2021 Honda CR-V vs 2022 Volvo XC60

Even in a grim year, Honda is selling a staggering number of CR-Vs. The CR-V is the best-selling Honda by far. It’s also the second best-selling compact SUV, just behind the Toyota RAV4. And it's the fifth best-selling vehicle in the U.S., and if you take out all the commercial sales of full-size pickups it’s one of the two best-selling vehicles year in and year out.

So it’s hard to argue against the CR-V formula. Honda’s been at this almost as long as crossovers have been a thing, launching the CR-V in 1997—a year after the RAV4 debuted.

The funny thing is, aside from sales volume, there’s only one thing the CR-V particularly excels at. Aesthetics are subjective, but it would be hard to argue the CR-V is the best looking vehicle in its class. It’s not the cheapest. It’s not the best equipped, especially at the middle to lower trim levels. It’s not the fastest, nor is it the quietest, or the most fuel efficient. It’s not even the most reliable, showing up nowhere in J.D. Power's Most Reliable list.

So what makes it so appealing to American consumers? Let’s see if we can figure that out.

The 2022 Volvo XC60 brings the Swedish automaker’s signature style and solid engineering to one of the most popular luxury SUV segments. Slotting between the XC40 and XC90 in size, the XC60 competes against crossover SUVs like the Acura RDX, Audi Q5, BMW X3, Infiniti QX50, Lexus NX, and Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class. With so many choices, Volvo needed to keep the XC60 fresh. So, the automaker gave it some notable updates for the 2022 model year.

The current version of the XC60, representing the model’s second generation, has been around since the 2018 model year. For 2022, it gets new mild-hybrid powertrains, mildly updated exterior styling, and the Android-based infotainment system previously seen in the electric Volvo XC40 Recharge and Polestar 2.

The reshuffled 2022 XC60 lineup includes the B5 mild hybrid with Momentum, R-Design, and Inscription trim levels, the B6 mild hybrid (which skips the base Momentum trim level), and the carryover Volvo XC60 T8 Recharge plug-in hybrid in Inscription, R-Design, and sporty Polestar Engineered guises. We spent a day driving the B6 R-Design model around New York’s Hudson Valley.