Thanks, but it looks like the article is only available to those who have paid access to ConsumerReports.org.

 

Not a member; cannot read.

 

TL;DR... They liked the CR-V better in every way, except for the fact that Honda Sensing isn't included in the base trim. They thought that the RAV-4 was noisy, poorly-packaged, an uncomfortable back seat, had chintzy trim, and an infotainment system that is mediocre. (Not that the CR-V was leading that particular category.)

 

I don't much care about Toyota's interior design but say what you want about Honda bean counters going over board with hard plastics in our gen V, I've gotten to accept and maybe even appreciate the minimalist flowing design Honda went with; whether intentional or cost cutting. Swap out that gear selector for a digital one and the interior can fit fairly well alongside the new crop of electric cars. It's a nice compromise between a button busy design and the sterile button phobia approach of Model 3.

Interesting that most reviews call out issues with the infotainment but rarely give credit for Honda putting in Garmin vs. the competitions' pathetic excuse for navigation.

I do however like some of RAV4's new exterior sculpting - at least from certain angles.

 

I signed out of CR and went incognito and I could still read it.

https://www.consumerreports.org/suvs/honda-cr-v-vs-toyota-rav4-suv-face-off/

OOPs never mind. That must be new.

They liked it way better for all the reasons we already knew.

 

I thought a quieter cabin was one of the promises in the new Rav4. Surprised to hear they didn't hit the mark.

 

I tested both. The Rav 4 gas model suffers from a very poor engine thats EXTREMELY loud. A very poor 8 speed transmission that will literally jerk you back and forth and random speeds and it also has extreme wind noise. I heard the hybrid fixes some of these issues.

 

IMO, they just copied the basic styling of an old Jeep Cherokee, then patch the front fascia of an old Tacoma, then modernized it a bit.

 

In Consumer Report's auto ratings what is their pick for "top small SUV" this year? Is it the CRV, or something else?

 

They picked the Subaru Forester as number one for Compact SUV (even though they dinged it for noise) and the Subaru Crosstrek as number one for Sub-compact SUV. They picked the Mazda CX-5 as number two and CRV as number 3 in Compact SUVs... though the CRV beat the Mazda in road test scores.

In the sub-compact SUV category... nobody is even close to the new Crosstrek from Subaru right now.

 

Going to do a test drive the 2019 RAV4 hybrid this weekend as possible replacement of 2017 Touring CR-V for OD concerns. Pretty much had decided to not consider the gas version. Will see how the hybrid compares to the CR-V. It should be quieter then the gas version and the CVT should integrate well with the electric motor assist.

Prudence still says wait for 2020 touch-up however for any RAV4 including the hybrid. I was hoping Toyota has made a CR-V killer. Looks like they stumbled a lot more then I would have thought. Heck theyeven go a M for headlights rating per the IIHS. Just saying...

 

Can someone please post CR main findings? What did CR pick?

 

CR dinged the RAV-4 pretty hard for lack of interior and exterior refinement, fit and finish, and really dinged them on noise... both wind noise and engine noise. As is often the case with some new model vehicles with CVTs.... the CVT only works well within the engines torque band. The CRV with the 1.5T is very torque rich at lower RPMs... so it works really smooth and does not require engine racing. The new RAV-4, even though it is not a CVT, on the other hand according to CR requires the driver to essentially floor the accelerator, and you get the resulting noise of engine revs. That sounds like a poorly mated transmission to engine design flaw to me.

Ending Summary from CR:

Bottom line: The CR-V is the better all-around choice because it outscores the RAV4 both in our road tests and Overall Score. We think the CR-V's EX trim is the best choice considering price and standard features, which include advanced safety equipment.

The RAV4 lost a lot of good qualities in its redesign, but its Overall Score gets a boost because of the standard advanced safety features. It makes sense for buyers to choose the RAV4 over the CR-V only if they want a base-priced compact SUV with standard advanced safety equipment.

 

Toyota will still sell a ton of them. I remember when we were shopping for the CRV early 18, you'd be hard pressed to find them around us in the bay area - only recently are we seeing them everywhere. On the other hand I've seen the new RAV4s going around right from the beginning. Heck there are two just in our immediate neighborhood alone.

 

Yeah they will sell a Ton load to the die hard Toyota owners. That will last for a year maybe two but after that they will have filled that market and then be dealing with people who are not blinded by brand loyalty. At that point I think sales will not be so good.

