The Honda CR-V is joining the “off-road” crossover craze with a new TrailSport.
Over the past few years, Honda has been jumping into the dirt-focused competition with its TrailSport models, including the midsize Pilot and Passport SUVs as well as the crossover-derived Ridgeline pickup. Now, the automaker is expanding its off-roading brand with a TrailSport version of the upcoming 2026 CR-V crossover.
It’s easy to see why: The Honda CR-V is by far the brand’s best-selling model. Last year, dealers clocked up 402,791 sales, an 11% increase that put it in an close second to Toyota’s equally (and reliably) popular RAV4. For its part, the RAV4 has not one, but two sorts of off-road-themed models in the Adventure and the TRD Off-Road, and it’d be crazy for Honda to ignore a piece of that action. Even Nissan, with which Honda may soon merge, is in the game with the Rogue Rock Creek (and has been with the Pathfinder Rock Creek for the past few years). If anything, it’s a bit weird that Honda hasn’t done it already.
Better late than never, though, as the automaker is fresh off the sixth-generation CR-V’s launch for the 2023 model year. It’s a good time for at least a mild refresh, so we’ll soon see some tweaks across the whole lineup, as well as the TrailSport make its appearance.
Honda teased the CR-V TrailSport’s arrival as part of a business presentation this week, where it laid out its near-term plans across both the Acura and Honda brands. It didn’t divulge any additional information about the upcoming CR-V changes, other than the fact they’ll be coming this year, in time for the 2026 model year switchover. The timing tracks with Honda’s plans for the Passport TrailSport, which will officially go on sale next month. Like its larger sibling, Honda will probably bring in meatier all-terrain tires to the mix, as well as some suspension tuning and some underbody protection.
The jury’s out on whether the CR-V will go quite as far as the Passport has in terms of actual off-road capability. The Passport has the latest version of Honda’s i-VTM4 all-wheel drive system, for example, which the CR-V does not currently have. The CR-V uses a “Real Time AWD with Intelligent Control System” setup.
Odds are, the 2026 Honda CR-V TrailSport will stick with the standard, 190-horsepower 1.5-liter turbocharged engine. The 204-horsepower CR-V Hybrid will also stick around more or less as we currently know it, though it should arrive with some styling tweaks and tech upgrades, along with the rest of the refreshed CR-V range.
Honda’s other updates to watch out for
Beyond the upcoming Acura RSX and the CR-V TrailSport, Honda has plenty more coming down the pike throughout 2025. The entry-level HR-V will also get an update for 2025 with “styling and technology enhancements to maintain its competitiveness in the compact SUV segment”. On the technology side, we’re probably talking about a Google Built-in infotainment system, and possibly some updates to the Honda Sensing driver assistance package. We’ll have to wait and see.
The Prelude will also make its triumphant return at the end of 2025. While it’s still a coupe like some of the old Prelude models, it’s purely a hybrid model this time around, with no manual transmission on the agenda. Instead, Honda’s promising a “sporty” powertrain with a special S+ drive mode and a “dynamic” design to woo prospective buyers out of the Toyota GR 86/Subaru BRZ or the few other sports coupes left on the market.
If you’re marking a calendar for all of Honda’s goings-on this year, here’s how it will likely roll out:
- The 2026 Passport will go on sale next month;
- Acura’s ADX (basically, Acura’s luxury analog of the HR-V) will follow suit in March.
- Then, we should see more news in late spring or summer on the refreshed CR-V and the updated HR-V;
- Honda will follow that up with the new Prelude and we’ll see the Acura RSX debut.
- Beyond that, in 2026, Honda will launch two new EVs as part of its “0 Series”: the Saloon and and SUV.
Acura also announced its intent to update the Integra with exterior and interior styling tweaks, though it’s unclear exactly when that will happen. We’ll probably see more news on that around mid-2025, in the same sort of time frame as the CR-V/HR-V updates (after the ADX, and before the RSX).
