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Video: What’s the Best Affordable SUV of 2023?

42:46 min
By Cars.com Editors
October 16, 2023

About the video

New SUVs are expensive, so we tested six affordable SUVs priced around $30,000 to find which one is best.

Transcript

Affordable SUV might seem like a contradictory statement, considering the average new price of an SUV on cars.com is $48,000. But there are affordable options out there.
And, specifically, around the $30,000 mark where it might not be a household name like a Honda CR-V or a Toyota Rav 4, but think a little smaller and more affordable. We gathered six of these affordable SUVs to see which is best, pulling past winners and adding some new and redesigned models. Since our last test, three models have been updated. The Subaru Crosstrek, Kia Seltos and Honda HR-V. Two models are all new, the Volkswagen Taos and the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid. We also decided to test the Chevrolet Trax, which, since its redesign, has grown larger, though it no longer offers all-wheel drive. We conducted fuel economy testing, took these six SUVs on an expert drive route, tested their features, measured their cargo space, measured how car seats fit in them. And, because affordability is so important, took into account not only their as-tested prices, but the features you get for the money. So, let's dig into the results and see how they finished. Coming in sixth place is the new for 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid, here in its base S trim. And one of the things we say about these comparison tests is you have to figure out where our scores matter most to you. And this is really an object lesson in that. It's got seven category losses in our judges scoring, zero wins, but it also won our fixed scores by a handy margin, because of things like its excellent fuel economy and its surprising power. So, let's get into it. What do we like about this car? Oh, well, that is a very short list. For me, the multimedia system was nice. It was very straightforward, easy to figure out, Everything was within easy reach. You know, that is something that was not offensive. Yeah, wireless Apple Car Play. Wireless Android Auto for the base model that, it definitely is nice to have and it worked well in this car. Yeah, it's, for me, it's an upgrade over older Toyota infotainment systems. It's not necessarily getting to class leading, but it's certainly better. But we should definitely talk about that fuel economy. This was far and away the winner of our fuel economy testing, which doesn't really surprise when it's the only hybrid we have in the test. <v Joe>Yeah, it was 12.7 miles per gallon better than the next best car. <v Jen>Wow. <v Joe>And that 47 miles per gallon it got on our 200 plus mile loop was better than any of its EPA ratings. <v Jen>Wow. Yeah, and another thing, you know, in the pro column, is that quickness that you get from that hybrid powertrain. This felt among the quickest out of all of the vehicles. Yeah, it was the second fastest in zero to 60. And second to fastest, it lost by 100th of a second. Like it was right there with the fastest in the test, the Seltos, but also the most fuel efficient. How cool is that? <v Brian>Yeah, no, and coming in at under $30,000, that's really tough to beat. So, if you're on a budget and looking to save money on gas, this is definitely something to consider. But there are gonna be some downsides. So, there are some powertrain downsides, and we should start with that. It is noisy. There's just not a lot of sound deadening material, I think, in this car. And the powertrain itself is just really rough sounding under hard acceleration. <v Jen>Wind noise, road noise, powertrain noise. It was one of the loudest vehicles in the test for sure. Which is, it's a deal breaker for me. And we also weren't huge fans of the interior. I think this is probably the most basic interior we've got here. Not really surprising, it is the base model. And nothing else here is at the very bottom of its trim levels, but not a lot of fun to be had. Even the Volkswagen has a little bit of blue for some visual pop. This has some blue stitching on the seats, and that's about it. Pretty much everything else is black plastic. <v Joe>Yeah, and this is still a $30,000 car, which it's not the least expensive in the test, but, if you're behind the wheel, it kind of feels like it. I mean, these are entry level SUVs, so I get it, but others do it much better. Oh, yeah. <v Brian>We also need to talk about the Corolla Cross Hybrid's ride quality, which none of us were fans of. I thought it was very bouncy and uncomposed over broken pavement. Joe? Yeah, when I look at a car, and there are multiple wheel options, like, typically, the smallest wheel will have the most sidewall tire and it'll absorb rough roads and impacts. This is the entry level model. 