Honda is a bit late to the game in this segment, but it appears to be striking back, with the 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid jumping straight into battle. In terms of pricing, the CR-V has the RAV4 beat with a starting MSRP of $27,750 (compared to $28,350). The RAV4 is slightly more efficient though, with EPA ratings of 41/35 mpg city/highway compared to estimates of 40/35 mpg city/highway for the CR-V. Then again, the CR-V has more cargo capacity, so the two vehicles are pretty evenly matched.

Battling the RAV4 will not be an easy task but Honda just gained some ammo following recent crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The 2020 CR-V Hybrid has just earned a Top Safety Pick rating from the IIHS and a 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score from the NHTSA.

The CR-V Hybrid becomes the fifth model in Honda's lineup to earn the Top Safety Pick rating while the hybrid Insight earns the institute's highest rating of Top Safety Pick +. For the 2020 model year, all CR-V models offer Honda Sensing as standard equipment on all trim levels as part of Honda's promise to make the safety suite standard on all vehicles by 2022. On the CR-V, Honda Sensing includes a Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) with Pedestrian Detection, Forward Collision Warning, Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) with Lane Departure Warning (LDW), a Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS), and Adaptive Cruise Control.

All Honda vehicles are now built with the company's Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure, which is designed to better protect occupants from frontal collisions. To receive the Top Safety Pick rating, the CR-V Hybrid needed to earn "GOOD" crashworthiness ratings in all test modes. Honda expects more 2020 vehicles to earn a Top Safety Pick rating as the IIHS completes its testing while all Honda vehicles that have been tested have earned 5-Star Overall Vehicle Scores from the NHTSA.