2019 Toyota RAV4 vs 2020 Honda CR-V

The 2019 Toyota RAV4 had a distinctive look that turned heads with its bold and assertive design. It boasted a big, chunky exterior characterized by sharp edges, drawing inspiration from the Toyota Tacoma pickup. This aggressive and futuristic aesthetic conveyed a sense of robustness. The side-profile styling and taillights, which shared similarities with Toyota's luxury branch Lexus, accentuated this strong presence. The RAV4 integrated a character line that broke up the rear C-pillar. While this design choice was common among new vehicles, it often appeared as unnecessary clutter in monotone color schemes, though it made sense in two-tone options with contrasting roof colors.

In contrast, the 2020 Honda CR-V, a fifth-generation model introduced in 2017, offered a softer, more universally appealing look. Its curvy and car-like design closely resembled Honda’s sedan lineup and leaned more towards a station-wagon-like appearance. This model redefined modern family transportation with its sleek aesthetics. However, inside, the CR-V mixed upscale touches like wood-look trim and leather upholstery with less impressive low-quality plastics, reminding drivers it was an upgraded commodity car rather than a premium product.

The 2019 Toyota RAV4 was powered by a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine across all trims, producing 203 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. This engine was paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission, configured for either front-wheel drive (FWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD). Toyota offered two AWD variants: a base option and a more advanced torque-vectoring AWD for Adventure and Limited trims. While the engine offered adequate highway performance, it struggled in stop-and-go traffic due to its lack of low-end power, resulting in sluggish acceleration and noticeable noise. Although the RAV4 handled bumps comfortably, its steering was twitchy, and there was significant body roll, particularly in fast corners. The FWD RAV4 achieved an impressive fuel economy of 26 mpg city and 35 highway, while AWD models performed similarly with a combined 29.3 mpg.

In 2020, Honda simplified the CR-V lineup by exclusively offering a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine, producing 190 horsepower and 179 pound-feet of torque, paired with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). Despite some CVTs' notorious sluggish response, the CR-V's engineers tuned it well, providing a responsive and quick drive, especially in Sport mode. The CR-V excelled with car-like handling, minimal body roll, and a light curb weight of 3,337 pounds for the FWD LX model. This lightweight construction contributed to its superior fuel efficiency, delivering 30 mpg combined for FWD models and 29 mpg combined for AWD versions—placing it at the class's top.

The 2019 Toyota RAV4’s cabin aimed for a balance between upscale aesthetics and practicality. Its clean design featured ample cargo space and spacious seating. The center stack pod contained climate controls, drive-mode controls, and a shifter thoughtfully designed to minimize space usage. Additional storage included a deep center console bin and a passenger-side dash tray. The rear seats offered 37.6 cubic feet of cargo space, expanding to 69.8 cubic feet when folded down—surpassing some rivals but falling short compared to the Honda CR-V and Subaru Forester.

The 2020 Honda CR-V exemplified Honda’s expertise in effective packaging. It provided a roomy interior comparable to the Volkswagen Tiguan's class-leading space, with excellent seating positions enhancing head and legroom. Clever storage solutions, such as a deep center console bin inspired by the Odyssey minivan and door pockets extending behind the lower panel, maximized practicality. The CR-V boasted a two-position load floor in the cargo area, providing flexibility between maximizing cargo space or creating a flat floor with the rear seats folded, offering a total of 75.8 cubic feet of storage.

The 2019 Toyota RAV4 came well-equipped, with the LE trim featuring a 7-inch touchscreen housing Toyota’s Entune 3.0 infotainment system, which was user-friendly and included Apple CarPlay. Higher trims added more amenities, such as multiple USB ports, a panoramic reversing camera, a 7-inch instrument panel display, a larger 8-inch infotainment screen, and an optional JBL premium stereo in the Limited trim. The layout was straightforward, with real dials for volume and tuning, combined with touchscreen functionality for other features. However, Android Auto was notably absent.

The 2020 Honda CR-V’s technology offerings revealed its age, particularly in the entry-level LX trim, which had a limited 5-inch screen. Higher trims offered a 7-inch touchscreen that felt outdated compared to competitors' larger options. The system lacked hard buttons, making it cumbersome to operate. Though it provided Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, these integrations felt secondary to the main system. Despite this, the CR-V included ample USB ports in the EX trim and above, with two high-powered ports in the backseat and a wireless phone charger in the Touring trim.

In terms of safety, the 2019 Toyota RAV4 included comprehensive standard features. This encompassed a full array of airbags, a reversing camera, traction control, a tire-pressure monitoring system, and Toyota Safety Sense 2.0. This suite added advanced technologies such as forward-collision warning, lane-departure warning, automatic high-beams, dynamic radar cruise control, traffic-sign detection, and Lane-Tracing Assist.

The 2020 Honda CR-V also prioritized safety, equipped with the “Honda Sensing” system across all trims. This included forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection, road-departure mitigation, adaptive cruise control with lane-keeping assist, and automatic high beams. Higher trims featured additional blind-spot and cross-traffic monitoring. The CR-V achieved a five-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in frontal and side crash tests and earned a Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), although lower trims had lower-rated headlights.