38 MPG BATTLE! -- 2025 Mazda CX-50 Hybrid vs. 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid: Comparison

What's going on YouTube? For most Americans, the default vehicle they land on is within the oh so popular compact SUV segment. And in that segment, one of the long-lasting sales leaders is the Honda CR-V. It has loads of practicality and an efficient hybrid powertrain, but for 2025 it's getting a new rival, the Mazda CX-50 hybrid. So which fuel-sipping compact SUV does it better? Well, that's what we're about to find out. So before we get into what's similar and different between these two, let's first set things up with the pricing breakdown. Starting with the CX-50, we have the new hybrid model and its top trim known as Premium Plus. All told, it's a little over 42 grand. Moving to the CR-V, its top trim, Sport Touring, is locked into a hybrid powertrain. No additional options are available, so it comes to $42,495 after destination. By the way, if you want to get the best price from local dealerships and access to invoice pricing info for these two models or any vehicle, we have a tool on our website to do just that. It's great for shopping, it makes dealers compete on pricing, so make sure to check the link in the description for more information. If you're new to our comparisons, we conduct them objectively. We've done our best to weigh the points awarded throughout in major and minor categories, and towards the end, we will go over reliability and resale value information. Well, let's go ahead and get into the meat and potatoes. Starting here with the exteriors, both models convey each of their brand's typical design philosophies. The CR-V goes for a mature and classy approach, and while Mazdas are typically very sleek, the CX-50 definitely goes for a bit of a more rugged look. Both vehicles feature darkened grilles and full LED lighting up front. The only difference here is Mazda includes more premium projector beam headlights compared to the CR-V's reflector LEDs. Continuing to the sides, you'll find the CX-50 is exactly an inch longer than the CR-V, but you might be surprised at who has more space later on in the inside for this comparison. In the meantime, at the wheels, both have 19 inches with a contrast or fully blacked-out look. As a reminder, we don't score personal design preferences. However, it is worth mentioning that the CX-50 has beefier matte black cladding compared to the more subdued CR-V. Features-wise, both have exposed wipers, spoilers, and dual exhaust tips. However, the Mazda has the advantage for rear lighting, with every element of the taillight cluster being LED. Mazda continues with advantages, having 40% more towing capacity in hybrid form. As far as the mirrors are concerned, they both have blind spot monitoring, heating, and LED turn signals, and the Mazda also adds in power folding. And speaking of blind spot monitoring, family SUVs need to be safe, and one of the really nice things about these two is that all four of your major active safety features are included as standard equipment on all trims. The warranties are the same on both, outside of the fact that Honda has complimentary maintenance for one year. This is shaping up to be a tight race, so let's get to the interiors. But first, if you're new here, we're brothers, and we've been reviewing cars since we were 12 and 16. We started young, and since then, we have reviewed over 2,000 vehicles at every price point. No matter what you're looking for, from humble to high-end, we'd love for you to subscribe to be a part of our CarConfections family. Let's learn a lot and have some fun with all the latest cars. Approaching both SUVs, they have smart entry systems and their brands' respective key fobs. Both models have remote start, but it's only the CR-V that includes it on the fob, subscription-free for life. After opening the doors, you'll see these two have stark differences and not just in color. Before we dig into those differences, let's start with the seats. While they are both 10-way power adjusting with lumbar support, finished in real leather, and have memory, it's only the Mazda that has seat ventilation, since that's not offered at all on the CR-V. Now once inside the cabins, let's check out the major point category of material quality. Like many Mazdas, they put a lot of focus into delivering a luxurious experience with high-end materials, padded areas, and stitched leatherette throughout. The CR-V also has plenty of soft materials around the cabin, but it doesn't feel as plush as the Mazda. After startup, you'll see a 7-inch partial digital gauge cluster on both. They have decent customizability, but it's only the Mazda that gives you a vivid head-up display in addition to that. Moving back, they have leather-wrapped heated steering wheels and even rain-sensing wipers. Oddly enough, the hybrid CX-50 cannot get a heated steering wheel, which is standard on the CR-V Sport Touring. Now it's time to evaluate another major interior section, storage. This is where the Honda starts to pull away. Its center console has nearly double the volume of the CX-50, and a larger and more versatile front storage cubby. That's not to mention the inconvenient placement of the CX-50's cupholders that with large drinks impedes on the climate controls. Despite the storage differences, both still have physical shifters. When in reverse, neither have 360-degree cameras though. That's because it's not offered at all on the Honda, and it is not included on the Mazda unless you get the more expensive turbocharged model. Climate controls are simple to use with two zones of adjustment, and both have physical volume knobs. For audio, both SUVs include what