What’s the Best Affordable SUV of 2023?

With high prices for everything from daily essentials to housing costs, it’s no wonder many families are keeping a close eye on their bottom line. If you’re shopping for a new car and are interested in an SUV, there are a number of smaller alternatives for around $30,000 you may want to consider to help keep a lid on your transportation expenses.

For this comparison test, we gathered six subcompact SUVs, many of which are all-new or recently redesigned. Most of them were priced around $30,000, two had front-wheel drive while the rest had all-wheel drive, and we also had one gas-electric hybrid in a field otherwise filled with gas-only models.

Our judges drove each of these SUVs back to back on the same drive loop to assess overall driving performance, comfort, usability, interior quality and more. We also took the SUVs on a 200-mile drive route to see what kind of gas mileage they get in the real world, timed their acceleration performance, measured each one’s cargo area, rated child-safety seat fitment, and scored safety features and value for the money. Here’s how they finished:

1. 2024 Kia Seltos SX Turbo
2. 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Premium
3. 2024 Chevrolet Trax Activ
4. 2023 Honda HR-V EX-L
5. 2023 Volkswagen Taos SE
6. 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid S

Read the full results story: https://www.cars.com/articles/whats-t...

For more details on why the Seltos won: https://www.cars.com/articles/2023-af...

0:00 Intro
0:22 The contenders
0:51 How we tested
1:09 Sixth place: 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid
7:28 Fifth place: 2023 Volkswagen Taos
13:32 Fourth place: 2023 Honda HR-V
19:53 Third place: 2024 Chevrolet Trax
28:38 Second place: 2024 Subaru Crosstrek
35:06 Winner: 2024 Kia Seltos

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