2026 Honda CR-V TrailSport First Drive Review: Softly Off-Roading
It had to happen. The 2026 Honda CR-V has gained a TrailSport trim.
These added-ruggedness trims in the largest SUV segment are multiplying like the water consumption of AI data centers. It’s easy to understand: with a renewed interest in the outdoors, the market demands it of every size of SUV. Besides aesthetics, they offer a smooth ride and increased capability once the tarmac ends. Honda would be silly not to do it.
While the recent Passport TrailSport goes big on the latter, the CR-V does not follow in its bigger brother’s footsteps. This is a soft-roader with an emphasis on soft, instead prioritizing efficiency.
2026 Honda CR-V TrailSport Quick Take
After showing just how capable the TrailSport sub-brand can be on the latest Passport, the 2026 Honda CR-V TrailSport is a step back, offering the slightest of off-roading improvements for quite a lot of coin.
What’s New for 2026:
The whole CR-V lineup sees some general improvements for the model year. “Facelift” is a bit generous: the only real visual changes, TrailSport aside, are some new 18-inch wheel designs and… “sporty black window surrounds on hybrid models.” Ahem. The cabin sees the 9.0-inch touchscreen adopted across all trims now, an available 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster, and a standard wireless charger. As is the case with many new Hondas, the top trim also includes Google Built-In.
Under the skin, the engineering team has tweaked the low-speed traction management system and added an Individual drive mode for the top Sport Touring trim.
And then there was TrailSport. In a surprising move, Honda has elected to use its hybrid powertrain for its rough-and-tumble trim, unlike competitors at Toyota, Hyundai, or Kia. The newest member of the family comes only with all-wheel drive, features unique 18s wrapped with Continental CrossContact ATR all-terrain rubber, and comes sprinkled with the requisite orange badging. Oh yeah, and the quite excellent Ash Green Pearl paint you see here is exclusive to the trim.
Exterior Style:
As soft-roaders go, this is a pretty good-looking rig. The current CR-V has a longer, flatter nose that gives it a substantial presence, and the new rolling stock does give it more edge. The new color is ace, too.
I’m docking the CR-V a point for it having a “silver skid garnish” instead of an actual skidplate. With zero additional ride height, if anything that might make the front bumper more prone to bumps and scrapes if owners think it can take it.
Powertrain and Fuel Economy:
Honda’s hybrid powertrain is a great one. It just helped the Civic beat every other compact car in our mega comparison, for starters. Here on crossover duty it’s more powerful, too: 204 horsepower and a healthy 247 pound-feet of torque. Because Honda opts for a much more powerful electric motor than competitors, the CR-V can fairly easily roll on up to cruising speeds without needing to wake the gas motor. When the 2.0-liter naturally-aspirated engine does come on, it does so without as much drone as certain other competitors (cough RAV4 cough), and the elastic-band feel of yore is largely smoothed out. The four-cylinder usually serves to charge the battery, but in certain situations where it’s more beneficial, such as steady highway cruising, it can clutch in and send power directly to the wheels.
Drivers can shift into B, which increases system regeneration for more deceleration on lift-off. On top of that, paddles behind the steering wheel allow for cycling between for levels of additional regen. Honda says this offers up one-pedal driving, but none of the combinations prove strong enough for it, requiring the driver to make use of the brake pedal. Thankfully, the left pedal is smooth in actuation and very predictable, regardless of drive mode.
There are no additional drive modes for the TrailSport; just Econ, Normal, Sport, and Snow.
Fuel economy does take a hit with those new tires: the TrailSport scores a still-good 35 mpg (6.7 L/100 km) combined, down two mpg from the rest of the hybrid CR-V line. Our day of driving suggests this should be easily attainable.
Handling and Drivability:
On the road, the TrailSport is familiar Honda: a smooth ride with good damping, quick and consistent steering, and little lean in the corners. There is a bit more squidge when applying the first few degrees of steering, like the difference between medium-rare and medium.
Honda put us through a short off-road trail as well. It wouldn’t make a regular Crosstrek sweat, but the added security the knobblier rubber provides is welcome nonetheless. The limiting factor in most cases remains the ride height. Honda’s downhill descent control is easy to use, though it is quite abrupt after crossing a peak.
Ride Quality and Comfort:
While the TrailSport can’t hang with the competition off the tarmac, it’s safe to say everything in this segment will spend more time on it. Thus, the CR-V’s mild A/T tires become an advantage: outside of a little more road noise versus a Sport Touring, this thing rides with just as much well-damped comfort. The added sidewall only helps with compliance; as we’ve said about numerous rugged trims, there is a real ride quality advantage opting for them. That being said, while I was able to get a quick go in the Sport Touring for that comparison, I didn’t get a chance to try any of the other trims equipped with identically-sized 235/60 18 all-season tires.
Interior Style and Quality:
Like the exterior, the ‘26 cabin is essentially unchanged—and there’s nothing wrong with that. The dashboard design is mature and restrained, with good material quality. The TrailSport gets requisite orange logos stitched into the (cloth) seatbacks, plus matching ambient light.
Tech and Safety:
I want to stress how good it is that all CR-Vs now have the 9.0-inch color touchscreen. The old 7.0-incher was laughably low-featured, so having the sharper, better screen—with standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus a wireless charger—is a great move. As these testers had just rolled off the production line, they still needed the wireless phone mirroring to be activated, but based on other modern Hondas, it will be a cinch to connect.
Just as it is in the Civic and Accord, the instrument cluster is also a good one, with sharp, easy-to-read graphics, a good amount of customization, and a useful graphic interface for the adaptive cruise control. To that end, the cruise control itself works well, as does the rest of Honda’s robust safety system.
The CR-V lineup still lags behind the rest of the class on available features however. Ventilated seats? Nope. A 360-degree camera? Negative. A larger moonroof? Nuh-uh.
Value Dollars and Sense:
The ‘26 CR-V lineup now starts from $32,165 including destination for a front-drive LX model. The most affordable hybrid is the $36,885 Sport, just $230 clear of the top gas EX-L. The Sport-L adds to the Sport a power liftgate, leather seating with driver memory, digital instrument cluster, power-adjustable passenger seat, eight-speaker audio, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and more for $39,970. The TrailSport is only $75 more, but sacrifices the leather seats, auto-dimming mirror, driver memory function, and power passenger seat.
At the top of the list is the $43,495 Sport Touring.
Final Thoughts: 2026 Honda CR-V TrailSport First Drive Review
The 2026 Honda CR-V TrailSport is still more of a visual package than a real jump in off-road prowess. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing: with a hybrid powertrain, it offers a blend of attitude, maturity, and efficiency that’s rare. Yet at this price, buyers have to really want the look over other CR-Vs, and be fine with the missing features found in competitors.
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Kyle began his automotive obsession before he even started school, courtesy of a remote control Porsche and various LEGO sets. He later studied advertising and graphic design at Humber College, which led him to writing about cars (both real and digital). He is now a proud member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), where he was the Journalist of the Year runner-up for 2021.
More by Kyle Patrick
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A grocery getter with a badge and some black trim on it driving on a dirt road is still a grocery getter.
Here's a better idea. When in the wilderness - walk. Otherwise, all automotive companies need to make a de-contented model that is affordable, without silly cosmetic attributes you don't need and will never use. This is why the average age of my home fleet is 16.6 years, there is noting priced or contented right for me. BTW, when I was 17 I had a 1962 Plymouth Belvidere that easily went up and down dirt roads just like the ones in this article. Can't do that anymore because "modern" cars are too low and are equipped with really dumb low profile tires that blow-out even in normal city potholes. Call me when you manufacturers get back to reality.