Which Honda 2023 CRV: hybrid vs gas ?

[DrRoy]

We used to have a standard CR-V and averaged about 34 mpg. We just had a hybrid for a rental for 10 days in NM and CO and averaged 38.5.

 

[frank]

I took a 2020 rav 4 toyota hybrid with the premium package for a ride saturday. it had 45k miles on it and the gas mileage computer was say 35.8 mpg. not to impressive. althought it was awd.

 

[indiajust]

Since you mention you were an RVer...

Hybrids make great travel/camping vehicles due to massive battery and ability to recharge while driving. Frugal folks are sleeping inside car, using seat heaters to survive.

Might be especially apropos given you are considering larger SUV that is already likely snoozable inside.

 

[Koolau]

Since you mention you were an RVer...

Hybrids make great travel/camping vehicles due to massive battery and ability to recharge while driving. Frugal folks are sleeping inside car, using seat heaters to survive.

Might be especially apropos given you are considering larger SUV that is already likely snoozable inside.

Maybe I'm missing your point. Are you suggesting a hybrid instead of an RV for travel (sleeping in a car instead of a motel?) I can see travel in an RV or travel in any car (hybrid or ICE) while staying in motels. But travel in a car (sleeping in the car) sounds uncomfortable. Back in the day I did do that buy I was maybe 22 at the time - not "old" like I am now but YMMV.

 

[indiajust]

Yes! I have seen folks with pop out tents that connect to the car as well. Hybrid batteries are more than equal to serving as power/hvac for such arrangements.

Allows you to go quite a ways off grid and take the comforts with you. Tradeoff yes, but much better mobility and fuel economy than any RV.

Perhaps you had some places you wanted to go that were too tight for the roadmonster. Easy peasy with this kind of setup. And much easier to drive on a long trip.

 

[Texas Proud]

Yes! I have seen folks with pop out tents that connect to the car as well. Hybrid batteries are more than equal to serving as power/hvac for such arrangements.

Allows you to go quite a ways off grid and take the comforts with you. Tradeoff yes, but much better mobility and fuel economy than any RV.

Perhaps you had some places you wanted to go that were too tight for the roadmonster. Easy peasy with this kind of setup. And much easier to drive on a long trip.

Any place that I want to go to in the US and Canada will have a hotel or motel within driving range.... not need to sleep in a car even with a tent hanging off the car...

 

[Bamaman]

I was reading how the RAV-4 sales over the years have just been incredible. #1 SUV in the world. The regular RAV-4 is coming out of Ontario and the Hybrids are built in Georgetown, KY. RAV-4 Prime plug ins are built in Japan where the Venza's are built.

Toyota was doing better than other manufacturers when the chip shortages happened (the big chip factory burned.) But they've recently fallen prey to components shortages too.

When I look at my 2022 Venza, it's essentially a RAV-4 with different sheet metal. It's a far higher quality vehicle than my 2018 Camry Hybrid--more on the level of a Lexus. I am getting a real world 42.5 mpg which is great. But the Camry got 49.5 mpg. I do like the AWD of the Venza as the Camry was bad to spin the front wheels on a rainy day.

Like I've written before, many states' Toyotas come through outside suppliers like Gulf States and Southeast Toyota Distributers. Try and find a dealer in a state supplied directly by Toyota and you may not have all those worthless add on's. I found a Toyota dealer that's not part of a huge chain conglomerate, and they didn't have the secondary window and high pressure sales tactics. My Venza was $32K--$16K less than the average new vehicle sold today.

To date, we've driven 109K miles and the only time my cars have seen the shop was for a wheel alignment. They're extremely dependable vehicles.

 

[Out of Steam]

I talked to the service manager at a local toyota dealership and he was saying the sales department never made so much money and are in no hurry to go back to the old ways.

A lot of businesses have discovered that meeting 80-90% of demand is far more profitable than meeting 100% of demand.

For products with significant barriers to entering the business of making and selling them, I believe this will be a long-term thing, no matter haw bad the recession we're entering.

I also believe that carmakers have decided that there isn't enough time left to sell gasoline-powered vehicles to bother bringing back manufacturing capacity idled by the pandemic.

 

[Koolau]

Yes! I have seen folks with pop out tents that connect to the car as well. Hybrid batteries are more than equal to serving as power/hvac for such arrangements.

