As we progress through the 2020s, compact SUVs make up one of the most popular new car segments. There’s a lot to choose from in these ranks, and that choice only gets harder as more automakers release new models and generations.
Practicality, versatility, and fuel economy have always been appealing qualities in the small SUV end of the market, and lots of entries offer some combination of the three. The challenge lies in figuring out which one works the best for you. After all, there are currently over 40 vehicles in the segment, a somewhat overwhelming pool, and it doesn’t help that a lot of them look an awful lot alike. We’ll save luxury automakers like BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and Porsche for a different guide, and instead focus here on more affordable options.
Here are 10 of our top picks when it comes to the best compact SUVs worth taking for a test drive.
The Best Small SUVs of 2025
- Chevrolet Equinox
- GMC Terrain
- Hyundai Tucson
- Subaru Crosstrek
- Hyundai Venue
- Volkswagen Taos
- Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV
- Kia Niro
- Jeep Compass
- Toyota Corolla Cross
Chevrolet Equinox
Best for: Parents with teens
The Chevy Equinox is all-new for the 2025 model year, even after a significant facelift a few years prior.
The Equinox has always been a competent, easy-to-live-with vehicle, but it features a fresh glow-up for this year, cleaning up its looks and offering some nice tech improvements. All of the Equinox trims are powered by the same 1.5-liter turbo four-cylinder engine making 175 horsepower and 203 pound-feet of torque, which is sent through a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). All-wheel drive (AWD) is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and is available for an additional $2,000.
Even at the base level, the Equinox gets GM’s latest infotainment system with an easy-to-read 11.3-inch touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plenty of USBs and power outlets, and GM’s Teen Driver monitoring system, a boon for parents of new drivers.
GMC Terrain
Best for: People who love the GMC nameplate
The Terrain is exactly the same vehicle underneath as the redesigned Chevrolet Equinox. It offers tougher overall looks accented by a big, bold grille with the GMC nameplate, though the five-passenger cabin is home to premium materials and features like wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and available heated leather seats. The 2025 Terrain boasts up to 63.3 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seat folded.
In terms of safety, the Terrain is available with adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning, automatic high-beam headlights, blind-spot monitoring, and more.
Like the Equinox, the Terrain’s sole available engine is a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. A CVT is standard on front-wheel-drive (FWD) models, while an eight-speed automatic is paired with optional AWD. Pricing starts at about $31,500 for FWD and $33,500 for an AWD Terrain.
Hyundai Tucson
Best for: Empty nesters
Honestly, the Kia Sportage could’ve slotted right in here, too, but the Tucson is the bigger, more chic-looking seller. The Sportage and the Tucson—along with the Kia Niro and the Hyundai Santa Cruz—all share variations of the same platform and powertrains. In the Tucson, its base 187-hp 2.5-liter inline-four bolts up to an eight-speed automatic transmission and reaches 60 mph in 8.8 seconds. The plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model, however, drops that down to 7.6 seconds thanks to a 13.8-kWh battery sending extra gusto to the drive wheels.
The Tucson barrels into the 2025 model year as a new model, featuring a dramatic grille, geometric daytime running lights (DRLs), bulging fenders, and new safety and infotainment tech, plus new color choices. And you get all the things that make this a great crossover, including good cargo space, decent fuel economy, and a roomy passenger compartment.
Speaking of gas mileage, the PHEV model achieves an EPA-estimated 35 mpg combined, whereas the FWD model delivers up to 28 mpg combined.
Subaru Crosstrek
Best for: The occasional overlander
Subaru rolled out an all new, third-generation Crosstrek last year, and while the changes are subtle, rest assured it’s an entirely new small-size SUV from the ground up. After all, the Crosstrek remains one of the brand’s top-selling vehicles year after year, and Subaru surely didn’t want to spoil a winning formula. It’s also the vehicle that allows the brand to remain somewhat youthful. Both Subaru Forester and Outback consumers tend to skew slightly older, while the Crosstrek’s impressively low entry price keeps it a favorite among first-time new-car buyers of all ages.
The biggest part of the appeal is AWD, which Subaru essentially gives away for free. In almost every other vehicle in this class, you’re looking at vehicles that have the same entry price as the Crosstrek, but charge another $2,000 to $3,000 for AWD. Not only that, but its driving experience is a bit more fun than you’d assume for an otherwise unobtrusive crossover.
Subaru gave consumers a choice of powertrains: The base 152-hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder, or a more powerful 182-hp 2.5-liter mill. It also become available with more exterior colors, upgraded safety equipment, a spectacular 11.6-inch multimedia touchscreen display, and an available Wilderness trim for enhanced off-road capability.
Hyundai Venue
Best for: The bargain shopper
There is one less expensive compact SUV on the market, but we’re saving it for the end because we like it for other reasons beyond the price. The latest Hyundai Venue comes in at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of just over $20,000 if you opt for the cheapest SE trim level.
And you might as well, because there’s no vast difference between the bargain basement SE and the Limited, which comes in at under $24,000. It has the same 121-hp 1.6-liter four-cylinder, FWD, and there’s no optional AWD. It’s more of a stilted hatchback than an SUV.
