2023 Honda CR-V LX Quietly Arrives With $3,000 Price Cut

Honda revived its LX trim level for a less-expensive version of its top-selling compact SUV.

Andrew Ganz | 

Feb 23, 2023 | 3 min read

Honda

A new, lower-price version of Honda’s popular 2023 CR-V that arrived in dealers in February 2023 offers a more affordable trim level for shoppers willing to trade a few features for a reduced cost of entry.

How the 2023 Honda CR-V LX got a price cut

The 2023 CR-V LX revives a long-used trim level name and slots below the CR-V EX as the anchor of Honda’s compact SUV lineup. At a little less than $30,000, the base LX costs about $3,000 less than the 2023 CR-V EX. All-wheel drive (AWD) runs $1,500 more regardless of trim level.

One side note: Honda increased CR-V prices by $500 across the board at the beginning of 2023.

To achieve that nearly $3,000 discount, Honda sliced some features from the CR-V EX. The CR-V LX trades the EX trim level’s 18-inch alloy wheels for standard 17-inch steel wheels with plastic hubcaps. Gone too are the dark-tinted rear and side windows as well as the power sunroof found in the EX.

Comparative Features Between the LX and EX

Inside, CR-V LX shoppers will find the same 7.0-inch touchscreen, but the LX has four speakers compared to the EX’s six and lacks the higher-end version’s dashboard USB-C input. Additionally, the base CR-V has single-zone (rather than dual-zone) automatic climate control, and it lacks the power-adjustable driver’s seat and the heated front seats of the EX.

Eagle-eyed shoppers might notice a number of minor differences on the LX, too, such as the lack of a seatback pocket and heated exterior mirrors as well as an automatic up/down feature for the front-passenger window.

The base CR-V does retain the bevy of crash-avoidance tech found in other models, including the HondaSensing suite of features including automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitors, and adaptive cruise control.

It also retains the 190-hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine and continuously variable automatic transmission.

Aside from extra-cost metallic paint, Honda doesn’t offer any factory-installed options on any CR-V trim level.

As of yet, there is no LX version of the CR-V Hybrid, which costs about $34,000 in its least-expensive form.

2023 Honda CR-V LX Versus Its Rivals

The new price point aligns the CR-V more closely with some of its major competitors. The base CR-V runs less than $1,000 more than an entry-level Toyota RAV4 LE, and the two models include a largely similar array of standard features.

Some of the CR-V’s top rivals still cost less, though. At about $29,000, the lowest-price Nissan Rogue S undercuts its Honda and Toyota competitors by as much as $1,000, while the base Subaru Forester includes standard AWD for around $28,000 to start. The Hyundai Tucson SE also comes in at around $28,000 before options.

The CR-V brings a fresh design to the playing field, though. A rework for 2023 that went on sale in fall 2022 brought new styling over a more spacious interior than the outgoing model.

All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication), and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.

Andrew Ganz

Andrew Ganz has had cars in his blood ever since he gnawed the paint off of a diecast model as a toddler. After growing up in Dallas, Texas, he earned a journalism degree, worked in public relations for two manufacturers, and served as an editor for a luxury-lifestyle print publication and several well-known automotive websites. In his free time, Andrew loves exploring the Rocky Mountains' best back roads—when he’s not browsing ads for his next car purchase.