17 inch wheels. It does not ride well at all. It has harsh impacts. You really feel it almost reverberate throughout the entire car. It's not comfortable. <v Jen>You know, reverberate was a word that I was just thinking of too. You know, you hit a bump, terrible bump absorption, and it just goes throughout the entire cabin. And that's a, you know, that's a real deal breaker for me, that overall jittery feeling is just really uncomfortable. <v Brian>One of the other areas the Corolla Cross Hybrid scored poorly was an in-cabin storage. And, Joe, I know you have some strong feelings about that, so let's get into it. It's one of those everyday annoyances that there's no place to put your stuff, right? Your keys, your phone, your wallet. And the cubby that's at the bottom of the dashboard ahead of the gear selector, it doesn't fit my phone. Like, it, my phone will not lay flat, and I don't have a big phone. It's just a normal sized iPhone in a case, and it only fits in and an angle. Or if I flip it, it's sticking out of the cubby. It slides out. And then the actual center console storage is also really small. <v Jen>Yeah, they're both just strangely sized and not very useful. Yeah, I found myself using the cup holders a lot for item storage, which is fine if you don't have anything to drink, but if you do, now you're just fumbling for space. That's where I put my phone, yeah. Yeah. <v Joe>Cargo isn't the worst. It was about mid-pack. But interior room is a very mixed bag. I was comfortable up front, but not at all comfortable in the back. What did you guys think? <v Jen>Yeah, absolutely. I really struggled in our car seat check, especially installing rear facing car seats. A rear facing convertible in an infant seat. I install them, could not sit in the passenger seat in front of them without my knees jammed against the glove box, which is a safety and a comfort issue. So, it got very low scores for its car seat check. The class as a whole, now, of the ones that we tested, actually have really good back seats, except the Corolla Cross. Like it wasn't even close. There is not a lot of backseat room. You know, your knees are close to the seat back. It's narrow. It's not a place that you wanna spend much time. Yeah, and lest you think that that's a hybrid issue, the backseat measurements for this are identical to the gas version. And we had the same complaints about that backseat. But it's clear that what Toyota spent the money on for this car is its powertrain, and its fuel economy, and its acceleration. And that's where this Corolla Cross Hybrid did well. But, everything else, all of our subjective scores really knocked it down. And that's why it finished in sixth out of six. <v Jen>Volkswagen's smallest SUV joined the lineup for 2022. And, for 2023, the Taos got more standard safety features, which helped keep it competitive. But, for our challenge, the Taos was challenged, coming in fifth place out of sixth. Brian, user interface was rated very low. Tell me what you think. Yeah, I just, I really didn't like using this screen. I thought the graphics were very, very dated. I thought the controls were a little bit clumsy too. It just, everything else in this class seems to have updated and VW seems to be falling behind a little. Yeah, it's a similar system that I have in my personal 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. And the capacity of controls on the side can definitely be accidentally brushed, and it's just not a great overall experience. It is familiar, but, again, versus everything else in the class, it's behind. I struggled with that tuning knob that only worked for some functions, like AM and FM radio, but not satellite radio. It just seems like kind of an odd setup. The other thing that it didn't do well in is interior quality. And, Joe, you rated that pretty low. Tell me what stood out. Yeah, I mean, if you're looking at subcompact SUVs, and you have this perception that it's not gonna be a nice car, this probably, this delivers on that expectation, but that's not the case, knowing what else is in the class. Some of the textures were just really bland and there wasn't anything that stood out as, "Wow, that's nice." Everything in the backseat is totally hard plastic, except for the slightly padded armrest. But, again, there are others in the class that do it much better. Yeah, Brian, you and I were talking about how they just threw a pop of blue plastic in there as kind of like, "Hey, look at this." <v Brian>"I'm fun too." <v Jen>Exactly. I mean, it is more fun than not having it, but it's just sort of a throwaway sort of appeasement to, I think, younger buyers. Yeah, the drop off in the second in the backseat from the front is massive. Everything's just firm, even when it is padded. I also found the steering wheel stitching a little bit annoying. Like, just irritating on my hands as I used it. <v Joe>Yeah, kind of a cross between quality and user interface was the digital dashboard. It's not like normal Volkswagen digital dashboards that are done really well. It's different, it had, it's a little smaller. It has different graphics and it's really low quality. It looks blurry. It's not crisp and clear. It's like, "Are my glasses smudged?" No, no, no, it's just how it is. It was just disappointing. 