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January 20, 2025

Just How Many Kilometers Can We Squeeze Out Of A Honda CR-V RS e:HEV's Fuel Tank?


Hybrid cars promise less harmful emissions to the environment and fuel efficiency. It’s not surprising for a hybrid crossover to surpass the 20 km/L figure on a highway run. But when we test cars, it’s just a fling. We only get a snapshot of its fuel consumption, and then compute how long before it runs out. Will the theoretical result hold true in the real world?

I asked a few brands about this curiosity of mine and one of them happily agreed and accommodated my schedule. Honda Cars Philippines lent me one of our Top 5 Picks of 2024, CR-V RS e:HEV, for a month to see just how far their iconic crossover can go (read our previous review here).

Things were spicy for the CR-V as I’m living in San Rafael, Bulacan and most work events are in the middle or south of Metro Manila. For reference, my home is 75 km away from Okada in Parañaque; 69 km from Shangri-La The Fort in BGC; and 53 km from SM North in QC.



e:HEV Difference

Let’s first discuss how different is the CR-V hybrid against its turbocharged gas-engine brothers. Powertrain aside, the biggest difference is the seating capacity. The gas-powered CR-Vs have 7 seats while the e:HEV only has 5. The reason for this is the battery for the hybrid system takes up the space meant for the third-row seats. The upside to that is a generous and flat cargo area that can fit a bass guitar sideways (not all SUVs can do that!) and even fit a 10-kg washing machine (with the second row folded).

Another major change is the different functions of the gear and paddle shifters. Unlike in conventional cars with automatic transmission, the shifter’s B mode isn’t for engine braking and the paddle shifters aren’t for shifting simulated gears anymore. Both are now related to the CR-Vs regenerative (regen) braking levels.

The CR-V basically has 5 levels of braking. First is the slight braking in Drive Mode when you lift from the throttle, then 4 stronger levels of braking in B Mode. Alternatively, you can activate the 4 stronger levels of braking in Drive Mode with the paddle shifter. The level of braking also determines how much you are charging the battery with lift off the throttle.

The CR-V is most efficient in the city when using B mode in the 3rd to 4th level depending on the traffic crawl, together with Auto Brake Hold. It’s so strong that it allows the driver to operate the CR-V with only the throttle pedal most of the time. This way, you are charging the batteries as much as possible so that most gentle acceleration can be handled by the electric motors alone, which saves you fuel.



On the highway though, it’s better to be in Drive mode with its default regen level. Most of our highways, including Skyway, have ups and downs. Activating the stronger levels of regen braking means losing momentum and you lose speed on the descents.

A peculiar difference in the CR-V over other hybrids is the lack of EV Mode button. It automatically activates the EV mode based on your behavior against their preset conditions. In my experience though, it mainly depends on your throttle pressure and the battery’s charge. Acceleration from zero can be on EV mode, unless you floor the throttle. High speeds can also be in EV mode once you are consistently there and there’s a lot of charge on the batteries. You can also trick the CR-V into activating EV mode in an unlikely scenario, like going uphill. If you have enough momentum, you can lift your foot off the throttle then gently apply pressure again. Again, this will all boil down to the battery’s charge. It’s unfortunate that they didn’t have a setting where you can set when the battery can be charged and when it stops charging. Only the CR-V decides when that happens.

The Actual Test

During my time with the CR-V e:HEV, I had events in Mandaluyong, Pasig, Makati, and BGC consecutively at one point. I had rehearsals in QC, gigs in QC, Makati, and Batangas. Then more work events in Greenhills, Pasig, BGC, Makati, Balintawak, Sta. Rosa, Laguna, and Cavite. Remember that I was always heading back to San Rafael, Bulacan after these work events and music gigs. Add to that the holiday rush since this was done in November and carmageddon was in full swing. The whole day, every day, was rush hour on EDSA.

