Popular Midsized SUVs to Avoid and What to Buy Instead
Don't get stuck with a two- or three-row model you'll regret buying when there are better, more reliable ones available
If you plan to choose your next midsized SUV because you see a lot of them around town—don’t. Just because a popular model is seemingly everywhere doesn’t mean it’s the best option—or even worth buying. Advertising, financing incentives, and social media have an outsized influence on what people buy, and none of that has to do with quality, usability, fuel efficiency, or family-friendliness.
To help you pick an SUV that won’t leave you stranded, Consumer Reports put all the models listed below through our road-test evaluations when they were new, so we know how they perform.
Plus, we collect data from CR members in our Annual Auto Surveys so that we can tell you how many problems a model has had compared with the average problem rate for all vehicles of the same model year.
This allows us to present models that are popular in their category but aren’t good choices to buy. Then we present two alternatives.
• A better choice: Another vehicle that’s widely available and reliable and has better owner satisfaction ratings.
• An “under the radar” alternative: A reliable and satisfying model that didn’t sell as well, if you aren’t concerned with following the crowd.
Consumer Reports members can also search our Used Car Marketplace for vehicles for sale in their area, sorting by the factors that matter most.