'Cause it is done well in other Volkswagens. Another big disappointment for this vehicle was in value. It came in last in value. And while, you know, not the most expensive, not the least expensive, it still was missing some key things that other vehicles had at around this price. Like all-wheel drive, automatic climate control, a moon roof, some kind of strange omissions. <v Brian>Yeah, the automatic- The lack of automatic climate control was painful in the heat. And just confusing. It's so common these days that not seeing it was sort of a throwback to like my 1997 Forerunner. 'Cause everything else had automatic climate. <v Jen>Yeah. I mean, but it wasn't all bad. It did earn some, you know, higher scores than some other areas. One really important area was powertrain. We all really liked this powertrain. What stood out to you, Joe? Yeah, it's interesting, 'cause our previous experience with the Taos, and the all-wheel drive version and its engine transmission, it's not been great, because the transmission experience, it was a bit wonky. The shifts were strange. And the front wheel drive version addresses that, because it has a different transmission. <v Jen>Right. <v Joe>It's using a standard eight speed automatic transmission versus the dual clutch automatic transmission. Which, you know, it was just a very inconsistent accelerating vehicle. And acceleration has done really well in this. <v Jen>Really great. It was, in addition to just feeling good and feeling like you have a lot of power for all maneuvers, it was the third fastest zero to 60 time, and the second fastest zero to 30 time. And it moved, it's quick. <v Jen>A lot more responsive than a lot of these other SUVs. <v Joe>Oh, yeah, for sure. <v Brian>Absolutely. I don't necessarily like the way the front wheel drive handles. <v Joe>Yes. <v Brian>But I think that's probably worth the trade off to avoid the dual clutch. Another area that we all really liked was rear seat comfort. Car seats fit really well in this. Really accessible, easy access latch anchors. A lot of room for car seats. A lot of room for adults and in adult comfort. Brian, I think you rated it really highly for that. Yeah, I am not a small person and I fit great back there. It feels like a class larger inside, even with a large tunnel separating the floor in the backseat. Still had a lot of foot room. I had a lot of leg room. Had a lot of head room. It was just comfortable all around. Headroom gave you that feeling that you're just in an expansive vehicle. Like, this is a traditionally shaped SUV. And you've got a lot of headroom. There's not a short roof. Yeah, and it feels wide too. I felt the seat was positioned a little lower than some of the others, which elevated my knees. But, otherwise, like, you have so much space in the back. It won the cargo measurement test. And we performed cargo testing on all of these cars, and it's gotten a lot of cargo space for its small size. <v Joe>And I know I complained about the lack of automatic climate control, but one comfort feature that this does have, that nothing else in this test has, is a multi-level heated steering wheel. So you can set the amount of heat that's delivered, which is really interesting for a car at this price level. <v Jen>That's a nice feature, absolutely. Yeah, this one was really tricky, 'cause, while it came in fifth place, the spread between third place and fifth place was very narrow. So, there was a lot that we liked about this. There were just a couple of big areas that annoyed that kind of plunked it down into fifth place. <v Brian>Coming in fourth place in our test was the 2023 Honda HR-V, which has been significantly redesigned since the last time we tested vehicles like this. There's a lot to like about the HR-V, I think. This was, again, part of that group of three that are really closely bunched together. Big loss in powertrain, though. So, let's get into that right away. Joe, why was this so slow? Well, it's underpowered. And the transmission just doesn't do a great job of getting the engine into its rev range. And, you know, honestly, when you're looking at these cars, "Is it fast?" It's not something someone will ask. But this is questionably slow. It did zero to 60 the slowest. And zero to 30 the slowest. So, there's not even that like off the line responsiveness. If you're driving in the city, and you're using ways, and it's taking you some crazy back way where you have to cross four lane traffic with no stop sign and you have to jump across Frogger style, this is not the car that I would pick to do that. <v Jen>It won't do it. <v Joe>It just won't do it. You'll step on the gas pedal, and it'll, you'll wait. You'll wait, and wait, and wait, 'cause the CVT takes forever to spool up power. And, you know, this was my least favorite powertrain mostly because the CVT, it just, it's not very responsive. It doesn't feel very natural, and it's loud. This powertrain is very loud. You hear it struggling, pretty much, constantly. Yeah, it loves to go all the way to the red line and it will let you know that it's doing it. Yes. Which is also a shame, because we know Honda has some good, small engines they could put in this. Yeah. But we're still waiting for maybe a turbocharger to get tacked on here. It did do well in some other driving performance categories. Not the