is likely the exact same 12-speaker Bose center point sound system. Despite some slight tuning differences, there is not enough of a difference to score a point. People want a high level of technology in cars nowadays, so let's move to the key element of the displays. As far as sizing, CX-50 has a 10.25-inch display versus a 9-inch one in the Honda. But more important than the size difference is that the Mazda's screen is mounted far away from the driver, since it is intended to be navigated by the control knob on the dash. When using Mazda's interface, you cannot touch the screen, although you can strain to touch it when using wireless Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Overall, the CR-V's interface is easier to use on the day-to-day. As we wrap up the front of the cabins, both have auto-dimming mirrors, but only the CX-50 includes HomeLink remotes. Up top, you'll find a large panoramic moonroof on the Mazda, which is a feature still missing from all CR-Vs. Compact SUVs are very commonly used by families with kids, so let's dive into the important backseats. Remember how the CR-V excelled with space in the front? Well, that trend will also continue in the back. The CR-V has over an inch more legroom based on manufacturer specs, and based on our real-world experience, it's an even bigger difference than the numbers would suggest. It is significantly larger than CX-50, and has eight modes of seat reclining, so it'll take the rear space and comfort point. Now that that's out of the way, they acquired a few features. Both include USB ports and rear vents, and neither have heated backseats as equipped. That is available only on the turbocharged CX-50, and no version of the CR-V in the U.S. has it. Now let's see how much stuff we can bring along with you for the journey. Both have power tailgates, though only CR-V has hands-free kick to open. Once they open up, you'll see that the slightly shorter CR-V actually has a massive space advantage. It's one of the class leaders for cargo volume, and it has a 30% advantage in maximum capacity and with the seats in place. Only the Mazda includes a spare tire, or the convenient handles in the cargo area to fold the 60-40 seats. But like we said at the beginning, both are hybridized, so let's take these two out on the road and see who does it the best. Now it's time to talk about the major element of powertrain, where we have some differences and similarities. With this new generation CR-V, half of the trim levels are hybrid-exclusive, including this top-end Sport Touring. Altogether, it makes 204 horsepower. Meanwhile, the CX-50 hybrid is actually using a Toyota hybrid powertrain out of the RAV4. It makes about 7% more power at 219 horsepower from a 2.5 liter four-cylinder engine and electric components. And overall acceleration is fairly similar. All right, there was a 60 mile an hour acceleration with the CR-V hybrid. Now of course, as we discussed on the outside, this is the hybrid variant. More than half of the trim levels are going to be hybrid-exclusive with this new generation. And honestly, that's a good thing. You get a lot of benefits by going for the hybrid model. One of them is that you have more power, 204 horsepower, 247 pound-feet of torque. Those are good power figures for this segment. And overall acceleration is quite nice, especially off the line. All right, that was 60 miles an hour. So like we were talking about at the spec dump, this new hybrid model really fits nicely in between the existing options. So this has 219 horsepower again from a 2.5 liter four-cylinder engine and three electric motors. Now we've been talking a lot about, you know, the relationship here with Toyota. And I do want to point out that like the engine itself is sourced from Toyota. It's not like a Skyactiv four-cylinder engine. So it is Toyota's own four-cylinder engine. And this all just, you know, works together really very similarly, of course, to the Toyota hybrid system that we're used to driving in products such as the RAV4. When it comes to transmissions, the CX-50 has an e-CVT and the CR-V has an e-CVT-like setup. Real world feel is nearly identical and all-wheel drive is also standard on both of them. If you choose this hybrid model, you have what is actually not an e-CVT but performs like an e-CVT. So we try not to be like overly technical with these reviews to confuse people. Just know that the overall performance of this transmission is very e-CVT like that. And of course, the other element of the powertrain is the transmission. We might as well go in and get into that. This comes with an e-CVT as opposed to the six-speed automatic you get with the other two engine choices. You know, this is a nice and responsive transmission. Again, it's typical with Toyota. It really all just works together super nicely. Besides transmissions, you're probably wondering how quiet the cabins are when cruising. Well, that's why here at Car Confections, we take sound level readings of every vehicle we test out on the channel. On the same stretch of road in Kentucky, we achieve pretty good ratings in both. The average human ear can discern one decibel of difference in a sound change, which will give the CR-V an advantage. Let's go ahead and see how quiet it is. 55.8 decibels is where we've settled in at. 57.5 is what we have settled in at. Next, let's talk about the ride quality. This is where you see distinctly different priorities. The CX-50 has a very sporty suspension tune to help with driving dynamics when compared to CR-V. Because of that, you feel road imperfections and bumps more prominently in the CX-50. On the flip side, however, the CX-50 exhibits incredible handling. While CR-V also has one