 

I am no longer a Fan of CR. I loved them in the 1990s but they have pretty much become irrelevant today

The one thing that puzzled me in that article was this statement.

In our tests, the RAV4 was quick and efficient. It took the SUV 8.3 seconds to go from 0-to-60 mph (just 0.1 second slower than the CR-V EX)

I thought the RAV4 was faster in the 0-60 tests. I am not sure if CR got this right.

 

there are lots of complaints regarding how very jerky the transmission of the RAV4's in their forum. They have the same problem with the Tacoma's. When in sport mode, the CRV is very quick. I think I read on several comparison test that the CRV is even faster than .1

 

Over the years, I've tried so many times to like Subarus: Forester, Outback...Never owned one, but every time I test drive one back to back with the other major competitors in the class, they just doesn't come out on top for me. Regardless of what CR has said for years. We had an '18 Forester as a rental for day, and I didn't find it bad, but I still think the '18 CR-V is a better car. The '19 Forester is a re-design, but I hear it is underpowered.

We've had many Toyotas. It's a shame the new RAV4 was not a better attempt. I know the last Gen RAV had some unrefined issues when first released, and Toyota did some fine tuning with the midcycle refresh that did make a difference. I think Toyota needs to do a quick update, as williamsji mentioned. Although they will likely sell them by the boatload anyway, to Toyota loyalists.

 

Eyesight is now standard on all Foresters for 2019.

 

Good move and good to know. Makes sense since other manufacturers are doing so with their systems as well and the pattern seems to be when they rollout a refresh on the model.

 

Regardless of what CR believes folks have differing needs/ opinions; my oldest daughter (likely the brain in our 2nd Gen.) chose a fancy RAV4.
My previous 36+ year experience with Honda (and the dealer) led me to a different conclusion.

While somewhat financially driven to date we are both happy with our decisions.

 

Cars have personalities just like people. Of course this is just a result of the people who design them, the way they want to make their vehicle stand out, their "corporate values" or what the lead engineer/brand manager wanted to make his model appeal to their target market. Your daughter finds something about Toyota that attracts her to them, for what ever reason. Our son and daughter-in-law (and her family) were Toyota loyalist for years, decades actually. But when it came time to get new cars over the past few years they went a different direction. First the son got a Fit because he knew we had owned two (the first and latest generation) and had fun with them plus they had been trouble free. Then when they decided to pass their 2007 Rav4 on to their son in college I advised them the new 2019 Rav was coming and they should hold off and test drive one before making up their minds.
Daugher-in-Law took one test drive in the new Rav and RAN to the Honda dealer and got her new CR-V. Since then ever time I see her she raves about how much she loves the CR-V. I ask her why she liked it. Same answer every time: If feels like a car, not a truck! And she likes the "look" of it much better. She thought the Rav was just not her style.

To each their own. We have a LOT of Honda's in our family including many late model ones with direct injection. None have any issues at all after tens of thousands of miles. Toyota builds a good vehicle, its a good company with high quality standards. But, its not perfect. It doesn't walk on water. Just compare their Yaris to a Honda Fit and see the difference, for example.

 

I'm so glad this head-to-head comparison has finally been done. I couldn't be prouder to have made the right choice.. in choosing the 5th gen CR-V over the newer 5th Gen RAV4. But man do I feel like a fool. About 7 months ago I accepted a new job offer that would require a daily 100mile roundtrip commute. Driving a 20 year old Lincoln Navigator that averaged 12mpg and required premium gas, I was spending over $600 a month in gas! I knew before I ever signed the offer letter, I had to get rid of this truck for something much more fuel efficient. Having heard all of these stories about Toyota reliability and resale value.. and knowing that Toyota was launching a new gen RAV4.. I was absolutely sure I would be getting a 2019 RAV4 Hybrid. Little did I know Toyota would drag its feet getting the new RAV4 to dealerships. I would have bought one sight unseen if a dealer could guarantee me a delivery date before the end of the 2018 calendar year. I didn't even care about location, color, trim or hybrid, I just knew I wanted the RAV4.