best in the test. But handling it got high marks and also braking. So, let's start with handling. I, honestly, once it gets going, which can take a while, found this to be probably the most fun and balanced in, you know, twisty, turny driving. But is that really important? I mean it, yes, it has an agility there that others don't have. But to your question, I don't know that that's what buyers are shopping for in this class. Yeah, it adds a little personality to the car. You know, it's playful. You can dart around and, you know, it also makes you feel connected to the car, which is also good for just the assurance while driving. But, no, this is not a class of, you know, sport compact cars. <v Brian>Braking, I would say, is more important. I really like the linear pedal fuel. I was just very confident in doing that. Anything stood out for you there? <v Jen>Very natural. <v Jen>You knew exactly what was gonna happen and when it was gonna happen, which is as it should be. <v Brian>And, now, we should move on to the interior, which has some highs and lows. Let's start with the highs. I really like the interior design, the materials quality. We all thought it was very, very nice overall. <v Jen>It's an interesting contrast to the Corolla Cross, which is very bland and boring. Materials aren't great. Design is blah. This has, you know, that cool honeycomb mesh, and everything feels a little higher quality. They did a nice job. <v Joe>Yeah, I really think, sitting in this, it feels like a car that's $10,000 more expensive. You know, this is very much a CRV interior, and it's really, really well done. I enjoyed just how nice everything looks, and how it feels. And how it does feel like a more expensive car than it is. Yeah, and in-cabin storage as well is an area where it excels. There's a nice little cubby behind the gear selector, sort of under the console. Not really fitting for my hands necessarily, but it's nice to have that extra storage. The bin is a decent size. If there's a good cargo space up front as well. Unlike the Corolla Cross, you have places to put things. Yeah, for such a small vehicle I think they creatively found ways to add a little bit more storage here and there. Yep. And, in back, we were comfortable, I think. But let's talk a little bit about car seat fitment. Yeah, car seats were kind of a struggle for different reasons than with the Corolla Cross. In room, it did fine. It's in fit. So, a couple of things stood out. One is the head restraints. They only came up a little bit. So, my forward facing car seat and my booster were not able to fit flush against the seat back, because that head restraint was in the way. That's a safety issue. Another, you know, two other oddities are the top tether anchor for the middle seat is in the ceiling. So, if you connect that, you're blocking the driver's view. Same thing with the buckle. If you install something in the middle, a car seat or a person, the buckle for the middle comes down from the ceiling. Again, that's a visibility issue. And just an oddity that the others don't have. <v Joe>Yeah, I also found that, while the backseat was roomy, I had good leg room, good head room there was plenty of width, the backseat was just reclined too much for my liking, and it's not adjustable. I just didn't feel comfortable just in that laid back position. It's sort of a lounge seat almost. Now, to get back to visibility for a second. Jennifer, that was the thing you mentioned with the car seats and the middle seat belt. Without that passenger, without the child seats in the back, this did pretty well. It was second place overall in visibility scores. So, let's get into that a little. Joe, what'd you think? <v Joe>You know, it's great. It was second only to the Cross Trek, which is good company in which to be. And it has really thin A pillars. Big mirrors that are mounted on the doors. It adds to that experience of just being comfortable and easy to drive when you're behind the wheel. <v Jen>Absolutely, those clear sight lines to the rear were really nice. <v Brian>Yeah, and, when you don't have visibility, the HR-V is the only vehicle in this test that has both front and rear parking sensors. And, in fact, the only vehicle in this test with any parking sensor, which is wild to me. That one loss is probably what really knocked the HR-V down into fourth. But, otherwise, it was a fairly competent showing. <v Joe>The 2024 Chevrolet Trax is definitely the wild card in this test, because, technically, it doesn't really fit in with the rest of the cars because it doesn't offer all-wheel drive at all. The Trax was redesigned for 2024. It's much larger than it used to be. Has a lot more technology on the inside. And it lost its all-wheel drive option. And that didn't hurt it as much as you might think in this class. The Trax placed an impressive third, so let's take a look at why. One area the Trax had a dominant win is screens controls. Why was it so good? <v Jen>Yeah, this was my favorite system by far. Everything was just easy to use. Worked well, within easy reach. And just a beautiful, beautiful system. Like the screens were, you know, modern graphics and really