Why the all-new 2024 Honda CR-V Hybrid won't come with 7 seats in the Philippines

The all-new 2024 Honda CR-V will officially launch in the Philippines on Sept. 13, 2023.

AutoFun Philippines was the first to report that the venerable crossover would arrive this year with an all-new hybrid engine. This marks the local return of an electrified model in the Honda Cars Philippines lineup.

The previous-generation model made waves locally for two reasons – an available, economical turbodiesel engine and a third row of seats. The former has gone the way of the dodo, while the latter is still available in 2024 CR-Vs for other markets.

However, it seems the Philippines won’t be getting a seven-seat Honda CR-V in hybrid form this time around. Here are some reasons we think the next-generation Honda hybrid crossover will be strictly for five.

Keeps prices competitive

There was quite a sharp intake of breath when everyone discovered that all variants of the new CR-V would be above the ₱2 million mark.

In fact, the base-model CR-V 1.5 V Turbo kicks off at ₱2,150,000, and the top-spec CR-V e:HEV hybrid variant comes in at ₱2,600,000. 

This makes the CR-V competitive with Japanese compact crossovers like the Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5. But it’s around ₱1 million more than what you would pay for Chinese-made crossovers like the Ford Territory and the GAC Emkoo.

Adding a third row of seats in the CR-V e:HEV would likely have shot the price up even higher, if it were even possible.

Fighting the big boys

I actually reviewed the previous-generation Honda CR-V turbodiesel with seven seats.

I concluded that it really didn’t have much of a chance against equivalently priced, full-fledged seven-seaters like the Toyota Fortuner, Mitsubishi Montero Sport and Nissan Terra. 

And if you want seven seats and turbodiesel grunt for less, there’s always the venerable Toyota Innova and, now, its electrified Toyota Zenix cousin.

Honda Cars Philippines seems to be steering clear of these big three-row cars this time around, instead focusing on buyers who want an electrified driving experience on a well-proven crossover platform. And with the battery pack of the CR-V e:HEV occupying what used to be the third row, we can rule out any chance the top-ranging model will have seating for seven. 

The Honda BR-V

And since we’re talking about seven-seaters, the cheaper Honda BR-V has hit the right spot for Filipino families pining for three rows with the Honda badge.

The BR-V has been selling like hotcakes since it officially launched in the Philippines on November 2022, with 600 to 700 units a month flying out of the showroom.

Having reviewed both the CR-V seven-seater and the BR-V, I’d definitely pick the BR-V if I needed to carry seven people in reasonable comfort.

Are you excited to see the all-new 2024 Honda CR-V in a few weeks?

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