Since its debut 28 years ago, the Honda CR-V has been a strong player in the brand’s lineup. After edging out the Civic in sales in 2017, it's remained Honda's unchallenged bestselling nameplate in the U.S. market. In 2024 alone, Honda sold nearly 403,000 units, second only to the Toyota RAV4 among compact crossover utility vehicles.
For 2026, the seventh-generation CR-V gets an ever-so-subtle refresh and adds a new TrailSport Hybrid trim, matching its bigger siblings: the Passport, Pilot, and Ridgeline. We were invited to Carlsbad, California, to spend a few hours exercising the 2026 CR-V TrailSport Hybrid. Here's what we found out.
Goin’ Off-roady
In recent years, automakers have steadily introduced “off-roady” trims across their SUV and crossover lineups. The trend arguably began decades ago with the lifted, four-wheel-drive AMC Eagle. While AMC saw only modest success, the idea really took off when Subaru lifted the Legacy to create its first real off-road-oriented model, the now-iconic Outback.
Today, almost everyone is doing something like this: Hyundai has the XRT, Toyota has its Woodland Editions, and Nissan has the Rock Creek. But the idea takes two paths: aesthetic upgrades or actual off-road capability.
Nissan's Rogue Rock Creek is a case in point. It adds what appear to be red recovery hooks up front; an off-road feature used to extract a stuck vehicle. But look closer, and you'll see they're non-functional plastic accents.
Trailsport for All
Honda's midsize Passport TrailSport represents the serious approach. It features a sophisticated twin-clutch torque-vectoring system on the rear axle that sends power to the wheel with the most grip, effectively emulating a locking differential. It also has robust steel skid plates to protect more sensitive components underneath from impact with rocks. While it’s not quite at the off-road level of a Jeep Wrangler or Ford Bronco, it’s pretty capable.
For 2026, the CR-V gets a TrailSport variant for the first time, and it's also the first Honda TrailSport with a hybrid powertrain. Unfortunately, it veers toward the cosmetic end of the spectrum. It adds all-terrain Continental CrossContact tires that provide significantly enhanced grip in poor conditions, but that's pretty much the extent of what distinguishes a TrailSport from other CR-V trims.
At the lower edge of the front fascia, the plastic is molded and painted silver to look like a skid plate, but if you actually bash a rock, it may prove costly and require you to pick up bits of plastic from the trail.
Driving Impressions
The CR-V TrailSport has the same 8.2-inch ground clearance as every other AWD CR-V, which is actually pretty decent. It's comparable to Subarus and is better than many others in the segment.
During our drive, we stopped at what even the Honda staff referred to as a "soft-road" course typically used for dirt biking and motocross. The toughest obstacle was a bit of a ditch that, taken slowly, was easy to traverse. However, when driving over a couple of relatively steep breakovers at an angle, it was clear that wheel articulation was limited. The CR-V TrailSport wouldn't do well over rough terrain, but that's not what it's designed for.
On paved roads, though, the CR-V excels. Its all-independent suspension works really well, and when I was driving up into the mountains on some curving roads, it was clear Honda’s engineers know a thing or two about vehicle dynamics. The steering was quite precise, even on the off-road tires, although the grip levels aren’t as high as what you'd experience with regular all-season street tires.
Improved Traction Management
The most important update made for 2026 is probably the traction control software. This actually applies to every CR-V, not just the TrailSport.
We watched a demo comparing a 2025 and 2026 CR-V on rollers simulating low traction. The older model couldn't transfer enough torque to the one wheel on the ground when three wheels lost traction to move the vehicle off the rollers. The 2026 used its updated system software to manage the application of the brakes to the slipping wheels more aggressively. In this condition, with three wheels slipping, more engine torque went to the one good wheel to push the vehicle forward, and it drove off the rollers.
This is an extremely valuable improvement for those who live in areas that experience inclement weather, such as snow, ice, or slush. It will make getting unstuck much easier. The TrailSport tires will probably have a somewhat easier time with this, but all CR-V owners will benefit.
On The Road
We spent several hours driving the updated CR-V on highways, urban and suburban roads, and through the mountains. The CR-V’s hybrid powertrain is the same one found in the Accord and Civic and pairs a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gas engine with a two-motor hybrid drive unit for 204 horsepower and 247 pound-feet of torque.
At 3,900 pounds, the CR-V is about 700 pounds porkier than a Civic hybrid, so it doesn’t feel quite as lively to drive as the car. That said, it is more than adequate for a daily commuter and will merge onto highways easily. The nature of how Honda controls its hybrid system also avoids a lot of the engine droning at 4,000 RPM, which you'll often experience when accelerating a Toyota hybrid.
While this isn’t an especially quick hybrid crossover, it's very efficient. Over more than 140 miles of driving that definitely wasn’t biased to saving fuel, the CR-V TrailSport showed an indicated 34 mpg compared to an EPA rating of 35 mpg combined. The front-wheel-drive CR-V hybrid is rated at a combined 40 mpg, while non-TrailSport AWD hybrids with tires with less rolling resistance than the all-terrains are rated at 37 mpg. It’s no wonder the hybrid now accounts for almost 55% of CR-V sales through the first five months of 2025.
Even on the knobby all-terrain tires, the CR-V remained admirably quiet. As always, Honda seats are especially comfortable and supportive and didn’t cause me any irritation after several hours on the road.
Interior Tech Updates
The only major interior change for 2026 is a larger 9.0-inch infotainment touchscreen replacing the old 7.0-inch unit. It now runs Android Automotive with integrated Google services like Maps, Assistant, and the Play Store. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also supported, although our pre-production test units didn't yet have the final software.
There’s plenty of room for adults to sit comfortably in the back seat and an ample 36.3 cubic feet of cargo space behind the seats. A road trip with a family of four and all of their stuff would be pretty easy in the CR-V and wouldn’t cost much gas.
Who’s It For?
The 2026 CR-V has an MSRP that starts at $32,315, including delivery, for the base model with a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive. The Sport Hybrid starts about $5,000 higher, at $37,025, and the TrailSport Hybrid will set you back $40,650.
For someone who just needs to get up a dirt trail to a cabin or wants a more sure-footed experience in winter driving, the CR-V TrailSport will do just fine, especially with the much-improved traction control. But this is not the machine for you if you want something for even mildly challenging trails. For that, Honda would like to direct you to the much more capable and larger Passport TrailSport with an MSRP that will cost you $49,900, a pretty major difference.
If you want something CR-V-sized or close with capability, you’ll need to look elsewhere, like a Ford Bronco Sport or Jeep Compass Trailhawk. But the truth is, most people don’t need that much capability. Good tires and smart traction-control software can get you where you need to go — just don’t try to get over any boulders.
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