slick, high resolution. Responsive. Overall, just a really nice integration. Wireless Car Play and Android Auto worked seamlessly. Just very impressive system. <v Brian>It's gorgeous, it's responsive. It looks as modern as anything I've been in, in higher vehicle classes. It just works really well. Anything you want to do, any function, it's right there. It's fairly intuitive as far as, you know, controls go, and where things are located. There's a nice little fixed bar along the side for, you know, main functions. And it just- It looks good and it works, and that's not always the case. Yeah, the customization is really trick. The resolution and clarity, it's just more BMW-like than anything else in this test. It's really good, and it's the whole package. It's Wireless CarPlay. Wireless Android Auto and wireless charging. Which you don't always get. <v Jen>And the climate controls below it are just, they're clear, they're big. They make sense as they should. They're just no nonsense. Yep, yep, definitely a standout in this class. Now, it was competitive in other areas too, like in-cabin storage. Yeah, absolutely. There's a lot of nice little places to stash stuff, which I appreciate. And in a vehicle this size, again, it's kind of nice to have as much storage as you can. Yeah, and what I really appreciate, as much as we like that little cubby in the HR-V, it's sort of enclosed. Everything here, except for the console bin, is still open, which gives you a height advantage. Makes access a little bit easier. It's fairly well thought out. There's not a lot of room. It's not a very big vehicle, but they make do really well with what they have. Yeah, and what surprised me, in how well it actually did was in it's powertrain score. And acceleration. You know, we're talking three cylinders. Turbocharged. Not a whole lot of power by the specs. But it actually is pretty quick and responsive drive. <v Jen>It surprised me, because I'm coming out of the old Trax. That was the, you know? <v Jen>That was a real dog and just not, that power train was not impressive in any way. So, this is definitely a step up and surprised me in its quickness. Yeah, it feels a lot quicker than what you might consider to be its more likely competitors. And I think also part of that has to do with the six speed automatic, which is just a much better transmission application than some of the CVTs we're seeing in competitors here. It's better at shifting. It's better at delivering that power linearly and quickly. And, you know, this might not be the most powerful in the test, but it didn't feel like it was so far behind the ones that were the most powerful. <v Joe>Yeah, below 40 miles an hour getting off the line, this thing is really responsive. And it's got this like surge in power from 3000 to 4,500 RPM that oddly spin the tires, which caught me off guard. And it was the fourth fastest in zero to 60. So, still faster than two of the other cars in this comparison. Yeah. Cheap doesn't necessarily mean value. Expensive doesn't necessarily mean it has no value. It's features for the money. And this car is $26,000. And had features that other cars didn't. And there's, I think you're getting a lot for your money with this car. It has a lot of things that you need at that price, which is impressive compared with the other vehicles in this test, which were missing a couple of things. <v Brian>For sure, you know, you're looking at heated seats, heated steering wheel. <v Jen>Nice. <v Brian>Moon roof. And four USB ports. Which is more than others at this price. I mean, at this price, you're not getting that fourth cylinder. You're not getting even the choice of all-wheel drive. But the things you do get are things you don't find, necessarily, in all of these more expensive vehicles. And it really delivers on a lot of features for the money. So, let's talk about what it doesn't have and what it doesn't necessarily do well. I think at top of mind for all of us was visibility. Yeah, absolutely. Seeing out the back was tough. Those windows, you know, the windows on the side are very small. That roof line really impedes rear visibility. It's, you know, not easy to see out the back. <v Joe>Yeah, it's a very aggressively shaped roof line with short windows and a raked back windshield. And, yeah, it definitely has a unique look. More of a hatchback type look. And it looks sporty, but you pay for that. <v Brian>Yeah, and out the front too is a little bit harder than some of the vehicles here. You've got this raked windshield. You've got the high mounted side mirrors. It's not as good as some of the others here. And in a comparison where some of these are really good with front visibility, that stood out to me. Yeah, and I thought the back seat was roomy, but you guys had issues in the backseat. My thing with the backseat was it just felt very much more closed in to me. And I think it was because of those smaller windows and that sloping roof line. It felt kind of cave-like back there. <v Brian>Yeah, and, for me, the roof line really impeded my headroom, which is really the most unpleasant thing for me when I'm in a backseat is when my head is touching the headliner. I