As fate would have it, the heat didn't work on the Navigator and freezing winter temps set in quickly. After almost of two full months of driving to work, freezing with an electric blanket plugged into the 12V socket.. the Navigator failed state inspection and would no longer pass, it was time to let it go. I was forced to get rid of it before the end of November and find something else to drive. Every review online listed the CR-V as king of the crossover SUVs. Then I found this forum and learned about Oil Dulition. This forum reeked of OD threads.. literally every thread on the front page had the same individuals discussing it over and over. It ruined any positive thread. How could the CR-V be ranked so highly, yet all of these guys focus on how bad the OD issue was. I test drove the 2019 Forester, CX-5 and even the Tesla Model 3. None of them seemed to match the bang for the buck of the CR-V. The Forester was loud & slow. The CX-5 was laughably cramped. The Model 3 was impressive but the cheapest version at the time was $44,000 and RWD only. I felt like the CR-V was the only viable option. And I purchased a new '18 EX-L on the last day of November 2018 for $27,700 + TTL. To cover my back on the OD issue, I paid an additional $1,200 to Sarrucci Honda for the 8yr/120K extended warranty.

Fast forward 3.5 months and I now have 10K miles on my '18 CR-V.. it averages 32mpg lifetime and hands down the best vehicle I've ever owned. After being initially scared off by the OD threads.. I began checking my oil every 2-3 days religiously the first month.. I quickly realized the oil levels were absolutely fine and I also had no issues with lack of heat. In anything, the more I looked into the OD issue.. the more I realized it was the same 20 or so individuals in every thread screaming about OD. These guys had a bad experience with OD and did their best to make sure the entire world knew about it in every single thread on this forum.

The vast majority of CR-V owners had no OD issue. Looking even further.. I calculated that Honda has now sold almost 1 million Gen 5 CR-V's.. and I still can't locate a single engine failure this is 100% due to OD. Its one of the most overblown things I've ever witnessed and now I feel like a fool for paying the extra $1,200 for an extended warranty on a vehicle on a vehicle that has been absolutely stellar and has zero signs of any issues after months of heavy use. If I could do it all over again.. not only would I have chosen the CR-V.. but I probably would have bought it a year or two earlier and used the extra money I spent on the extended warranty to upgrade to the top of the line Touring trim instead.

TL : DR.. Anybody who is unbiased and test drives the both the RAV4 and CR-V will come to the exact same conclusion as Consumer Reports. The CR-V is flat out better in ever measurable way. For under $30K.. you can get a CR-V with leather interior, Android Auto, remote start, a ton of extra interior space, better MPG, better acceleration and too many goodies to even list. Not only is the CR-V cheaper than the RAV4, I believe it looks/feels/drives overwhelmingly better. About the only negative you can find about the CR-V.. is the overblown OD issue. And if it really bothers you that much just buy the extended warranty. You will still end up with a vehicle better than the RAV4 in every way.. and a better bang for the bucks than any of its competitors. And if you ever decide to sell it.. the money spent on the extended warranty will pay for itself thanks to the class leading resale value of the CR-V. Thats another gotcha about the RAV4.. because Toyota fleet sales the RAV4 to rental car and tax companies.. expect RAV4 to depreciate much quicker.. as the market will be flooded with a ton of used Gen5 RAV4's once these companies start to renew their fleet.

 

I feel like a fool for paying the extra $1,200 for an extended warranty on a vehicle on a vehicle that has been absolutely stellar and has zero signs of any issues after months of heavy use.

I have 2 years of trouble free use on my EXL and absolutely love the thing. And I have another 6 years of worry free use with the 8 year extended warranty. The transferable extended warranty is also nice selling feature if you sell before 8 years.

The wife sure was glad she had extended warranty on her 2013 Outback when the $2300 head unit had to be replaced at 40 months of ownership, about twice the price of the warranty.

 

Quote Originally Posted by Daekwan View Post

I'm so glad this head-to-head comparison has finally been done. I couldn't be prouder to have made the right choice......

I feel like a fool for paying the extra $1,200 for an extended warranty on a vehicle on a vehicle that has been absolutely stellar and has zero signs of any issues after months of heavy use.


Congrats on a good choice! Enjoy your CR-V!

Don't feel bad about buying the extended warranty. There are a lot of electronic components that are likely covered..if one fails after standard warranty, you've again made the right choice!

 

Guess CR didn’t test for fuel dilution...reason enough to go to the alternative.

