The Toyota RAV4 is the sales king of SUVs, moving nearly half a million units in 2025. However, 2026 could be the Honda CR-V’s year to fight back. Honda is doing everything it can to close the gap, including offering deals to make it possible to lease a CR-V for considerably less than a RAV4.
Honda Is Leasing The CR-V For $269 A Month
Lease and purchase deals often depend on region and dealer participation, but every zip code we punch in on Honda’s website is showing us the same offer at this time.
- $269/mo for 39 months
- $4,899 due at signing
- 10,000 annual miles
- Cannot be combined with conquest and loyalty offers
- Qualified lessees only
- Offer is good until November 2, 2026
Based on this offer, you’d spend around $15,121 to drive this car for about three years (the first month’s payment is included in the signing costs). That’s not counting ownership costs, of course. You’d also have the option to purchase it at the end of the lease, typically for $21,401.
“Qualified lessees only” means that not everyone will be driving this car off the lot at the same price. But, a great deal for people with perfect credit usually means a good deal for folks with less-than-perfect credit. Sometimes it also means a better deal than you’d expect if your credit kinda sucks.
This is an attractive deal, but can it tempt you away from that RAV4 you had your eye on? Let’s see Toyota’s competing offer.
Toyota Is Leasing A RAV4 LE For $319 A Month
The best deal we can find on a RAV4 at the moment is for $319 a month on a 2026 RAV4 LE. This deal is good through September and may be expired by the time you read this, and it might not be available in your area in the first place. But, it tells us what kind of offers Toyota is making at the moment.
- $319/mo for 36 months.
- $3,999 due at signing
- 10,000 annual miles.
- Offer expires September 30, 2026.
- Offer includes ToyotaCare.
Toyota will let you buy the RAV4 at the end of the lease term for an estimated $27,130. Our calculations put three years of payments and up-front costs at $15,164.
The expense margin seems bigger from month to month than it is when you add it all up at the end. You’re only spending $43 more to drive the Toyota than you would be spending to drive the Honda. You get to keep the CR-V for a few extra months, but that’s probably not a deciding factor in anyone’s leasing choices.
The Honda Is More Attractive To Purchase At The End Of The Lease
2026 Honda CR-VHonda
If you plan to buy the SUV at the end of the lease, the RAV4 would cost you $42,294 in total, while the CR-V would $36,522. That’s a difference of $5,772 favoring Honda.
If you were to walk into a dealership and buy an entry-level model with a single cash purchase – no financing – a RAV4 would cost you $31,900, with the CR-V costing you $31,520. If you plan to lease for three years and then buy the SUV, the RAV4 costs you thousands of dollars you didn’t need to spend.
Leasing-to-purchase simply makes no sense in a Toyota, given the brand’s famously slow depreciation rates. After three years on the road, you’re paying a near-new price for a car you’ve already driven 30,000 miles. Even if you can afford it, you’ll feel like a chump buying your own used Toyota from yourself.
Honda Has Better APR Deals, Too
2026 Honda CR-V Hybrid front angle in silver while drivingHonda
The best purchase deal we can find for September on a RAV4 would have us paying 4.99% APR for 48 months on an entry-level model. This isn’t far from what a well-qualified lessee could get with or without a promotional offer, with national interest rates averaging around 6.39% on new cars right now.
Honda is offering the CR-V at 2.99% for up to 36 months, less than half the national average interest rate, with a 10% down payment. This deal is good until November 2, 2026.
Honda Will Save You Money No Matter The Deal You Make
2026 Honda CR-V Sport Touring Hybrid rear 3/4 angle in blueHonda
If we want to pay this off as soon as possible, a three-year loan on a CR-V at 2.99%, with a $3,152 down payment and 6% sales tax, would cost us $852 a month. That comes to $1,370 in total loan interest and a purchase price of $33,834.
The same deal on a RAV4, at 4.99% a month, would cost us $919 a month, for $2,415 in interest, and a total cost of $36,230.
These numbers are all hypothetical. Not all buyers qualify for 2.99% APR on the Honda, and not everyone would want a three-year payment plan. But no matter how you split it, you’re saving money on the CR-V over the RAV4. The amount you save could be pocket change on a lease, but it could be a year’s mortgage on a purchase.
Sources: Toyota, Honda.
