HYBRID STANDOFF, WHICH IS BETTER HONDA CR-V OR TOYOTA RAV4?

With a lot of hybrid vehicles on the market Bumper2Bumpertv is looking at two models in the small SUV segment.

We find both have strong points and some shortcomings.

Which one do you think is better?

HONDA AND TOYOTA WERE TWO OF THE EARLY ADOPTERS OF HYBRID DRIVE TECHNOLOGY IN THEIR VEHICLES.

OFTEN THEIR APPROACH MIGHT BE IN SEGMENTS WHERE THEY DIDN’T COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER UNTIL NOW.

IN THE 2020 MODEL YEAR BOTH COMPANIES ARE OFFERING SMALL ALL WHEEL DRIVE SUV PLATFORMS WITH HYBRID POWER PLANTS.

THE TOYOTA VERSION IS THE RAV4 ALL WHEEL DRIVE PLATFORM.

IT IS ONE OF SEVERAL OFFERING FROM THE BRAND WITH A HYBRID DRIVE TRAIN.

HONDA’S COMPETING VEHICLE IS THE CR-V ALL WHEEL DRIVE MAKING ITS DEBUT AS A 2020 MODEL.

IT IS WORTH NOTING THE TEST CARS IN THIS CASE WERE BOTH FROM THE UPPER TRIM LEVELS, THE TOURING EDITION FROM HONDA AND THE XSE FROM TOYOTA.

IN TERMS OF OVERALL SIZE, THEY ARE VERY CLOSE TO EACH OTHER WITH THE HONDA AT 182 INCHES IN LENGTH AND THE TOYOTA JUST OVER 180 INCHES.

BOTH VEHICLES HAVE SEATING FOR FIVE INCLUDING THE DRIVER BUT THE HONDA ACTUALLY HAS MORE PASSENGER SPACE FRONT AND BACK.

THE NICE THING ABOUT THESE VEHICLES WAS THAT EACH BRAND HAD LOADED THEM UP WITH THE LATEST ROUND OF TECHNOLOGY.

THAT INCLUDES CURRENT DRIVER ASSIST SYSTEMS, KEYLESS START AND STOP FUNCTIONS, PARKING SENSORS AND SMART HEADLIGHT OPERATIONS.

THE SIMILAR ENGINES OPERATE ON REGULAR UNLEADED FUEL.

THE CR-V COMES WITH A 2.0 LITER EARTH DREAM ENGINE AND A PERMANENT MAGNET ELECTRIC MOTOR FOR A COMBINED OUTPUT OF 212 HORSEPOWER AND 232 POUND FEET OF TORQUE.

THE RAV4 HAS A 2.5 LITER FOUR CYLINDER ENGINE ALONG WITH SIMILAR ELECTRIC MOTOR SETUP FOR A TOTAL OUTPUT OF 219 HORSEPOWER.

IN TERMS OF EPA FUEL EFFICIENCY, THE RAV4 GETS MORE FROM A GALLON OF GASOLINE.THE TRANSAXLE IN BOTH VEHICLES IS A CVT CONFIGRUATION.

AS FOR CAPABILITY TOYOTA IS CLEARLY AHEAD WITH A 1750 POUND TOW CAPACITY, WHILE TOWING IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THE HONDA.(NAT SOT) IN TERMS OF HANDLING AND THE DRIVE EXPERIENCE BOTH PLATFORMS ARE EASY TO OPERATE.

WE NOTICED THAT INTERNAL NOISE LEVELS ARE COMFORTABLE ENOUGH TO HOLD CONVERSATIONS WITHOUT SHOUTING.A KEY ATTRACTION IN THIS SEGMENT IS CARGO SPACE AND IN TERMS OF ROOM TOYOTA HAS THE EDGE.

A KEY POINT WHERE THEY DIFFER IS A SPARE TIRE.

HONDA OPTS TO SAVE WEIGHT WITH AN INFLATOR KIT WHILE TOYOTA IS STICKING WITH A SPACE SAVER DONUT TIRE.

THE PRICE POINTS FOR EITHER VEHICLE ARE WITHIN A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS AND A PURCHASE DECISION COULD DEPEND ON A BUYERS PREFERENCE FOR A PARTICULAR BRAND.

I’M GREG MORRISON.