Kelley Blue Book’s best two-row SUVs list, as of October 2026, shows the Hyundai Kona and the Honda CR-V sharing first place with identical expert scores of 4.8 out of 5. The 2026 Kona starts at $27,100 and the 2026 CR-V at $32,370, a difference of $5,270 for the same mark. Both are ranked #1 on the page, which means the cheaper SUV gives up nothing in the score.
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The two are not direct size rivals. KBB treats the Kona as its top subcompact SUV and the CR-V as the benchmark compact, so the tie spans two classes and the price gap largely tracks the size gap. That is why the list is better read as two separate recommendations than as a head-to-head result. Each wins its own category on features, efficiency and value.
Hyundai Kona: $27,100 for a 4.8
On its KBB vehicle page, the 2026 Kona carries a 4.8 expert rating and a Best Buy Award. The SE starts at $27,100, with KBB’s Fair Purchase Price for that trim at $26,000, and the Limited tops out at $34,135. The page also shows a styles table with different figures, $27,800 for the SE and $34,400 for the Limited, and KBB itself advises verifying current pricing.
The base engine is a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 147 horsepower, rated at 31 mpg combined with front-wheel drive and about 28 mpg with all-wheel drive, which adds roughly $1,500. A 1.6-liter turbo with 190 horsepower and an eight-speed automatic comes on the SEL Premium and Limited, at about 28 mpg combined with front-wheel drive. KBB calls the base engine underpowered and the turbo the more engaging choice.
Space is the other trade. The Kona offers 25.5 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 63.7 cubic feet with them folded, and 38.2 inches of rear legroom that KBB considers roomy for the class. A 12.3-inch touchscreen and adaptive cruise control are standard, and the warranty runs five years or 60,000 miles basic and ten years or 100,000 miles on the powertrain.
Honda CR-V: $32,370 and more room
The CR-V page was written by Matt Degen, a senior editor at Kelley Blue Book, who rates it 4.8 and describes it as strong across nearly every category with generous standard equipment and enjoyable driving. His one criticism is an infotainment system that is not cutting edge. The LX starts at $32,370, the EX at $34,600 and the EX-L at $36,850, with Fair Purchase Prices a few hundred dollars lower.
It is rated at 28 mpg city, 34 highway and 30 combined, or 29 combined with all-wheel drive. Cargo room is the clearest advantage over the Kona: 39.3 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 76.5 with them folded, about 13.8 more cubic feet in the first measure than the smaller Hyundai. Buyers who need that space are paying $5,270 for it.
Fuel economy is nearly a wash. At 31 mpg combined in front-wheel drive form, the base Kona is one mpg better than the CR-V’s 30, and KBB lists the Kona turbo at about 28, below the Honda. Efficiency, then, is not where the extra money goes.
Crash tests complicate the tie
KBB’s score does not settle crash safety, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports a split. The 2026 Kona earns Top Safety Pick+ with Good results in the small overlap, updated moderate overlap and updated side tests. The IIHS page also notes that a test vehicle suffered an engine bay fire in the moderate overlap test, and that Hyundai says it modified N Line models with the 1.6-liter turbo built after December 2023 and is recalling earlier ones.
The CR-V’s IIHS page shows Good small overlap and side results but a Poor rating in the updated moderate overlap front test, driven by rear-seat restraints, with the rear-passenger chest rated Marginal. IIHS lists no award on that page. That finding does not change KBB’s score, but a family planning to carry adults in the back seat has reason to read both documents.
The practical reading is that the tie rewards different shoppers. A buyer with one or two people to carry, tight parking and a budget near $27,000 gets a 4.8 from the Kona, along with a long warranty and the option of a turbo engine. A buyer who routinely fills the cargo area, hauls adults in the rear seat or wants a larger cabin has a case for the CR-V, provided the IIHS rear-seat finding is acceptable. Neither choice is wrong on KBB’s numbers, which is the point of a shared first place.
Both SUVs are priced here as KBB listed them on its best 2-row SUVs ranking in October 2026, as starting manufacturer prices that exclude taxes and fees.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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