 

Interesting that did not comment on their own article/concern about ODf from last fall.. Or a least a followup comment on the current status of their concern of the issue. Heck, even at the time they were calling for a safety recall per the Talking Cars guys on this very issue with the CK engine stalls- now nothing. Strange.

Meanwhile, I am waiting for local inventory to arrive to test drive the 2019 Rav4 hybrid as a possible replacement. One of my friends has already dumped her 2017 CR-V due to the OD and cabin heat issue.

I am not planning to even test drive a 2019 Rav4 gas model until 2020's one come out. Hopefully my 2017 CR-V will last until then or the hbrid will look good enough to jump now. LOL

 

And there it goes... This was a civil thread until post 35 had to make a mention of you know what.

Why can't the mods just delete posts, vs. locking whole threads? That's where this is now headed, unfortunately.

 

As a 2018 RAV4 driver, I have to laugh at the CR analysis. 9700 miles and I have no idea what they are talking about in regards to engine and wind noise. I knew I wanted a smaller SUV after my beloved Maxima was totaled by a teen who made a poor driving choice. The RAV4 and the CRV were at the top of the list, but I went with the RAV4 for specific reasons:

1) I wanted a sunroof. I had to move up 2 trim levels to get it on the CRV only one for the RAV4. Strike 1 against Honda.
2) Going to the EXL for the CRV, I was forced into a turbo. No thanks, I don't want the complexity.
3) Reliability was key for me - and then I came across the issue of gas contamination in the oil. Honda telling me "there would be no impact on engine life" was a baloney answer.
If they truly believed it, they can pay for the extended warranty to 150K miles. Didn't see that offer, so I didn't just say no, I *ran*.

Now, I truly hope most of you never have an issue with your 1.5L Turbo due to any of the contamination. I happen to keep my cars for 15+ years (sans teen drivers).
I happen to have a 2005 CRV in the driveway now with a crap load of issues due to poor quality. I'll be re-working the A/C in the next month. The Acura with the new transmission in it sits in another spot.
File this under "I have my reasons". Now I know Toyota isn't perfect, but Honda has just left a bad taste in my driveway. As for CR not bringing it up? Oh wow. :doh:

 

As a 2018 RAV4 driver, I have to laugh at the CR analysis. 9700 miles and I have no idea what they are talking about in regards to engine and wind noise. ...

They're referring to the redesigned 2019 Rav4, not your 2018. They are not the only publication that mentions it.

 

@cgilley, It's great that there are competing products from multiple companies to meet each individual's needs and priorities.

Enjoy your RAV4! I suspect it will serve you well.

 

So glad to see some positive posts here. I got so tired of reading about oil dilution on this forum that I started deleting all the email notifications from this site. It seemed to me that it was all negative. I have had 2 CRVs over the years and have never had any problems with them. And judging by the number of them you see on the road, they must be doing something right. Any car can have problems but when I saw that every post was negative and always about OD I gave up. So glad to see some positive posts here

 

This is the most informative and brilliant response I HAVE EVER witnessed on this forum. I am a proud owner of a 2017 EX-L with around 9,000 miles. I LOVE THIS CAR!!!!

 

I've said this before but I totally agree with the above ...I love my CRV, EX-L have never had such a good a car...no heat problems, no oil dilution. I got freaked out by all the OD threads and it impacted my mood about my car but I bought it anyway. So glad that I did!!!!!!!!! I had heard some "not so good" stories about the Rav 4 and listened to them even though i had an old one that I loved.The smoothness of the driving of the CRV is the best that I could dream of. I hope that people who have positive experiences with the CRV speak up!

 

Glad you don't have the issues that others have reported. But to try to help you believe it isn't a problem based upon your small sample size of 1 is strictly anecdotal.

I don't know if you consider me as one of the 20, but I live in TX outside of where Honda is trying to address the problem and I definitely have a fuel smell in my oil. I'm hoping that it doesn't cause issues but as everyone knows, this type of issue won't show up for a few years.

I'm sure all those people who drive Hyundai's say that because their car hasn't caught on fire that everyone else is just making up their stories. If I had known about the Honda CR-V issue, I likely would have looked elsewhere to avoid the risk of it being an issue that I might have. It's a risk and glad you haven't had any issues on your car but you can't say that it is just a small minority and that because it doesn't affect you means that it doesn't affect anyone, is a mistake.