[BLANK AUDIO] This is the 2020 CRV hybrid.
It's the first electrified utility vehicle Honda is offering in America.
And just like the regular version, it's got a roomy high quality.
Interior comes with loads of standard technology but as you may have guessed it is way more fuel efficient.
So just how economical is it?
Well, put on a fresh pair of slacks, lace up those easy spirits, and I'll tell you all about it.
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keeping things fresh, the CRB has been mildly updated for 2020 like grading a little Parmesan cheese on a slice of leftover pizza.
The chefs in Honda's product development kitchen of spruced up this popular vehicle Its exterior styling has been tweaked new wheel designs are offered.
And the Honda sensing suite of driver aids is now standard equipment.
Also, a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine now powers all conventional models.
Of course, the new hybrid version gains many of these improvements, but it also benefits from a few models specific enhancements.
Visual differences between the CR-V Hybrid and combustion powered models are minor, I mean see for yourself right here.
But upfront, we've got standard LED headlights, down below there are fog lamps which are sort of a slit like variety.
Of course, the Honda emblem itself has been outlined in blue.
To remind you again that this is a hybrid, moving along the side of the vehicle on the fenders or hybrid badges, they're not going to let you forget.
This is a gasoline electric powered crossover and if we move all the way around to the very back this Touring model that I've been driving today, they feature unique rear bumpers plus a hidden exhaust outlet which I can actually see if I look like this.
If I get down really low.
Mark got to be wrong, got to be wrong [SOUND]
Other than improper valvetrain clearances what makes this Vehicle tick
Well under the hood we have a two motors Hybrid system anchored by a two liter gasoline burning four cylinder engine that runs of course on the Atkinson cycle.
Now total system output measures 212 horsepower, which is a nice upgrade over the standard CRV.
Which has only 190.
As for torque, you get 232 pound feet plus at no extra charge, Honda has thrown in these cool looking orange cables.
I really like this upgrade.
As for those motors I just mentioned, one is used for propulsion duty while the other handles.
Starting and generating accordingly a conventional automatic transmission is not required in this vehicle not storing and releasing electrons as required is a 1.4 kilowatt hour lithium ion battery pack which is mounted underneath the rear floor.
All Wheel Drive is standard in this amped.crv.
As for the gasoline electric Toyota Rav4 It is also included at no extra charge however Ford they do give you a choice with their Escape Hybrid.
You can get either front wheel drive or all wheel drive.
As for fuel economy this Honda is rated at 40 miles per gallon city, 35 Highway and 38 mpg combined.
Now, according to Uncle Sam, both the Toyota Rav4 Hybrid and Ford Escape privates are a little bit more fuel efficient than that, but I would hazard a bet in normal use in real world driving.
You're probably not gonna notice much of a difference.
A week or three ago I evaluated a standard Honda CR-V and it proved to be an excellent all-around small crossover.
And that inherent goodness basically transfers right over to the hybrid model.
I mean we've got super comfortable front seats, that soft, Plastics are attractively granted the interior is really well done tons of room in the backseat and a spacious cargo hole.
Really, you can't go wrong with any version of the CRV.
Just like on the exterior a few things do differentiate this hybrid CRV from standard models For starters, you do get a lovely push button shifts are much nicer than the old T handle in the conventional CRV.
There are a variety of driving modes including an Eevee mode for silent operation.
The instrument cluster is a little bit different Plus, you also get pushed buttons start Depending on model.
The CRV hybrid can also be had with features like wireless device charging, embedded navigation and blind spot monitoring with rear to cross traffic alert.
Now, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both offered as well.
Did over things like leather trimmings and the duels on climate control.
As I mentioned earlier, Honda Sensing is now standard.
And this suite of advanced drive raids includes things like lane departure warning, collision mitigation, breaking with pedestrian detection.
There's also adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, and even road departure mitigation The CRV hybrid has surprisingly strong performance obviously it's got more horsepower and significantly more torque than the regular CRV but this thing it really scoots when you dip into the throttle, lots of twists, lots of scoot right off the line.
This hybrid power train is also exceptionally smooth, it's noticeably quieter and less grumbly than the 1.5 litre turbo engine that comes standard in the regular CRV.
So, better performance, better NVH, what's not to like.
Under this vehicle's hood there's actually a lot of engineering sorcery going on.
So the internal combustion engine working through a clutch can actually power the wheels, though it can also run the generator, which then feeds electricity into the rest of the system.
Of course this CRV hybrid can also run purely on electrons running off of that other drive motor.
Obviously this vehicle is not a pure Evie nor is it a plug in hybrid.
So electric only driving range is not the main focus.
Still Honda folks tell me customers can expect anywhere one to maybe two miles running only on electrons.
And the idea here is that you can silently operate the vehicle when you're leaving home in the morning or something so you don't wake up the kids or cause a disturbance in the neighborhood.
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The standard CRV is an excellent all around [UNKNOWN] crossover.
In fact, it's probably one of the best in the segment right now.
So naturally that wholesome goodness transfers over to this hybrid version.
But if I did have something to complain about, it's right here on the dashboard.
The infotainment system is old, it's not particularly responsive, and the menu structure is a bit confusing, so not really fan of it.
This hybrid model gives you all the benefits of the standard CRV.
Along with much better fuel economy and improved noise vibration and [INAUDIBLE].
So this hybrid model really is the CR-V to get.
The 2020 CR-V Hybrid is available at Honda stores as you watch this video.
Seriously,
They're probably offloading them from trucks right now offered in LX e x e XL and touring trims the base price for this fuel sipping crossover is a whisker less than 29 grand including 1120 20 bucks in destination charges now, naturally, the range topping version that I have been driving today is a good bit richer than that checking out for $35,950.
Still, that is not an unreasonable price for a super efficient vehicle with lots of content
