With 2025 now drawing to a close, the midsize hybrid SUV sales race in the U.S. is starting to really heat up. Since the beginning of the year, the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 have consistently been rivaling each other in the sales charts, but October 2025’s results show that Honda may just be set to take the win for this year.
Hybrid midsize SUVs are becoming increasingly popular options as more new car buyers are prioritizing interior space, safety, and efficiency, even if it means having to fork more money out. The Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 are longstanding options in this segment, resulting in a solidified reputation that many American consumers have come to swear by.
Honda Solidifies Its Lead In The Hybrid SUV Sales Race
According to Honda‘s official sales report for October 2025, the Japanese brand was able to achieve 31,696 individual unit sales. 52 percent of these account for the hybridized model, which comes in at approximately 16,482 examples. This reflects a 2.8-percent year-on-year sales increase. For 2025 so far, Honda confirms 339,197 individual sales, reflecting a 3.5-percent sales increase.
How This Compares To The RAV4’s Performance
When looking at the RAV4 Hybrid range specifically, Toyota highlights that it was able to sell 15,031 individual copies of the gasoline-electric midsize sedan in October 2025, reflecting a 15.7 percent sales decline compared to October 2024. This year so far, the Japanese brand has sold 154,477 copies.
If we include the PHEV model’s October 2025 sales of 1,098 copies, the Honda CR-V Hybrid still comes out on top. However, the entire RAV4 range, including the ICE, scored 39,663 individual unit sales in October and 397,797 for the year so far, which is much more than the Honda CR-V range’s total sales, including its ICE counterpart.
A Higher Starting Price Doesn’t Hurt The CR-V’s Success
The 2026 model year CR-V Hybrid range starts at $35,630 for a base Sport derivative in front-wheel drive guise. For reference, the RAV4 Hybrid range starts at $32,850, but this base model isn’t as well kitted out as the Honda. The $38,800 Trailsport Hybrid, available exclusively with all-wheel drive, is based on the entry-level model, but with a more adventurous aesthetic to appease would-be adventurers. The Sport-L is essentially a more premium extension of the base model, increasing the price to $38,725. The Sport Touring sits at the very top of the range with a $42,250 starting price before options. These prices exclude Honda’s $1,450 destination fee.
The base model comes standard with 18-inch gloss black alloy wheels, roof rails, full LED headlights, and dual exhaust finishers. Within the cabin, you’ll find cloth upholstery with orange stitching for the seats, front seat heating, electronic adjustments for the driver’s seat, a one-touch electronic sunroof, and dual-zone climate control. You also get a nine-inch touchscreen infotainment system connected to a 240-Watt six-speaker audio system, with the added benefit of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Trailsport adds the following items on top of the aforementioned features:
- Bespoke 18-inch alloy wheels
- All-season floor mats
- All-terrain tires
- An electronic-lifting tailgate
- A 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster
- A heated steering wheel
- An eight-speaker 320-Watt audio system
The Sport-L adds leather seat upholstery with orange stitching, memory functions for the driver’s seat, and a wireless smartphone charger. The Sport Touring includes a hands-free function for the tailgate, a Google-based operating system, and additional driving modes, including Snow, Sport, Economy, and individual. You also get 19-inch gloss black alloy wheels, a Bose premium audio system, and satellite navigation. Standard color options include Canyon River Blue Metallic, Crystal Black Pearl, Meteorite Gray Metallic, and Solar Silver Metallic. For $455, you can specify Platinum White Pearl, Radiant Red Metallic, or Urban Gray Pearl.
Honda Also Falls Short On Power
Honda offers the CR-V Hybrid with a choice of front- or all-wheel drivetrains, both of which produce a combined 204 horsepower and 247 pound-feet to the wheels via a direct-drive eCVT. The brand claims an eight-second 0-60 MPH time for the front-wheel drive model and a 7.6-second time for the all-wheel drive variant. This is a less powerful and, resultantly, slower option compared to the RAV4 Hybrid range.
Honda limits both drivetrains to a 111 MPH top speed. The brand opts for a conventional driveline to the rear wheels for its all-wheel drive system. This is opposed to applying an additional electric motor to the rear axle, and explains why the model’s output remains the same, regardless of your preferred setup. In terms of towing, it’s not necessarily the best option that you can consider, as the brand limits its capacity to just 1,000 pounds.
Front-Wheel Drive Makes It More Efficient
The Honda CR-V’s hybrid system employs a supplementary 1.1-kWh lithium-ion battery pack, resulting in a pretty impressive 43/36/40 MPG EPA consumption estimate on the city/highway/combined cycle for the front-wheel drive option. The all-wheel drive model returns a slightly worse 40/34/37 MPG result.
The 14-gallon gasoline tank gets you 560 miles of range in front-wheel drive guise, which the all-wheel drive system lowers to 518 miles. Honda’s hybrid system is a series-parallel variation, which means it allows the operation of the electric motor independently. The eCVT runs on a clutch-based system, allowing the motor to act as a generator for auxiliary functions, including the starter and climate control.
Low Long-Term Costs And Good Reliability
The Honda CR-V maintains a strong reputation in the U.S. market thanks to its longstanding and consistent performance as a cost-effective and dependable family SUV that suits both urban and active lifestyles. Thanks to this, it benefits from impressive value retention, making it a viable investment for those only needing one for less than a decade.
According to Edmunds, the base Honda CR-V Sport Hybrid loses $10,941 of its $35,630 base MSRP over the course of five years and 60,000 miles, which is an incredible value retention rate by midsize SUV standards. Additional costs include spending $5,580 on maintenance, $601 on repairs, and $5,814 on fuel.
Using the same metrics, CarEdge indicates that the very same model loses 34 percent of its value, resulting in it being worth $23,507. It also might cost you $5,580 in maintenance, $601 on repairs, and $5,814 on fuel.
2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid True Cost To Own
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance | $678 | $702 | $726 | $752 | $778 | $3,636 |
| Maintenance | $126 | $632 | $353 | $2,098 | $2,371 | $5,580 |
| Repairs | $0 | $0 | $87 | $209 | $305 | $601 |
| Taxes & Fees | $1,861 | $93 | $93 | $93 | $93 | $2,233 |
| Financing | $2,230 | $1,799 | $1,337 | $839 | $305 | $6,510 |
| Depreciation | $3,558 | $1,797 | $1,701 | $1,996 | $1,889 | $10,941 |
| Fuel | $1,095 | $1,128 | $1,162 | $1,197 | $1,232 | $5,814 |
| True Cost to Own | $9,548 | $6,151 | $5,459 | $7,184 | $6,973 | $35,315 |
iSeeCars holds a similar sentiment with the CR-V Hybrid, highlighting that it will lose 43 percent or $14,755 of its value after five years, resulting in the Japanese HEV SUV earning an 8.0/10 retained value score. Mind you, these are market estimates. J.D. Power gives the same model an 85/100 score for resale. Joining this is an 83/100 driving experience, 84/100 quality and reliability, and 81/100 dealership experience score, bringing its overall consumer-verified rating up to 83/100. Figures for the 2026 model are yet to be released, but these are the 2025 figures for your reference.
Sources: Edmunds, iSeeCars, CarEdge, the EPA, and J.D. Power