of the best driving dynamics in the segment, it can't quite compete with the Mazda's athleticism and steering feel. And now that we're speeding up to 55, I also want to talk about ride quality. I think that's a very important discussion when it comes to living with this vehicle for the past seven days. Both Drew and I have been behind the wheel of it for quite some time, and as we go over some bumps there, I have to say ride quality is really, really good in the CR-V. Even with the larger 19-inch alloy wheels, that's the largest wheel you can get in this model on the sport touring, still rides really good. These seats are also incredibly comfortable, and when it comes to dynamics, I know we haven't quite touched on that just yet, but dynamically speaking, this has a little bit more athleticism than the average thing in this segment. I think Honda has done a really fantastic job of balancing that with the ride quality. That does mean, however, when it comes to your ride quality, it's going to be definitely on the firmer side for this segment of vehicle. You're definitely going to feel a little bit more intrusion than you would in a RAV4 or other options such as the Honda CR-V. As we go over a bump, you'll definitely, you know, feel a little bit of that inside of the cabin, which is not necessarily a bad thing for those of you looking for, you know, a Mazda, of course. Lastly in the powertrain, let's talk about fuel economy. That's one area where both excel and will save you thousands at the pump compared to many other new vehicles. The CX-50 is technically one mpg higher at 38 mpg combined, but that's not enough of a difference to score a point. In our reviews and comparisons, we are also adding in reliability and resale information to give you a better picture of the overall value beyond just the original MSRP. Beginning with reliability, we developed the Combined Reliability Index, which takes into account several studies from trustworthy sources and combines them in a way that gives you a more holistic picture. Here, the sales leader has the advantage. Honda ranks in as the number three brand for reliability, 14 slots above the industry average, awarding it plus 1.4 points. Meanwhile, Mazda is slightly below average for reliability, by one slot to be exact. That takes away 0.1 points. We also put Mason's economics degree to work to develop a detailed predicted resale value tool. After five years and 60,000 miles, Honda has the number one highest predicted resale value of any brand at 64.8 percent, and Mazda closely trails it at 59.4 percent. This gives Honda a half point according to our scale. Resale is obviously important because it determines how much money you get back, but we can't forget about the price difference at the original purchase. The CR-V cost $430 more than the CX-50, which is not enough difference to grade with points according to our scale. I want to emphasize that if money, reliability, or resale value matter less to you personally, feel free to disregard these points. And if you'd like to check out all our data about reliability and resale values, as well as learn about our methodology, make sure to head to carconfections.com slash resale and slash reliability. Buying a car is a big decision and this is a great place to compare all the makes you might be cross-shopping. So there you have it, another hot compact SUV comparison is in the books, and it's a close one, so let's recap with some of the reasons that you might choose one over the other based on what's most important to you. So the CX-50 really should be your choice if you're looking for the most luxury features. It does have things like vented seats, a head-up display, panel moonroof, those are not available on the CR-V. You also have the ultimate driving dynamics, you know, Mazda really focuses in on making the best driving experience, and you also have greater tow capacity if that's something you're looking for. Now on the flip side, the CR-V should be your choice if you value more of the practical things. It does have more storage and a more functional interior layout that will be something you appreciate the longer you do road trips and live with the vehicle. Additionally, the space, it has more cargo space as well as second row room, so if you're frequently using those two areas, you'll appreciate the CR-V more. Additionally, we feel it has a significantly more comfortable ride quality overall, and it also has a decent balance between having good driving dynamics and also good ride quality, so I think that's an important thing to point out. But guys, which are you taking down below? Are you taking the CX-50 Hybrid or the CR-V Hybrid? Let us know your thoughts. Also, if you're looking to buy either one of these SUVs or any new vehicle, we would encourage you to go to carconfections.com slash newcarquotes. Now the reason you do that is because we have a tool on our website that will connect you with local car dealers in your area to get you the best price. It's also going to give you access to invoice pricing information, which is a great tool for dealership negotiation. If you'd like to take advantage of that, a link is provided in our video description, and we also have a pinned comment at the top of this video. And that's going to be where we leave off on this comparison. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you did, we'd appreciate it if you hit that subscribe button down below. By subscribing, you're not only going to help us to make more comparisons like this, but you're also going to get access to all types of other automotive content that I promise you won't want to miss out on. 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