How Safe Is the 2027 Honda CR-V?

2027 Honda CR-V Crash-Test Scores

IIHS subjects vehicles to three crash tests — two frontal and a side impact — and grades the efficacy of their headlights and crash prevention technologies. Performance in each evaluation is graded on a four-point scale: good, acceptable, marginal and poor.

Crashworthiness

The three crash tests all recreate common types of accidents. The CR-V earned top marks in the small overlap front and side-impact tests. The former simulates the forces in a crash wherein the vehicle leaves the roadway and strikes a hard object such as a tree. In it, the vehicle travels at 40 mph and strikes a rigid barrier that covers 25% of its width. In the side impact, the vehicle is stationary and is struck broadside by a moving sled. Weighing 4,200 pounds and with a bumper at the height of a typical SUV’s, the sled T-bones the test vehicle at 37 mph.

The moderate overlap front crash test, in which the CR-V earned the lowest possible rating of poor, has been a common stumbling block. IIHS updated the test in 2022 and incorporated it into its Top Safety Pick requirements in 2024. This test simulates an offset head-on collision in which a vehicle strays over the road centerline and strikes an oncoming vehicle. In it, the subject vehicle travels at 40 mph into a deformable honeycomb barrier that covers 40% of its width. It recreates the forces in a collision wherein both vehicles are traveling just below 40 mph. Previously, it was conducted with only one crash-test dummy aboard in the driver’s seat. The new version places a second dummy in the vehicle in the seat behind the driver.

Many vehicles saw their ratings in the moderate overlap test plummet after the update, but many have already regained their prior scores with relatively simple improvements. As most of the significant structural damage suffered during the test occurs at the front of the vehicle, rear-seat safety can be easily improved with seat belts that better control occupants’ movements in a crash. Nissan, Hyundai and others have improved their vehicles’ performance in this test with updated seat belts. Honda may need to put in more effort, as IIHS noted that the rear passenger’s seat brackets deformed in the crash, which likely contributed to the seat belt’s failure to adequately hold the dummy in place. IIHS did, however, give the CR-V top marks in every measure of protection for front-seat occupants in the moderate offset crash test.

Crash Avoidance and Mitigation

In addition to smashing vehicles into barriers, IIHS also subjects them to evaluations of how well their headlights illuminate a dark road and how well their standard crash prevention systems avoid or mitigate collisions with pedestrians and other vehicles. The CR-V earned a good rating for its headlights, which IIHS found provide adequate illumination on straightaways as well as on gentle and sharp curves to both the left and right.

IIHS’ pedestrian avoidance evaluation incorporates tests with child and adult dummies crossing the road perpendicular to the vehicle’s direction of travel, the child in daylight and the adult at night. It also measures reaction time and stopping distance for an adult dummy walking on the side of the road in the same direction at night. All tests are conducted at multiple speeds. The CR-V slowed but struck the child dummy at both speeds. At night, it avoided the adult dummy with its high beams on but struck it when using the low beams.

The vehicle-to-vehicle test is similarly thorough, testing the subject’s response to a car and a motorcycle centered and off-center in the lane, as well as a semi trailer. Again, all tests are conducted at multiple speeds. The CR-V avoided a collision in most scenarios but struck the car and the motorcycle at the test’s highest speed.

Versus Competitors

In order to be named an IIHS Top Safety Pick, a vehicle must earn the highest rating, good, in all three crash tests. It must also score at least an acceptable in the headlight and pedestrian-avoidance evaluations. There is no vehicle-to-vehicle requirement for Top Safety Pick. Qualifying as a Top Safety Pick+ requires a good score in the pedestrian test and at least an acceptable in the vehicle-to-vehicle evaluation.

The Hyundai Tucson listed below is one of the vehicles that improved its performance in the moderate overlap crash test with updated seat belts. Note that an NT means a vehicle has not yet undergone that test and that a slash indicates different results for varying trim levels or versions of a vehicle that are otherwise differently equipped.

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