Honda CR-V Hybrid Hike for Highspeed Benefit

Philip Oakley

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19th September 2019

Honda’s 2020 CR-V Hybrid pumps up the power of its powertrain, possibly in an attempt to improve its highspeed driving capability.

Our editor found the current CR-V Hybrid lacked some grunt, particularly on hills, at high touring speeds, where the normally aspirated gasoline engine receives little assistance from the electrified powertrain, meaning fuel economy was not as good as the previous diesel model.

Sure enough, Honda says fuel efficiency is greatly improved in the new model, by up to 50% when EV mode is selected, compared to the standard 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline model which claims 30mpg US on the combined Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rating. The car uses the same 2.0-liter engine and dual electric motor setup found on the 2019 CR-V Hybrid, which had 181bhp, compared to the 2020 model, which sees a 28bhp bump to 209bhp.

Regarding driver assistance, Honda has equipped the CR-V with a full suite of ‘Honda Sensing’ technology, including lane departure warning, lane keeping assistance, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, and collision mitigation braking system.