Compare the2025 Honda CR-VVS 2024 Toyota Rav4

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

Both the CR-V and the Rav4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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, 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:

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 last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2023.

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.

The CR-V Hybrid’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 1 more horsepower (204 vs. 203) and 63 lbs.-ft. more torque (247 vs. 184) than the Rav4’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Honda CR-V turbo 4 cyl. is faster than the Toyota Rav4:

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

Regenerative brakes improve the CR-V Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Rav4 doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

Regardless of its engine, the CR-V’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip (not available Hybrid). Toyota only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Rav4 LE AWD/XLE/XLE Premium.

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 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 Rav4 doesn’t offer a CVT.

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

The CR-V stops much shorter than the Rav4:

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

The CR-V EX-L AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the Rav4 TRD Off-Road pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The CR-V EX-L AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.5 seconds quicker than the Rav4 Limited (27.4 seconds @ .61 average G’s vs. 28.9 seconds @ .57 average G’s).

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 doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the CR-V EX-L AWD is quieter than the Rav4 TRD Off-Road:

The CR-V has 7.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Rav4 (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.

The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Rav4 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 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 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 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 XLE/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road 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’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 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.

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

Car and Driver performed a comparison test in its March 2024 issue and the Honda CR-V EX-L AWD won out over the Toyota Rav4 TRD Off-Road.

The CR-V was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “5Best Trucks/10Best” for 2024 and 4 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.