Hyundai is well-known for offering some of the best warranty programs in the business, and the Venue is no exception: It gets a five-year/60,000-mile basic warranty and a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. If you’re looking to get into something that fits the compact SUV form factor but you don’t fancy spending a whole lot of money, this is the way to do it.
Volkswagen Taos
Best for: The Euro-curious
The Volkswagen Taos straddles the line between subcompact SUV and compact crossover SUV, replacing the Volkswagen Golf, the car that singlehandedly saved Volkswagen from sliding into oblivion.
The Taos slots below the Volkswagen Tiguan and is available in two driveline configurations—FWD and AWD—and three trim levels: S, SE, SE Black, and SEL. Regardless of what driveline or trim you choose, your Taos will be powered by a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 174 hp. If you choose FWD, you get an eight-speed automatic transmission, whereas choosing 4Motion AWD will get you a eight-speed DSG—or dual-clutch—automatic gearbox. 4Motion will set you back around $2,000.
All Taos models feature the “Volkswagen Digital Cockpit,” a high-resolution digital instrument panel in place of the traditional analog gauges. If you want advanced safety features like adaptive front lighting, lane assist, automatic high-beam headlights, blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control, they're included in the standard IQ.Drive suite of driver-assistance technologies.
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV
Best for: The fuel-conscious
Here’s something you haven’t seen since the days of the sporty first-generation Eclipse: A Mitsubishi with strong sales figures. The Outlander PHEV is a plug-in hybrid that hits on the magic formula of fuel consciousness and availability. That blend resulted in a 241 percent increase in sales volume in 2023.
Most notably, the Outlander PHEV has good electric-only range. On battery power alone, you can drive for 38 miles before the gas engine kicks in. If you work in an office with a Level 2 charger, these specs mean you could conceivably travel to and from work every day without ever having to put gas in the tank.
The Outlander PHEV is also fairly affordable, and it’s a bit larger than the rest of the vehicles it competes with. While based on the same platform as the two-row Nissan Rogue, it’s one of very few compact SUVs to offer third-row seating, hovering into the midsize SUV class.
Kia Niro
Best for: EV-curious consumers
The Niro is offered with three types of powertrain: as a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid, or a fully electric vehicle (EV). We had a chance to drive the Niro EV and loved it for a lot of reasons, including its 253-mile range and its ability to add 100 miles of range in about half an hour using a 100-kWh DC fast charger. We also love that Kia didn’t skimp on its 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty, beating most of the EV marketplace by two years.
What’s doubly nice is that you don’t feel like you’re driving some exhibit from the Epcot Center. This is a fairly conventional compact crossover that just happens to be powered by electricity.
Because the Niro EV doesn’t yet utilize battery components sourced domestically, the federal tax incentive does not apply for purchasing, so you may want to lease to take advantage of the $7500 incentive. If the write-off is that important to you, you might consider the plug-in hybrid as a good first step before diving into the EV pool. And, unlike the Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid SUV, these are actually readily available.
Jeep Compass
Best for: Light off-road enthusiasts
There’s no way we ever would’ve suggested a first-generation Jeep Compass, but the second-generation vehicles are surprisingly competent small SUVs, and they can even tackle some challenging off-road segments if you choose the Trailhawk trim level.
US-based Compasses are equipped with the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that powers a lot of the Fiat and smaller Jeep models. Unlike the earlier Compass, the current generation is only available with four-wheel drive (4WD) and an eight-speed automatic transmission. It’s no Wrangler, but the 2025 Compass will escape to off-road paths with reasonable capability.
Styling is a direct lift from its Jeep siblings, looking like a Grand Cherokee that’s been shrunk in the dryer. Even in the base Sport trim level, the interior is well-equipped with a Uconnect 5 infotainment system with a 10.1-inch touchscreen, six speakers, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus a 4G WiFi hot spot. These compact crossovers are also well-equipped with a full suite of safety equipment including forward-collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-path detection, active lane management, and pedestrian and cyclist emergency detection.
Toyota Corolla Cross
Best for: Fans of Toyota quality
The Corolla Cross is based on the same Toyota New Global Architecture platform (GA-C) as the Toyota Corolla and Lexus UX. The Corolla Cross is equipped with a 2.0-liter gas engine paired with a CVT. An AWD system is available on FWD models but comes standard on the Corolla Cross Hybrid, which delivers an EPA-estimated 42 mpg combined.
Even at the base level, buyers get the Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 standard, which means every Corolla Cross comes with dynamic cruise control, lane-departure alert with steering assist, and automatic high beams. Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert come standard only on upper trims. With a starting price under $25,000, that makes the Corolla Cross one of the best cars on our list for anyone who puts this kind of innovative tech first.
Inside, the L trim has manual air conditioning, while the LE has single-zone automatic climate control, and the XLE gets dual-zone. All trims get an 8-inch infotainment screen, but the LE and XLE are available with wireless mobile device charging and a JBL premium audio system.
