Honda’s CR-V was all new for 2023 in North America so you’d forgive the automaker if it left well alone for 2024. But instead it’s introduced a new mid-level Sport-L trim to give buyers shopping at the higher end of the range more choice.
Available in either 2WD ($36,350 plus dest) or AWD ($37,850) forms, Sport-L slots between Sport, which is the entry level trim grade with the hybrid powertrain selected, and the top-spec Sport Touring. The list of standard kit is fairly extensive and includes leather seats, power tailgate, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charging, gloss black exterior accents, rectangular tailpipes and Berlina Black 18-inch wheels.
Honda pitches the 2.0-liter hybrid as a more upmarket choice than the non-hybrid, turbocharged 1.5 and says it now accounts for half of all CR-V sales. And considering the CR-V is the most popular SUV in America, that’s a lot of sales. But there are still plenty of CR-V buying options for drivers who don’t want to drive a hybrid, or who just want to pay less to put one on their driveway.
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Unfortunately, those customers will still be paying more than they would have done for a 2023 CR-V because prices have risen across the board. Although the base LX trim was missing from the lineup at the launch of the 2023 car, Honda brought it back mid-year, giving buyers the chance to take a base, front-wheel drive CR-V home for $28,410 plus $1,295 destination. But the LX now costs $29,500 plus destination, meaning this year’s least expensive CR-V costs $1,090 more than last year’s.
Given the LX’s stingy spec, though – no sunroof, heated seats or multi-zone climate, and just 17-inch steelies at each corner – we’d be inclined to pay the $32,010 plus destination required to get into an EX. Prices of other models, including the EX, have risen by slightly less than the LX’s has, increasing by $950. The exception is the all-singing, all-dancing Sport Touring, which commands a modest $400 premium this year, taking its MSRP to $39,100 and the total with-freight charge to $40,795.
