There are a lot of compact SUVs on the market for 2023. Small SUVs are among the best-selling vehicles in America because they can do a little of everything, from family car duty to weekend project hauling. For the 2023 model year, none of them do it as well as the Honda CR-V.
It wins our Best Buy Award in the compact SUV class.
Brand New for 2023
A brand-new redesign from the wheels up, the 2023 CR-V looks upscale inside and out. But it keeps the reliability and practicality that made it famous. Excellent resale values mean your 2023 CR-V will fetch a few thousand dollars more than some competitors when it comes time to part with it. And hybrid models that get up to 40 mpg in combined driving mean it will cost you less to drive it day-to-day.
Our test drivers loved the new CR-V’s responsive powertrains and intuitive steering. A more sophisticated suspension setup than many cars in its class makes it feel like a more expensive vehicle.
The CR-V, in recent years, has become a perennial silver medalist from a sales standpoint. Americans tend to buy more Toyota RAV4s. The RAV4 remains a strong choice, but the recent redesign makes the CR-V look and feel more sophisticated.
How We Determine the Winners
Kelley Blue Book editors spend a year studying the numbers and test-driving more than 300 cars to determine the winners of our annual Best Buy Awards.
Financial factors are weighted heavily. They include 5-Year Cost to Own numbers that factor in depreciation, insurance, maintenance, financing, fuel, fees, and taxes. We bring the best contenders in for head-to-head testing.
To be considered for Kelley Blue Book’s Best New Model, its highest accolade, the vehicle must be an all-new or redesigned vehicle — unavailable before the prior year’s final Best Buy Awards testing — and offer a strong value proposition to consumers based on pricing, innovation, and available standard technology and safety features. This year, that honor went to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric vehicle.
