The Toyota RAV4 hybrid can be a great car for some folks, but there are better hybrid options on the market. Unsurprisingly, one of the better ones is the Honda CR-V Hybrid, and it beat the RAV4 on a recent list. Here’s a look at why the 2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid is a better hybrid SUV than the 2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is.

The best hybrid cars on the market

After doing some testing, Good Housekeeping recently compiled a list of the best hybrid cars on the market. Surprisingly, the most famous hybrid car in the world, the Toyota Prius, didn’t crack the list. On top of that, the RAV4 also didn’t get on the list. In fact, no Toyota models made Good Housekeeping’s list of the best hybrids of the year.

However, the winners were cars like the Honda Accord Hybrid, the Kia Niro, and the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. Additionally, when it comes to hybrid SUVs, the Honda CR-V Hybrid won in its class. To be clear, Good Housekeeping had other SUV categories, such as one for compact crossovers and another for luxury SUVs. However, for the ‘Best Hybrid SUV’ category, the CR-V Hybrid was the winner.

Why the 2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid won

Despite this defeat, the Toyota RAV4 has, arguably, a more significant accolade. After all, the RAV4 is the best-selling car that’s not a pickup truck in the U.S. right now. This means that the Toyota RAV4 is more popular than the Honda CR-V when it comes to sales. However, it’s not like Toyota didn’t put up a fight. The standard Toyota RAV4 has a hybrid option, and it also has a PHEV option. Regardless, Honda still beat Toyota as far as Good Housekeeping is concerned.

In any case, the fact that the Honda CR-V Hybrid won this award shouldn’t be too surprising. This isn’t the first award that Honda has taken home, thanks to the CR-V model, and it almost definitely won’t be the last. As such, many of the things that Good Housekeeping loved about the CR-V Hybrid were also things that other car reviewers loved about the regular Honda CR-V model.

For example, Good Housekeeping praised how roomy the Honda CR-V is, especially compared to its peers. On top of that, Good Housekeeping liked how sporty and stylish the CR-V is, and that’s a common compliment that the CR-V gets from car critics. However, the Honda CR-V Hybrid does have a few great aspects that the regular CR-V doesn’t have. For example, the CR-V Hybrid gets all-wheel drive as standard, but that’s only an option on the standard Honda CR-V.

An overview of the 2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid

Another big difference, of course, is price. One of the great things about the Honda CR-V SUV model is its affordability, as it starts at about $25,000. Meanwhile, according to Good Housekeeping, the CR-V starts at closer to $30,000 with the hybrid engine. That hybrid engine will provide more power than the standard CR-V will, and of course, it’ll also be significantly more fuel-efficient.

The Honda CR-V Hybrid gets about 40 mpg in the city and 35 mpg on highways. That highway fuel economy is about the same as the regular CR-V, but the big difference is the Honda CR-V only gets about 28 mpg in the city.

On top of that, the Honda CR-V Hybrid comes with a few standard features that are only options on the Honda CR-V. For example, Good Housekeeping wrote that the CR-V Hybrid gets a moonroof and heated front seats. That said, the CR-V Hybrid has similar standard smart safety features as the standard Honda CR-V does.