2021 Hyundai Tucson vs 2021 Honda CR-V

It’s no secret that small SUVs are among the most popular new-car segments. You see them everywhere on the road today. Automakers put a lot of pressure on themselves to continually offer the latest and greatest. But that also means even the not-so-new are still terrific vehicles and provide a great value.

Case in point: the 2021 Hyundai Tucson. The current generation of this compact SUV was introduced for the 2016 model year, and this 2021 edition represents the final model year before a new generation is ushered in. So why go with the older model? Because Hyundai has loaded it up with plenty of tech and safety features and it is offered at a competitive price.

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.