2026 Honda CR-V's TrailSport Hybrid Trim Adds Minimal Off-Road Chops, But It Remains The On-Road Champ
The Honda CR-V might not be the most exciting car on the market, but it is one of the most important for American car buyers, and Honda made some slight updates to its most popular model for 2026. And by slight updates, I mean they are hardly perceptible, even to me, someone who can identify car makes and models strictly by their headlight signatures in the rearview mirror. The biggest change to the CR-V comes in the form of Honda's first TrailSport model with a hybrid powertrain, the CR-V TrailSport Hybrid.
The sixth-generation CR-V was already one of the nicer looking vehicles on sale today, so Honda didn't mess with a good thing when giving it a mid-cycle facelift. The same can be said for the interior and the driving experience — the updated 2026 CR-V remains one of the most refined, composed, spacious, and user-friendly options in the compact crossover segment.
Full disclosure: Honda wanted me to drive the 2026 CR-V TrailSport Hybrid so badly that it put me up in a lovely resort in sunny Carlsbad, California, and kept me fed and entertained for a few days. I also got to ride a Motocompacto, which was such a giggle, but none of this treatment influences my evaluation of the CR-V. It's just a great vehicle.
TrailSport Hybrid gets all-terrain tires and not much else
I spent the majority of my time with the 2026 CR-V behind the wheel of the new TrailSport Hybrid, which falls between the entry-level Hybrid Sport trim and the more luxury-focused Hybrid Sport-L trim. The TrailSport Hybrid is only available with all-wheel drive, and it starts at $40,195 including $1,395 destination charge.
The primary change that puts the trail in TrailSport is a set of Continental CrossContact all-terrain tires that wrap around 18-inch gray alloy wheels with recessed valve stems. Beyond those two additions, TrailSport CR-Vs gain orange ambient interior lighting, silver "skid garnish" trim on the front and rear bumpers that don't add any actual protection, and orange TrailSport badges on the exterior, embroidered on the front head restraints, and on the rubber floor mats. It's also the only way to get a CR-V in my press car's enticing shade of Ash Green Metallic, but that's it. Those all-terrain tires are likely the culprit of the TrailSport Hybrid's slightly decreased fuel economy numbers, but they're still great at 38 mpg city, 33 highway, and 35 combined. Other all-wheel-drive CR-V Hybrids get 40 city, 34 highway and 37 combined.
Every all-wheel-drive CR-V is now capable of a 50:50 torque split
Honda didn't restrict the updated CR-V's improved all-wheel-drive traction to the TrailSport model; new software allows all-wheel-drive CR-Vs to send up to 50% of the torque to the rear wheels instead of the 60:40 split on all prior CR-Vs. New traction control software further improves the all-wheel-drive system at speeds below 9 mph. Honda demonstrated this to us by doing a side-by-side "roller test" comparison between a 2025 CR-V and a 2026 CR-V. If you aren't familiar, the roller test in this case involves perching both front wheels and one rear wheel on rollers that don't allow any traction, so that only a single rear wheel will have traction. The 2025 CR-V was unable to send enough torque to the one rear wheel with traction to move itself off the rollers, but when faced with the exact same traction predicament, the 2026 CR-V TrailSport drove right off with hardly any wheelspin. Every all-wheel-drive 2026 CR-V trim level gets the more capable updated system, and they all have the same 8.2 inches of ground clearance — even the TrailSport.
Other additions for the 2026 model year include a standard 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system with standard wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, new wheel designs, and a standard wireless phone charger. Every trim level above the base LX and the EX trim are now available with a larger 10.2-inch digital driver display, and all hybrid models get black window trim.
The TrailSport package doesn't sacrifice the CR-V's tossable on-road behavior
Over the course of my brief time behind the wheel of the TrailSport, I experienced highway situations, urban traffic, a moment of dirt driving, and plenty of mountain roads, and I'm happy to report that it never felt out of place. Despite being equipped with more nubbly all-terrain tires, the CR-V TrailSport remains a very quiet and refined highway cruiser, but I was more impressed with how well it handled some light abuse on twisty roads.
The TrailSport package might not offer much along the lines of true off-road abilities, but considering it's likely to spend most of its life on paved roads, there are no palpable on-road drawbacks beyond the slightly decreased fuel economy. If you plan to use your crossover for off-roading, opt for something more rugged like a Subaru Forester Wilderness or Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road. In the new genre of ruggedized, off-road flavored compact crossovers, the CR-V TrailSport Hybrid is the most fun choice for driving on paved roads. Through the mountain roads near San Diego, the TrailSport maintains the playful driving characteristics of the rest of the CR-V lineup.
It has a sharp turn-in and intuitive inputs as well as obedient cornering characteristics that can coax it into some mid-corner rotation if you manage the throttle right. We didn't get to put it through its paces off-road, but the few obstacles we tackled revealed a reliable hill descent control and commendable low-speed traction management. The TrailSport Hybrid's 204 horsepower and 247 lb-ft of torque doesn't make it feel fast, but it's still plenty smooth. I think it will sell like hotcakes.
Honda ergonomics are hard to beat
Inside the cabin, the 2026 CR-V continues to offer a nice-looking, user-friendly interface with a real mechanical gear selector, and physical climate control buttons with beautifully tactile dials that are easy to adjust without taking your eyes off the road. Most of the interior materials in the front of the cabin are nice enough, but back seat occupants will find more hard plastics. I found the door-mounted arm rests to be lacking padding up front and in the rear, but that was the only thing that I found uncomfortable on my drive.
There's ample passenger space in both the front seats and the rear seats, even when I set the seating position for my 6-foot-8-inch tall frame. The rear seats also have some of the furthest-reclining backrests I've experienced in this class, and there's still plenty of very usable cargo space behind that second row of seats and even more with those seats folded flat.
Still a winner
The CR-V is Honda's best seller for a reason. It strikes a magnificent balance with notable affordability, style, interior room, user friendliness, efficiency, safety, comfort, and reliability. All 2026 CR-Vs have Honda Sensing, Honda's suite of advanced driver's assistance systems that includes automated emergency braking, natural-feeling all-speed adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, blind spot monitors, cross-traffic monitor, and a driver attention monitor. The cheapest front-wheel-drive 2026 CR-V LX starts at $32,315 including destination, and the prices of most CR-V trim levels are about $1,000 more expensive than they were in the 2025 model year, though its on-road refinement still belies its relatively low price.
The updated 2026 Honda CR-V remains one of the more engaging compact crossovers if you ever feel like slinging it around a fun road every now and then, and the improved all-wheel-drive system and TrailSport trim adds a modicum of all-terrain capabilities in case you plan on some light off-roading — emphasis on the light.
