How Safe Is the 2026 Honda CR-V?

What Car Shoppers Need to Know

• Honda CR-V earns top grades in two IIHS crash tests
• Model receives lowest possible score in third crash test
• Standard crash prevention system also returns subpar rating

The Honda CR-V is one of the bestselling vehicles in the country for a reason: It’s roomy, comfortable, efficient and does just about everything well. One notable area in which it falls short of the competition, however, is in crash safety. In testing performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the CR-V turned in only middling performance.

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CR-V Crash-Test Scores

IIHS subjects vehicles to three different crash tests — two frontal and one side impact  — and rates the efficacy of their headlights and crash prevention technologies. Vehicles are rated on a four-point scale: good, acceptable, marginal and poor.

Crashworthiness

The CR-V did earn the highest rating in one of the frontal crash tests and the side-impact test. It scored good in the small overlap front test, which mimics conditions in a collision where a vehicle leaves the road and strikes a tree or utility pole. However, in the moderate overlap front test, which recreates the forces of an offset head-on crash between two cars going just under 40 mph each, IIHS gave the CR-V its lowest grade, poor.

While the CR-V provided adequate protection of the driver in this test, the moderate overlap procedure was updated in 2022, adding a crash-test dummy to the seat behind the driver. The CR-V’s overall poor rating in this test is a result of the seat bracket deforming in the collision and the seat belt shifting on the dummy, increasing the likelihood of chest and abdominal injuries.

Crash Avoidance and Mitigation

The CR-V’s performance in other IIHS evaluations was more consistent. Its headlights earned a good rating for how well they illuminate dark roads, and the CR-V’s standard forward collision technology was ranked acceptable in tests of its ability to avoid collisions with both pedestrians and other vehicles.

Versus Competitors

IIHS issues Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards to vehicles that perform exceptionally well in its safety battery. To qualify as a Top Safety Pick for 2026, vehicles must earn good ratings in all three crash tests and score at least an acceptable in the pedestrian-avoidance and headlight evaluations. Earning Top Safety Pick+ requires a good rating in the pedestrian-avoidance test and at least acceptable in the vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention evaluation.

None of the CR-V’s competitors rank among IIHS’ Top Safety Picks, but four have earned Top Safety Pick+ honors: the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-50 and Subaru Forester. The Toyota RAV4 is the Honda’s fiercest rival, but IIHS has not tested the new model since it was fully redesigned for 2026.

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