don't care for that at all. And it's not a very nice place to be when you look at the features. It's very cheap feeling back there. There's not a lot of padded plastic. There's no vents for climate. And there's no armrest that comes down, like a couple others have. Yeah, in terms of interior quality, once you get past the front seat, there's nothing. There's no padding. There's no soft touch anything in the back seat. <v Jen>It was forgotten. And we can get into whether or not fun nods, in terms of styling, are really worth it. This has some yellow trim that just, to me, seemed out of place. I think you thought it seemed out of place too, Jennifer. <v Jen>It was really just strange. Like I did a double take when I came in. Just did not appeal to me. Bright, yellow plastic, not my favorite. And it also didn't do well in car seat fitments. Yeah, we had a couple of problems with car seats. One, again, with the hedge restraints. Those, you know, prevented the seats from sitting flush against the seat back. The other was room. There's just not a ton of leg room for the rear facing car seats, which take up a lot of space. And so, the last thing, I think, to touch on with things that could have been better, handling. <v Jen>Yeah, that was a big problem for me. This felt like a much bigger, heavier vehicle to me, in terms of, you know, around town maneuverability. The steering felt heavy. It just felt kind of lumbering and hulky, and not indicative of its size at all. Yeah, I could definitely kind see the cheapness in how it drives. Perhaps that was some areas of cost cutting. When you're turning, and you go over a bump, it kind of feels like the wheels are flopping all over the place. So, definitely some issues in handling and ride quality. So, the Trax, much better than expected. Much better than it used to be. What's interesting, though, is it doesn't have all-wheel drive. And all-wheel drive is more of a need than a want. And it got dinged in points for not having all-wheel drive. But it still did better than the other front wheel drive car in this test, the Taos. And still a very respectable third place finish for the new Trax. <v Jen>Coming in second is the Subaru Crosstrek, which got an update for 2024 that includes a gigantic new infotainment screen. The Crosstrek stood above the others in a couple of different areas, many of them comfort related. Let's talk about comfort. First ride, what stood out to you, Brian? Just as- There's no better way to say it, how comfortable it is. This is probably, of all the SUVs here, the one I would take as my daily driver, just for how comfortable it was, even in the short time behind the wheel. You lose some handling, it's a little bit rolley, but these aren't handling cars and it's worth it for how unbothered it is by real rough roads. <v Joe>Yeah, it really absorbs impacts well. It's all soaked up in the suspension. It doesn't make its way to the front seat. And the front seat is just like- Talk about like cushioning on your body. It's so nice. It's such a relief after getting in some of these other cars. You just sit down and you're like, "Ah, yeah." Cushy ride. And cushy front seats. And I don't know what it is about these seats, but you and I were talking about this earlier. They're hands down the best. All day comfortable. Supportive, but also, you know, supple. Very nice. Yeah, it just fills in all the gaps. And, you know, kind of hugs you. It's a very homey feeling. <v Jen>Yeah, absolutely. <v Joe>I mean, I've owned a couple of Subarus, and Impreza, and we have a Forester right now. Maybe that's some of it. But, really, it's just- It's very comfortable. And that makes the car just feel natural. Like you're immediately acclimated to it, because of just how nice it is. Yeah, absolutely. One thing that we're really torn on is this new gigantic infotainment screen, which has a lot going on. There's a lot of pros and a lot of cons. Joe? <v Joe>Yeah, so I think, overall, it's an improvement over what there used to be, because the displays and controls are simplified. The old Crosstrek had that pod on top of the dashboard and it had additional steering wheel controls. Those are gone. That information is now put elsewhere. It's much more streamlined. But this new screen doesn't come without bringing its own issues. <v Brian>Yeah, we- We all had trouble connecting to it with our devices for the Wireless Apple CarPlay and Wireless Android Auto, even when we weren't surrounded by everyone else's phone and it was trying to figure out what was going on. It was difficult sometimes. And there's a lot that's still buried in the menus, which is just a frustrating way to access things. Especially for things like climate controls. Right. <v Brian>You do get heated seat controls outside of the touchscreen, which is great. You don't have to do like three button pushes just to turn on your heated seat. <v Jen>Right. <v Brian>And you do have physical temperature controls to the side of the screen. But a lot of the climate controls are still in there. It can be frustrating to use that. There's a lot of glare issues too. We both experienced that. I think we all experienced that. <v Jen>Absolutely. Part