Having released exterior teaser shots of the 2023 CR-V in May, Honda went a step further Wednesday, releasing an image of the next CR-V’s interior ahead of additional details to come on July 12. Unlike their last volley of teaser photos, the latest release is a single photo of the instrument panel, which looks much like the design for both the 2022 Honda Civic and recently-released second-generation 2023 HR-V.

The same but different

Given the similarity among the different cabin designs, it seems that Honda is saving money on component costs. The 2023 CR-V’s instrument panel is trimmed with the same metal mesh trim seen in the Civic and HR-V, establishing it as a new Honda styling trademark. As in the other models, it appears to be integrated with the climate control vents. Above it is the latest version of Honda’s infotainment touchscreen, while climate control knobs reside below it. The instrument cluster looks fairly familiar as well.

But given the difference in size of the three vehicles, there are bound to be differences in scale, and the center console seems wider, with the transmission having switched sides from the Civic with a row of buttons alongside it. In contrast, the HR-V has a solitary shifter with nothing alongside it. And while cupholders are nestled beside the shifter in the Civic, they can’t be seen in the CR-V’s photo.

So there’s nothing radical here, just the simple functional interior Honda partisans have come to love.

Still, given that the 2023 HR-V is larger and a bit more lavish than before, Honda has to better differentiate the two to avoid HR-V cannibalizing CR-V’s sales. Given the resemblance of their interior designs, it remains to be seen whether there’s enough to distinguish between the two models.

What else will it offer?

The bigger change is seen from the outside, where a more modern grille design is combined with a sleeker front end and slim athletic headlamps. The rear taillamps, which mirror those on Cadillac’s XT4 and Volvo CUVs, appear to represent an evolution of the current design. The Honda Passport usurped its off-road mission, so it’s little surprise that the new CR-V appears less outdoorsy and more upscale. The design of the entire car seems less fussy.

Powertrains most likely won’t undergo significant modification, being updates of the ones already in use, like Honda did with the most recent redesign of the Civic and HR-V. 

The current CR-V

If you’d like to get a sense of what the 2023 version might bring, consider the 2022 Honda CR-V. 

A 1.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine with 190 horsepower and a continuously variable automatic transmission power the majority of CR-Vs. The CR-V also comes as a hybrid that couples a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder gas engine with two electric motors to create 212 horsepower. The hybrid comes standard with all-wheel drive, and other variants can also get it.

Not messing with success

The CR-V crossover utility vehicle is far and away Honda’s most popular crossover in America, with sales climbing 7.7 percent to 361,271 units in 2021 from 333,502 units in 2020. As a matter of fact, this sole vehicle accounted for 44.5% of Honda’s 812,030 truck sales in 2021, a lineup that finds five other models splitting the remaining 55.5%: the HR-V, Odyssey, Passport, Pilot, and Ridgeline. 

So there is still a high demand for the current CR-V, despite its age – it first went on sale in 2017 – and the fact that there is a new one on the way.

And that’s not all that’s coming from Honda. Along with the Civic Type R and a new Accord midsize sedan, Honda will also debut a revised Pilot three-row SUV this year.