Allows you to go quite a ways off grid and take the comforts with you. Tradeoff yes, but much better mobility and fuel economy than any RV.

Perhaps you had some places you wanted to go that were too tight for the roadmonster. Easy peasy with this kind of setup. And much easier to drive on a long trip.

Doesn't sound too comfortable for sleeping, but I did see a guy's blog on "RVing" in a Geo Metro! He'd remove all but the driver's seat and formed a sleeping/storage area. Obviously his costs were minimal with maybe 45 mpg and sleep-where-you-are-legal-to-park (I have heard that some Walmarts allow overnight camping - no hookups of course.) Not my cup of tea, but I did actually do that ca 1970 in a full sized station wagon. Air mattress and sleeping bag made it bearable if not equivalent to the Hilton or even a ClassA motor home. YMMV

 

[Lsbcal]

Both the CRV's and RAV4's for 2023 are not quite out yet. I did get a peak at one 2023 CRV gas EX-L. It was quite nice but I did not get to test drive it because it was sold minutes before we got to the dealership. The gas model has a spare tire whereas the CRV hybrid does not.

Importantly the CRV hybrid is not priced competitively with the RAV4 hybrid. The differential between the CRV gas and CRV hybrid was $7900 out the door pricing. That included $2k over MSRP. The RAV4 was only $2200 differential between the hybrid and gas. So the payback time when one includes gas savings is very reasonable for the RAV4 but way too long for the CRV.

I am guessing that Toyota is well ahead of Honda in building and pricing hybrids.

 

[Koolau]

Both the CRV's and RAV4's for 2023 are not quite out yet. I did get a peak at one 2023 CRV gas EX-L. It was quite nice but I did not get to test drive it because it was sold minutes before we got to the dealership. The gas model has a spare tire whereas the CRV hybrid does not.

Importantly the CRV hybrid is not priced competitively with the RAV4 hybrid. The differential between the CRV gas and CRV hybrid was $7900 out the door pricing. That included $2k over MSRP. The RAV4 was only $2200 differential between the hybrid and gas. So the payback time when one includes gas savings is very reasonable for the RAV4 but way too long for the CRV.

I am guessing that Toyota is well ahead of Honda in building and pricing hybrids.

If you can wait for the coming (probably) recession - combined with a more reliable parts supply chain - that $2K premium may disappear. Of course, it will be months yet that you could be enjoying the new car.

 

[Lsbcal]

UPDATE: I have given up on trying to get a RAV4 Hybrid. Too long a delay and we don't drive a car more then about 6k to 8k miles per year.

So have an offer on a Honda 2023 CRV EX-L. It's a very nice driving car, quite and roomy and even has a real spare tire (first trip will be to Death Valley). Gets combined 30 mpg. Consumer rates it #2 of compact SUV's. First year of a new body styling too.

At $4.50 a gallon we would have to go about 10 years to break even on a Toyota RAV4 hybrid. Too long for us to worry as I think our keeping a car for >15 years is a thing of the past.

 

[Earl E Retyre]

UPDATE: I have given up on trying to get a RAV4 Hybrid. Too long a delay and we don't drive a car more then about 6k to 8k miles per year.



So have an offer on a Honda 2023 CRV EX-L. It's a very nice driving car, quite and roomy and even has a real spare tire (first trip will be to Death Valley). Gets combined 30 mpg. Consumer rates it #2 of compact SUV's. First year of a new body styling too.



At $4.50 a gallon we would have to go about 10 years to break even on a Toyota RAV4 hybrid. Too long for us to worry as I think our keeping a car for >15 years is a thing of the past.

We are also in the market for a non-hybrid SUV. We looked at the CRV and it looks good although we could not test drive since there was no inventory. Glad to hear you say it drives well and is quiet.

For completeness sake, we are also going to check out the Hyundai Tucson and the Subaru Outback. Then we will pick between the 3.

 

[Lsbcal]

We are also in the market for a non-hybrid SUV. We looked at the CRV and it looks good although we could not test drive since there was no inventory. Glad to hear you say it drives well and is quiet.

For completeness sake, we are also going to check out the Hyundai Tucson and the Subaru Outback. Then we will pick between the 3.

The CU report gives the Subaru Forrester the top rating in compact SUV's. But the CRV is very close behind and I really like the new design.