of the screen was blurred, yeah. Right, and when you're driving, you know, you wanna be able to see, and access, and do those functions very quickly. And, in this car, it was too complicated. <v Joe>Yeah, it's just the downside of putting those controls in the screen. And let's just pull it out. Let's just go back to physical controls for this. You can have physical controls and big screens. Let's just package it, make it work. Because, specifically, with that polarized sunglasses issues, you know, it might be different depending on lenses, and shape, all that. But, for all three of us, it was an issue, and pretty notable. Yeah. Another big win for this was in visibility. Great sight lines front and back. It really stood up, out, especially against something like the Trax. Yeah. <v Brian>Yeah, there's thin A pillars. Again, you get a nice little window between the A pillar and the side mirror for extra visibility for things like people crossing at stop signs. There's great visibility out the back. My one issue with it is that there's a lot of things in your sight line if you're a taller driver. The eyesight unit is kind of bulky. It can take away, but overall, you still have just great sight lines front, rear, to the side. Class leading. Yeah. Again, adding to the instant comfort level and being able to acclimate the drive in this car so easily. It's just very, very easy to drive. Absolutely. So, second place. Means it wasn't first. So, we did, it, you know, it did lose on a couple of things. Cargo room. And, you know, we didn't love the powertrain. Talk about that a little bit, Joe. <v Joe>It was slow. It's one of those things where you have to be very mindful about the traffic gap that you're trying to jump into. <v Jen>And another CVT as well. Which, you know, is not the most responsive. Not the most reactive. Not the most natural feeling. But also among the most noisy. <v Jen>Very noisy. Which is a fun side effect of that choice. The HR-V is slower, but this one, I think, they're both sort of in the same class of just be aware of your surroundings. And plan ahead a little bit when you're driving. The noise really stood out during our highway sections of the expert loop and of the mileage drive, where you're trying to maintain speed, and just a little touch of the accelerator, and the engine goes vroom. It's just, and you wouldn't really notice that in, I think, in other cars, but because it's so noisy, it really stands out. Absolutely, yeah. And then, the other thing that it did poorly in is cargo room. And, you know, this is a small vehicle class, but others do have more space in back. <v Joe>And that is so funny, because this used to be the big option. <v Jen>Right, right. And now you've got all these other cars that are just more proper SUV shapes, right? This is still very much a raised hatchback. I think the Trax is like that too. But, now, you've got a lot of these cars that are just box shaped SUVs that give you more cargo room. Yeah, absolutely. This feels like something where, if you wanted to fit a lot of people, you're probably looking at exterior storage options for longer trips. <v Jen>So, there's a lot to like about this, which is, you know, why we gave it second place. And I think something else needs to be said, it's a standard all-wheel drive. Getting, you know, comfort, getting safety features, and getting that standard all-wheel drive for around 30K is really impressive. <v Brian>And the winner of our affordable SUV challenge is actually a repeat winner, The Kia Seltos. Which won our last test. And the 2024 Seltos actually has improvements that helped it gain a sizable lead over the Crosstrek. And it did that while also being the most expensive in the test. At $33,000, it was $2,500 more than the next most expensive vehicle. And, even at that price, there's a lot of value and there's a lot to like, so let's dig in. What kept the Seltos on top? <v Brian>One thing that immediately stood out, as soon as you sit down, is just how nice this is. <v Jen>Yeah, this was my favorite interior hands down. And it combined a lot of good things. Everything felt nice. Everything looked nice. It was just, you know, the design, plus the materials. Just a home run in general. <v Brian>Yeah, the materials quality is outstanding. There's still some plastic, which isn't really unusual for the class. But so much of this is softer, and better padded, and nicer materials, and there's still some fun visual cues. Like the speaker mesh is- <v Jen>Very fun. But that feels premium instead of just, we put a nice color on it because we could. It's just, it's a very high quality interior that really, really stood out to me. <v Joe>Yeah, I think what really stood out was this brown interior. It had the highlights on the dashboard, the seats. They just look very, very nice. <v Jen>Especially compared with something like the Trax, with kind of that funky color. You don't really know what's going on. The vibe here is much more mature, premium. Just lovely. Another stark difference was what's under the hood. This is the SX Turbo. So it has 195 horsepower, four cylinder. And it was the fastest in the test. It was more