CR-V won the competition because the judges felt it offered rewarding driving experience, generous interior room and family-friendly features. The 2015 CR-V features upgrades to styling, performance, fuel efficiency and family-friendly technology.

"The 2015 Honda CR-V came out on top because it provided the best blend of good interior room, excellent visibility and a surprisingly rewarding driving experience," said Patrick Olsen, Cars.com editor-in-chief. "The CR-V was also packed with great family-friendly features like easy-to-fold seats, a low load floor, rear air vents and much more."

The Challenge pitted seven of the most popular compact SUVs against each other in a series of expert and consumer testing, which determined that the 2015 CR-V was overall best-in-class.

To qualify for the competition, vehicles had to cost less than $28,000 and achieve a combined city/highway EPA fuel economy rating of at least 26 mpg.