We got a car for our college student last year, we looked at the subcompact and compact options offered by Subaru/Mazda/Toyota/Honda. Personally we liked the CRV the best, even though it's a bit bigger than she needs currently (compared to HRV)
We also opted for the Hybrid CRV drivetrain because we were more worried about the long term reliability of the non hybrid, since the non-hybrid has the 1.5T + CVT. Also the hybrid components have a much longer factory warranty too
Driving experience was also much better with the hybrid drive train, highly recommend considering it if you go the Honda route
I was disappointed that the Honda AWD system uses mechanical linkage to rear wheels instead of just electric motors like Toyota does, but beyond that I greatly preferred the Honda CRV
I find it annoying that parking sensors/cross traffic alert are only available on the highest trim levels of these cars, but I feel like they only need to prevent a fender bender (or worse) once to be worth it in the cars lifetime
We also opted for the Hybrid CRV drivetrain because we were more worried about the long term reliability of the non hybrid, since the non-hybrid has the 1.5T + CVT. Also the hybrid components have a much longer factory warranty too
Driving experience was also much better with the hybrid drive train, highly recommend considering it if you go the Honda route
I was disappointed that the Honda AWD system uses mechanical linkage to rear wheels instead of just electric motors like Toyota does, but beyond that I greatly preferred the Honda CRV
I find it annoying that parking sensors/cross traffic alert are only available on the highest trim levels of these cars, but I feel like they only need to prevent a fender bender (or worse) once to be worth it in the cars lifetime
Statistics: Posted by flyingcows — Sun Jan 04, 2026 8:28 am — Replies 50 — Views 3051