It used to be that the default type of car was, you know, a car. But it has long since been displaced by SUVs and crossovers—the latter of which are still pretty much cars that happen to be tall—as the default chariot of the people. Alongside the (literal) rise of the crossover, hybridization has become the new normal, with nearly every car on the market offering electrified motivation in some capacity. So, we gathered the two best-selling models of this best-selling category packing new-normal powertrains—the 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid, and the 2025 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid—to see which most deserves the title of the de-facto default vehicle.
The default choice: 2025 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid
No other automaker has put more hybrids on the road than Toyota. They’ve been putting their thoroughly well-vetted Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain in the fan-favorite RAV4 for about a decade now, across two generations. It’s done so well for the brand that it has outsold Toyota’s own Prius every year, despite the Prius being the car that put hybrids on the map—and not just for Toyota. It’s no surprise why this combination—hybrid power and fuel economy, with the RAV4’s form factor—made it an instant winner in the hearts and minds of many.
The alt choice: 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid
Honda technically came to market with hybrid technology first, but they’ve been far less eager in their adoption of it—at least up here in Canada. Where Toyota sold many millions of Prius models before expanding hybridization to the literal entirety of their lineup, Honda’s been much more careful in their deployment of it. Take the CR-V, for example: U.S. buyers could get a hybrid CR-V since 2020, but it’s only been hybridized here in Canada for just two model years. Yet despite being so new, the hybrid models account for more than half of CR-Vs sold last year. It’s been a huge success for Honda, and after spending some time with it, it’s pretty obvious as to why.
Exterior styling
The RAV4, with its more angular styling and chunkier fender flares, looks perhaps a smidge more “outdoorsy” than the plain-Jane CR-V, if that matters to you. Plain-Jane certainly isn’t a bad thing, though: we still appreciated the CR-V’s clean, unfussy style that is less likely to prematurely age itself. In the case of these specific testers, we definitely preferred the Toyota’s deep Blueprint metallic paint and machined-finish wheels to the Honda’s appliance-spec white-on-black colourway. Call this one a wash.
Interior appointments
Both the RAV4 and CR-V are quite similar in many ways. They’re both very roomy, offer a good amount of storage, and have -quality materials and ergonomics throughout. We really appreciate that Toyota offers a choice of interior colours on our fully loaded Limited tester; the optional two-tone beige-and-black leatherette interior really brightens up the RAV4’s cabin space. Beyond that, it’s a Toyota: everything is very easy to figure out, and we appreciate the heated seat and steering wheel controls don’t reset—meaning you can turn on the warmers once in October, and turn them off once in April. The large, mitten-friendly knobs for the volume and temperature controls are a nice plus.
None of this is to say the CR-V’s cabin isn’t simple. In fact, visually, it’s a lot cleaner and more modern, but still logically laid-out with tactile, super user-friendly controls. I’d say the CR-V’s slightly larger buttons for the infotainment are easier to find than the RAV4. The Honda also employs softer, nicer-feeling leather, and everything from the centre console, dashboard, and door panels all share a unified, soft-touch finish that looks like leather. The CR-V certainly feels much more cohesive and upscale; I’d even say its seats are more comfortable, supportive, and have a wider range of adjustment. Plus, the CR-V’s more upright greenhouse and squared-off hood makes for even better visibility. I don’t want to say the RAV4 loses, but the CR-V is a clear-cut winner inside.
Cargo space
The RAV4’s back seat and cargo area is generous. At six feet tall, I can comfortably sit behind myself and the rear bench is fairly supportive. But in addition to the more comfortable seats, the CR-V has three more inches of legroom in the back—and a lot more cargo space. At 1,065 litres with the seats up and 1,977 when folded, the RAV4 is hardly cramped, but the CR-V counters with 1,113 L seats-up, growing to a whopping 2,166 seats-down. On top of that, the CR-V has a flatter cargo floor with the seats down and a lower lift-over. Honda’s ability to make the most of a given space has always been witchcraft; consider this another clear-cut win for the CR-V.
Tech and infotainment
Being top-trim testers, both vehicles here have wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto, a wireless charging pad, and have software that works well and is fairly easy to live with. The RAV4 Limited has an upsized 10.5-inch touchscreen compared to the eight-inch display on more basic models, and it really helps with Toyota’s updated infotainment software here. It’s sharp, fairly repsonsive and with a few exceptions—like easily changing radio stations—generally easy to use. The RAV4’s 11-speaker JBL sound system absolutely trounces the Honda’s underwhelming Bose audio, as does its built-in, Google-powered navigation versus Honda’s maps. I’d even argue its CarPlay integration is a little nicer—Toyota lets you tweak the display size to allow space for shortcuts back to Toyota’s software.