The CR-V had a full tank of gas and 829 km of range when I got it on October 30. It truly is efficient as it logged 16 km/L in the city even with the holiday traffic. The CR-V remained stellar on the highway with 27 km/L. The question is, how many kilometers can it rack up in the real world with a single tank of gas?



Its first full tank lasted until Nov 10 with me. I surpassed the original 829 kilometers of range as my usage totaled 1,007.5 kilometers – a 178.5-kilometer gain. My second full tank gave me a higher starting range of 968 km. It lasted until Nov 22 with a 59-kilometer gain from the original range, finishing the trip at 1,027 kilometers. The total range would’ve been higher if I only had less standstill traffic during that second full tank. Still, breaking 1,000 kilometers on a single tank of gas is a great achievement considering I was going back and forth north of Bulacan and Metro Manila during the holiday rush of November.

The fuel spending of the CR-V e:HEV when it was with me was around P 8,000 pesos for one month. For comparison, I spent P10,000 to 11,000 a month during October to December for the fuel of my personal Suzuki Celerio last year, while October 2024 was at P 10,549 to be exact. The fact that a mid-sized crossover like the CR-V is more frugal than a dinky Celerio is further proof how legit hybrids are in fuel efficiency.

It may be expensive at P 2,590,000 but the Honda CR-V e:HEV surely proved it’s worth it. The absence of 2 more seats might be a downer for some but the CR-V treats you where it matters more. You can have great comfort for all occupants, a generously sized cabin, lots of cargo space, and a frugal hybrid system that performs better than what Honda’s marketing materials say. Those looking for more flair and family space with their first hybrid will surely find the Honda CR-V e:HEV enticing.

Words and Photos by Vincent Villa.

15 comments:

  1. Next to Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi, Filipinos can't even get enough of Honda thanks to the help of their honesty.

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  2. You can buy a non hybrid for 1M less (416 full tanks )cost difference.
    In short, the ROI of this hybrid car is 15 to 17 years b4 you can feel its benifits. By that time -u need to change the hybrid battery for another 250k addl cost .. i dont see why hybrids makes any sense financially.

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    Replies
    1. Maybe the coding exemption make the deal

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    2. That means, Philippine roads would see more of them, especially that is why the towing services love to tow Japanese cars too.

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    3. i'm considering the CRV hybrid as my next car. It has more standard equipment, better performance and is coding exempt. the fuel savings is merely the icing on the cake.

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  3. As I was looking for a hybrid, cross-shopped between this CRV and the NX which I bought in June 2024. It was timely as the tax incentive on hybrids just kicked off. The build of the NX and the drive are way better and has about 40 horses more. FC for my NX is 16.5 kpl over almost 7k km. With the recent recall of the CRV, it was good that I bought the Lexus. It is well worth the extra 600k.

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    Replies
    1. Its all honesty, Japanese are good in hybrids, while the rest? Just EVs and vice versa.

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  4. For the price of P2.59 million. Tesla model Y is a better option.

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  5. For HEVs, most of the time salesmen talk only about the fuel consumption, which can mislead consumers in decision-making. It will be much informative if a car site will provide a rough picture of the total cost of ownership, but yeah, everyone needs to earn a living so this probably is a paid advert.
    Thanks for the info anyway!

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    Replies
    1. Of course, nobody cares, that's how the world works. Advertising is part of Japan's cultural pride, so Honda is also Japanese, just like Toyota, Nissan, Suzuki, Subaru and Mazda.

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  6. Sir, how is it compared to the CX-60 diesel? I remember you wrote in a comment that it was more efficient than your cx-5.

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    Replies
    1. Yes. The CX-60 Diesel is so far proving to be more efficient than my CX-5 diesel even if it's got a larger displacement and more cylinders.

      So far, I'm averaging 13.33 km/L compared to 11.18 km/L in the CX-5. Highway mileage of the CX-60 reaches 19 km/L highway, and about 11 km/L in heavy traffic.

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    2. Any idea on fuel consumption of the CX 60 Petrol

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