like a hot hatch than anything else here. <v Brian>Yeah, it's a great powertrain. It's much improved over the previous generation Seltos too, with the switch to an eight speed automatic from its previous dual clutch. But the transmission shifted real well. It's nice and quick. Fun to drive. That's not necessarily a huge thing for shoppers, but it's a really nice thing to have, and it really adds to that premium feel of the Seltos. <v Jen>Well, and the eight speed really stands out to me, especially, you know, we're complaining about those other CVTs. This eight speed is, it's a great pairing. It does exactly what it's supposed to do. Shifts are just no nonsense, when they're supposed to happen, not abrupt. It just, it feels natural and just a, it's a good match. <v Joe>That combination of power and interior. This is the luxury and the sport option of the group, which is interesting. What adds to that was also surprising. This was quiet to drive. Very quiet. Probably among the quietest, in terms of the road noise, the wind noise, the power train was nice and quiet. Compared with some other ones, it was refreshing to get inside and hear not a lot. The bar's kind of on the floor for a lot of SUVs in this class, when it comes to noise. But this clears it, and then some. I'm still having lasting effects from the mileage drive after being in the Crosstrek. The lack of noise is notable. Yeah, it's done really well. Which, again, for being the quickest, most fun to drive, one of the best handling of the group too, is very notable. Also, what's really notable, tied with the Trax for the best value score. So, it's interesting, because this is the most expensive vehicle. The Trax is the least expensive vehicle. And they both tied for the most value. And value is not just being inexpensive, it's what you get for the money. And the Seltos did get dinged for its high price, but it was offset by features that the other cars didn't have. So, those unique features, ventilated front seats, a reclining back seat, a hands-free power lift gate, that's like solid SUV territory to have that feature that none of the others in this test had. And then, also, the warranty. <v Jen>Very nice. <v Joe>You know, Kia's 10 year, a hundred thousand mile powertrain warranty really helped it, you know, solidify that value win, even though it is the most expensive in the test. And all of those combined, you know, the warranty, the features, the interior, the driving experience, all of those combine to give it, to elevate it above the others and give it more of that premium feel that is kind of surprising from, you know, an entry level SUV. Oh, yeah, for sure. <v Brian>What I struggle with this car is how it compares to larger SUVs. And, at what point do I make the transition? But, here, among its class, it's, you know, top marks. <v Joe>Yeah, for sure. Let's talk about where it didn't do so well. Now, it did well in a lot of places. There's one area where it was absolute bottom and by a lot. Fuel economy. And that's a big one, unfortunately. Huge. <v Joe>Yeah, so, the 28.4 miles per gallon that it got in our fuel economy loop was considerably lower than the best in class Corolla Cross Hybrid at 47.4 miles per gallon. And, even compared to the next lowest, it was still a big degradation in fuel economy. Yeah, usually, we're looking at differences of tenths of an MPG. And, here, we're looking at a couple MPG difference between the next closest. Yeah, 3.2 miles per gallon. Worse than the HR-V. That's disappointing. Which was fifth in our fuel economy test. What about some other quirks that came up with the Seltos? You know, it did okay in the car seat check. It was the only vehicle whose latch anchors weren't completely exposed. So, a little bit of struggling, you know, to connect the car seat anchors. Not a lot, but it required more muscle than any other vehicle, unfortunately. There were also some unusual missing features for, you know, comfort and convenience. It's got ventilated seats. It doesn't have a heated steering wheel. It doesn't have dual zone automatic climate control. It doesn't have, still, and we've harped on this with Kia vehicles forever, now it seems like, it doesn't have wireless CarPlay or Android Auto. You have to be plugged in. <v Joe>Yeah, it's a strange omission, because you're also getting this, you know, really nice screen experience for the instrument panel. And the multimedia system with really nice graphics. But it's missing a feature that, might not be an expected feature, but you're getting it at a very affordable price in a lot of these other cars. Other than that big fuel economy loss, the Seltos performed mid-pack or better in every other test with no other losses. And that's a sure way to win one of our comparisons. And the Seltos did it again. But, I also wanna say, how can you use these results? Well, we have our criteria, and we have our order, but what's most important to you also matters. So, go to our results. If it's backseat room. If it's child seat fitment. If it's interior quality. Find the car that performed the best in those categories, and you can see all that information on cars.com. (low tempo music)