Honda brings a light off-road package to its most popular SUV.
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Like children on a family camping adventure, the Honda CR-V has finally put on its nubby-soled shoes and agreed to go for a hike—but only if it isn’t too hard or too steep. Honda wants every possible compact-SUV shopper to consider the CR-V, and one place it hadn’t ventured is off-pavement. Enter the hybrid-only CR-V TrailSport.
TrailSport as a trim will be familiar to other Honda owners. The Ridgeline, the Passport, and the Pilot all offer the option of a TrailSport package, which brings a slightly more rugged aesthetic and some light off-road equipment. The 2026 CR-V TrailSport doesn’t go as far on the equipment side, but it’s not a purely cosmetic upgrade. Honda does want you to get it dirty.
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The CR-V TrailSport is positioned between the all-wheel-drive Sport and Sport-L trims, with a $40,195 entry price. It uses the same powertrain as the other hybrid trims, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder paired with two electric motors for a total of 204 horsepower and 247 pound-feet of torque. It’s not a rocket ship of a combo, and we don’t expect the new TrailSport to beat the 7.9-second 60-mph time of the 2023 Hybrid Sport Touring we tested, but the powertrain is more than enough to propel the little SUV past big trucks on the highway or up and over rolling hills.
While the CR-V isn’t the quickest transportation on the market, it is a smooth-riding machine that handles more like an Accord sedan than a higher-riding SUV. It has a comfortable seating position, reasonably neutral handling, predictable brakes, and a firm but not overly stiff suspension that won’t jostle groceries or sleeping babies yet still allows for an enthusiastic run on a nice stretch of pavement.
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The CR-V has been Honda’s bestselling vehicle since 2017, and it keeps finding new customers with more than 400,000 units moved in 2024. More than half of those buyers go for the hybrid. We can’t blame them, as it comes in both front- and all-wheel-drive setups (TrailSports are all-wheel drive only) and offers excellent fuel economy (although the TrailSport’s EPA combined rating of 35 mpg is 2 mpg less than that of other all-wheel-drive hybrid models). For 2026, changes to the CR-V lineup are minimal: a few cosmetic details like black window trim for hybrid models, some new wheel options, bigger screens, and more standard technology, including wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.
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The TrailSport trim is new for 2026, and even that is more of a fine-tuning than a major overhaul. The biggest difference between TrailSport and other hybrid trims is the wheel-and-tire package. Instead of glossy black wheels wrapped in all-season rubber, the TrailSport comes on model-specific Shark Gray 18-inch rollers shod in Continental CrossContact ATR all-terrain tires, sized 235/60R-18. There’s no additional ground clearance, so don’t expect to pass over fallen trees or major rock obstacles, but you will get a little more grip in the dirt.
The other feature that makes the TrailSport more than just looks is an updated traction-management system. Whereas previous all-wheel-drive CR-Vs could split the powertrain’s torque up to 60/40 between front and rear wheels, the 2026 models can go Dutch, 50/50, which means more grunt can now help move the back end out of slippery situations. The CR-V can also better sense which wheels are slipping and send more drive force to the ones with grip while applying braking force to the spinning wheels.
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Honda demonstrated this for us with a demo on metal rollers, which simulated the experience of having a vehicle with several wheels out of contact with the earth. The demonstration showed that the 2026 TrailSport was able to power out of a situation that had the 2025 CR-V stuck and spinning. This is not to say that you’ll be trapped in quicksand in your 2025 CR-V, only that you might have to do more trailcraft to move out of a spot that the 2026 CR-V can now drive through without issue.
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The rest of the TrailSport’s features are mostly for show, but they worth talking about. The TrailSport has its own model-specific color, Ash Green Metallic, a muted sage pearl likely to match well with Teva sandals and Yeti coolers. It does not have skid plates, but the lower fascia does get a silver trim piece that Honda calls a “skid garnish.” Cute orange mountain badges call out the TrailSport moniker on the front and rear, as well as inside on the headrests. Sunset orange also accents the ambient lighting, seat stitching, and rubber floor mats.
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Our on-road drive backed up all previous observations of the sixth-generation CR-V. The all-terrain tires don’t add notable road noise or harshness to the ride, and the TrailSport still handles and stops well. The interior is roomy, storage and cargo space are excellent, and the reclining and folding rear seats are comfortable enough for kids and pets alike. It’s still not fast, and it can be a tad loud inside when the engine is giving its all, but around town it quits its four-cylinder shouting and hums with electric pedestrian warning chimes.
Our off-road time with the CR-V TrailSport was limited to a couple of laps around a motocross track, but traction was good and the TrailSport’s hill-descent control allowed the CR-V to navigate the steeper sections without excessively riding the brakes. The CR-V TrailSport likely can’t go much further into the wilderness than its non-TrailSport brethren, but its all-terrain tires and the new slip-managing software can make leaving the safety of pavement less stressful for those who like a weekend away from the city.
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It’s too bad Honda didn’t give the CR-V a little more ride height and the trail camera from the Passport TrailSport to make it more of a true off-roader. But maybe we’ll see that in 2027. Just like when adventuring with kids, sometimes you have to ease into it.
Specifications
2026 Honda CR-V TrailSport
Vehicle Type: front-engine, front-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE
Base: $40,195
POWERTRAIN
DOHC 16-valve Atkinson-cycle 2.0-liter inline-4, 145 hp, 138 lb-ft + AC motor, 181 hp, 247 lb-ft (combined output: 204 hp, 247 lb-ft; lithium-ion battery pack)
Transmission: direct-drive
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 106.3 in
Length: 184.8 in
Width: 73.5 in
Height: 66.5 in
Passenger Volume, F/R: 53/51 ft3
Cargo Volume, Behind F/R: 77/36 ft3
Curb Weight (C/D est): 3900 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 7.9 sec
1/4-Mile: 16.3 sec
Top Speed: 112 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 35/38/33 mpg
Reviewed byElana Scherr
Senior Editor, Features
Like a sleeper agent activated late in the game, Elana Scherr didn’t know her calling at a young age. Like many girls, she planned to be a vet-astronaut-artist, and came closest to that last one by attending UCLA art school. She painted images of cars, but did not own one. Elana reluctantly got a driver’s license at age 21 and discovered that she not only loved cars and wanted to drive them, but that other people loved cars and wanted to read about them, which meant somebody had to write about them. Since receiving activation codes, Elana has written for numerous car magazines and websites, covering classics, car culture, technology, motorsports, and new-car reviews. In 2020, she received a Best Feature award from the Motor Press Guild for the C/D story “A Drive through Classic Americana in a Polestar 2.” In 2023, her Car and Driver feature story “In Washington, D.C.’s Secret Carpool Cabal, It’s a Daily Slug Fest” was awarded 1st place in the 16th Annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards by the Los Angeles Press Club.
