2024 Honda CR-V RS e:HEV

HONDA is no stranger to electrification. In fact, the brand's first foray into the tech was during a similar timeline with its chief rival Toyota, when it released the Insight with the Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system. Now in 2024, Honda Cars Philippines is using the CR-V as a vehicle to debut their latest e:HEV i-MMD system. We've already taken the 2024 Honda CR-V RS e:HEV hybrid for a first drive a few months ago, but such a drive can only reveal so much about what it's like to live with the car on a daily basis. Now that we've had a week with the brand's electrified crossover SUV,

The Honda CR-V RS variant gets body-colored cladding and black 18-inch wheels to set itself apart from the standard model.

what's it like to live with the CR-V RS e:HEV?

Let's begin with what you're most keen to find out — the hybrid electric drivetrain. Combining a 2.0-liter four-cylinder i-VTEC gasoline engine with two electric motors, the Honda e:HEV system is likewise a power-split (or series-parallel hybrid) just like the Toyota Hybrid System (THS). Where the two systems differ is with their transmissions. Yes, they both use an «e-CVT,» but that's where the similarities end.

In the Toyota, the THS system has a planetary gear system, while in the Honda, things are a bit more clever (or complicated, depending on your perspective). The Honda system uses a «direct-drive» system that's composed of two clutches. Not a dual-clutch transmission, mind you, but a low-speed lockup clutch and a high-speed lockup clutch. This setup has its own pros and cons, which means that it doesn't necessarily make it a better system than Toyota's, but it's more a matter of preference.

With the Honda e:HEV system, the CR-V has one advantage that the Toyota can't match — acting as if it's a Nissan Kicks e-Power. What I mean by that is that the Honda's engine can solely charge the battery and not drive the wheels. In the Toyota, due to the planetary gear system, whenever the engine charges the battery, it's always connected to the wheels. This is why you sometimes feel vibrations at low speeds in Toyota hybrids versus the Honda, where they are pretty much nonexistent.

The Toyota, however, has the