Rav4 Hybrid’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the CR-V’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Rav4 Hybrid doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

Both the CR-V and the Rav4 Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

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 safer than the Rav4 Hybrid:

The Honda CR-V achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Rav4 Hybrid last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2023.

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 Honda CR-V’s reliability 12 points higher than the Rav4 Hybrid.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda above average in initial quality. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated below average.

On the EPA test cycle the CR-V gets better mileage than the Rav4 Hybrid:

Both the CR-V and Rav4 Hybrid have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. The CR-V (except CR-V Hybrid) 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 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 Rav4 Hybrid doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

For better stopping power the CR-V’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Rav4 Hybrid:

The CR-V stops much shorter than the Rav4 Hybrid:

For better traction, the CR-V has larger tires than the Rav4 Hybrid (235/60R18 vs. 225/65R17).

The CR-V Sport Touring Hybrid’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Rav4 Hybrid’s optional 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the CR-V Sport Touring Hybrid has standard 19-inch wheels. The Rav4 Hybrid’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

The CR-V EX-L AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Rav4 Hybrid XSE pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The CR-V EX-L AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the Rav4 Hybrid XSE (27.4 seconds @ .61 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the CR-V has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Rav4 Hybrid (8.2 vs. 8.1 inches), allowing the CR-V to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Honda CR-V may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs up to about 200 pounds less than the Toyota Rav4 Hybrid.

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 Rav4 Hybrid doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The CR-V has 7.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Rav4 Hybrid (106 vs. 98.9).

The CR-V has .5 inches more front headroom, .3 inches more front legroom, 1.3 inches more front hip room, .1 inches more front shoulder room, 3.2 inches more rear legroom and 4.9 inches more rear hip room than the Rav4 Hybrid.

The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Rav4 Hybrid with its rear seat up (39.3 vs. 37.6 cubic feet). The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Rav4 Hybrid with its rear seat folded (76.5 vs. 69.8 cubic feet).

The CR-V uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Rav4 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.

The CR-V EX-L/Sport-L/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 Rav4 Hybrid doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The CR-V has a standard Pushbutton Start that allows you to start the engine without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Only the Rav4 Hybrid XLE/SE/XSE/Limited/Woodland offers a Smart Key System.

The CR-V’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Rav4 Hybrid’s power window (except driver window), power lock and power mirror switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The CR-V’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 Rav4 Hybrid LE’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

The CR-V is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Rav4 Hybrid doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Insurance will cost less for the CR-V owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the CR-V will cost $90 to $670 less than the Rav4 Hybrid over a five-year period.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Honda CR-V and the Toyota Rav4 Hybrid, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The CR-V was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2024 and 8 more times in the last 23 years. The Rav4 hasn’t been picked since 2008, and the Rav4 has only been chosen twice.

Motor Trend selected the CR-V as their 2018 Sport Utility of the Year. The Rav4 has never been chosen.