While the most thrilling battles between cars usually come down to which can sprint to 60 mph faster or rocket around a corner more effectively, for automakers, the true fight is about which machines sell best against their rivals. Due to so many elements going into what makes a vehicle a great seller, such as how dependable they are, how refined it can be, as well as how much value for money they offer, these figures can be a great insight into how good a particular model is.
Towards the top of the sales charts, you’ll usually find models from Honda and Toyota, a pair of Japanese brands that have taken US buyers by storm over the last several decades. It’s not unusual to find these manufacturers’ creations battling for the top spot across a variety of vehicle segments, and the compact crossover segment is a prime example. Toyota tends to get the better of its rival in this arena, though the balance has recently shifted.
The CR-V And RAV4 Compete For Compact Crossover Honors
2026 Honda CR-V TrailSport Hybrid driving front 3/4 angle in greenHonda
2026 Honda CR-V
2026 Toyota RAV4
Engine
1.5L turbocharged I4, 2.0L NA I4 with hybrid
2.5L turbocharged I4 with hybrid
Transmission
CVT
CVT
Power
190-204 hp (combined)
226-324 hp (combined)
Torque
179-247 lb-ft (combined)
N/A
0-60 mph
7.6-8.1 seconds
5.4-7.5 seconds
Base MSRP
$30,920
$31,900
Honda and Toyota have been battling for the top spot in the popular compact crossover sector since the mid-1990s, with Toyota getting its RAV4 to market first in 1994. Hot on its heels, Honda joined the fray in 1995 with the CR-V, and both cars quickly became trailblazers within the category. They were well-priced, versatile, and dependable, so they walked out of the showrooms.
In effect, these models were like the brand’s smaller compact cars, but with larger bodies and on stilts to handle off-road conditions if needed. Plus, their higher ride heights also made entry and exit, as well as tending to children in the back seats, more straightforward. Indeed, the CR-V was built on the underpinnings of the Civic compact car, whereas the RAV4 used foundations that borrowed components from the Corolla.
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The RAV4 Has Had The Upper Hand For Some Time
2026 Toyota RAV4Toyota
The machines were well-matched for the most part, but Toyota has tended to perform better from a sales standpoint. In more recent history, the RAV4 has given its Honda rival a pounding. The last time the CR-V outsold the RAV4 in the US over a full year was in 2016, ending a brief three-year stint in which the Honda had the upper hand over its bitter rival. For the last decade, the RAV4 has consistently surpassed the 400,000 annual sales benchmark, whereas the CR-V failed to reach that number until 2024.
A large part of this is due to the stronger brand identity Toyota crafted in the US, especially its promise to deliver a vehicle that would be reliable and cheap to run. Its cars also perform extremely well in terms of depreciation, ensuring buyers would lose less money over time than if they’d opted for the Honda alternative.
Honda Has Been Able To Reverse This Trend In 2026
2026 Honda CR-VHonda
2026 Honda CR-V
2026 Toyota RAV4
2025 H2 Sales
212,561
239,451
2026 H2 Sales
226,114
153,955
2025 Full-Year Sales
403,768
479,288
Honda hasn’t given up, though, and halfway through 2026, its efforts looked to have finally paid off. Both manufacturers recently released their respective sales figures for the first half of 2026, and a fascinating development became clear. For the first time in ages, the CR-V managed to get the better of the RAV4, and by a pretty commanding margin.
Whereas Toyota managed to shift 153,955 RAV4s during that period, Honda waved off 226,114 CR-Vs, leaving it well clear of its long-term rival. A lead of over 70,000 units is pretty eye-opening given Toyota’s historic advantage. It is especially interesting when you consider the brand sold 239,451 examples of the model during the same period in 2025. The CR-V’s performance was also a solid improvement over H1 2025, during which Honda managed to move 212,561 of them.
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There’s More To This Stark Difference Than Meets The Eye
2026 Honda CR-VHonda
Now, the reason the CR-V suddenly gave the RAV4 a pounding isn’t because it became a much better car, or because Honda rocketed out of the gates with some wild 50%-off sale. The real reason is that Toyota had to take a mandatory production cut. Because every example is now available with some form of electrification technology, the brand had to upgrade its factories to meet the production demands of the new model.
That meant the RAV4 was essentially sent on a three-month holiday at the start of the year. The result of this was that the CR-V got a few months’ head start in the sales battle, a fact that makes the RAV4’s performance pretty impressive in retrospect. Had this changeover period not occurred, it’s likely the RAV4 would have comfortably got the better of its rival once more. Considering it’s the first all-new RAV4 model in nearly a decade, don’t be surprised to see the Toyota give the CR-V a good thrashing over the second half of the year.
It’s Unlikely They’ll Be Beaten Until The Crossover Recipe Is Built Upon
2026 Toyota RAV4 rear 3/4 angle in silver while parkedJared Rosenholtz/CarBuzz/Valnet
Ultimately, whichever order the two models end up in, it doesn’t seem likely that they’ll be displaced by any rivals anytime soon. By examining the full 2025 sales charts, you’ll find that the next-best performer in the crossover SUV sector is the Chevrolet Equinox, with just over 332,000 units sold. After that, the Hyundai Tucson trailed by over 100,000 units, showing the gulf between the best-performing models and the rest.
While the Equinox looks the most likely on paper to give the Japanese cars the biggest headache, Chevy needs to get its thinking cap on if it is to eclipse them. The Equinox may be cheaper to buy than either the CR-V or RAV4, at around $2,000 and $3,000, respectively, but it falls short in terms of technical performance. The 1.5-liter inline-four engine produces less power than the base units of either rival and is vastly less efficient.
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With an average fuel economy of 27 mpg, it gets thoroughly trounced by the non-hybrid base CR-V, which manages 30 mpg thanks to its own 1.5-liter unit, though neither can hold a candle to the RAV4. It may be the most expensive, but its hybrid-boosted 2.5-liter powerplant affords it an average of 44 mpg.
To add salt into the wound, both Japanese cars are also better built and more reliable than the Equinox. That means even if they cost more initially, you’ll save more money in the long run. And that doesn’t just factor in running costs; there’s also the greater depreciation of the Japanese models to bear in mind. Until other manufacturers can beat this combination, it’s unlikely the RAV4 or CR-V will be toppled from the catbird seat.
Sources: Honda, Toyota.