Then again, this CR-V Touring retains physical shortcuts beside its nine-inch display. Despite the smaller overall size, Honda’s system is similarly crisp and maybe has marginally better contrast than the RAV4’s screen. The software behind it is also incredibly easy to use and very clean in its presentation. One area where not just the CR-V, but Honda in general excels is the gauge cluster: it’s one of the most crisp, clear, legible, and easily customizable pods in the entire industry, using a classic analog speedometer and an easily configurable digital display for the tach and trip info. It sounds like such a small thing, but little details like this go a long way. Despite this, it’s a slight edge for the Toyota here, on the merits of its CarPlay integration, better built-in navigation, and vastly better sound system.
Active safety and driver assists
Both the RAV4 and CR-V come standard with basics like adaptive cruise control, lane-tracing, blind-spot monitoring, and forward collision alert across all trims. They all work fairly easily and effectively, and take a lot of labour out of dull commuting and sitting in traffic. There’s hardly anything in the way of driver intervention, save for both systems needing a nudge to resume the adaptive cruise control from a full stop. This would be a tie, were it not for Toyota’s distinct advantage in driving backwards: the RAV4 has a much clearer back up camera with a larger display, and it has a 360-degree surround view camera system as well. By comparison, the Honda’s camera feed looks like an webcam, and the backup camera in particular is positioned in such a way that it’s quickly obscured through normal winter driving conditions. Advantage: Toyota.
Powertrain
Both are similar on paper, using small, naturally aspirated, Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engines with e-CVTs metering out muscle between the electric and gas motors, and both are all wheel drive as standard. The RAV4’s hybrid’s system makes 219 combined horsepower, with more of the power coming from the gas engine, whereas the Honda makes 204 combined horsepower, with more power coming from its larger electric motors and the gas engine spending more time acting as a generator.
Toyota has built approximately eight hundred trillion hybrids [More like 33 million, as of 2023. —Ed.] and as such, they’re very good at it. Honda hasn’t been as invested for as long, but their newest generation of hybrid technology is extremely impressive, very neatly addressing our only shortcoming of Toyota’s hybrid powertrain—refinement. The CR-V Hybrid is vastly quieter and more refined; it’s nearly inaudible on the highway and subtle everywhere else. It also feels more natural and seamless in its power delivery, to a point where you forget it’s a hybrid at all.
On the other hand, the RAV4 Hybrid is a lot louder with the gas engine pitching in, sounding coarse and unpleasant under any sort of acceleration. If you were deaf, it wouldn’t be much of an issue, but even then, it sometimes gives off a slight shudder when kicking on and vibrates more at idle. It’s not egregious by any stretch, but the sense of refinement associated with this engine has been a long-running knock against Toyota made worse by its competitors having solved it. To Toyota’s credit, the RAV4 does feel a little more punchy at full tilt, and it’s rated to have slightly better fuel consumption. But the Honda feels a little more zippy under normal conditions, and the real-world fuel economy ended up being a dead heat between the two, with both averaging 8.4 L/100 kilometres during a cold snap.
Driving impressions
Putting it out there right now: this is a clear-cut victory for the CR-V.
The RAV4 does everything pretty competently, but the CR-V does just about everything better. Refinement aside, both are equally well-isolated from wind and road noise, and both exhibit gentle ride comfort. But the CR-V better dispels imperfections in the road, relaying less drama to the driver, yet it exhibits substantially better body control despite riding more softly. The CR-V handles better and inspires more confidence in all conditions; neither of these have any pretense of being anything other than efficient, comfy commuter cars, but the Honda has sharper steering, better balance, firmer brakes, and overall just feels better and more satisfying. You don’t have to hustle it to appreciate it.
Overall value
Both of these are top-trim models that come standard with everything, with the only options being dealer-installed accessories and paying a bit extra depending on what paint colour you want. The only noteworthy difference in equipment is that the RAV4 has cooled seats.
This 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid Touring rings in at $50,750 as-tested, and the 2025 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Limited undercuts it at $47,525 as-tested. Neither price includes delivery and dealer fees. Looking at just these two vehicles, the Honda is the winner on the value front. It offers more space and much more refinement, and feels much more cohesive and better-executed. All this more than justifies its surcharge over the RAV4; the CR-V hybrid punches well above its weight.
But on the topic of price brackets, it bears mentioning the huge caveat that Honda locks this lovely hybrid powertrain behind its upper-crust models. The cheapest CR-V you can get into with this powertrain is an EX-L model at $48,075, which gives up the larger screen and upgraded sound system. On the other hand, Toyota offers the hybrid powertrain even on the RAV4’s most basic trims, so if you’re willing to let go of the colour options and bells-and-whistles associated with the Limited trim, you can get into a base RAV4 hybrid for as little as $36,505 before taxes, destination, and all that. The value proposition perhaps isn’t quite there for the Limited trim, but I’d say the sweet spot for these is the hybrid Woodland.
The verdict
There isn’t a wrong answer here, but we all agreed that the 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid Touring is the better answer. It does the core fundamentals better—it’s more refined, more satisfying to drive, roomier, and better-looking inside and out. The 2025 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Limited is an excellent vehicle; its better phone integration, upgraded audio system, and chunkier styling will probably appeal more to a lot of people. But the fact of the matter is, every time we needed to run an errand around the office, we all asked for the keys to the CR-V. It became our default vehicle.
