Drive Smarter With These 5 Budget Friendly Compact SUVs You Need To See

We have compared and contrasted over 20 vehicles in our research to bring you our list of the top compact SUVs available.

Mazda CX-5 Touring

This is a fine looking crossover compact SUV and it drives like a dream. Priced at a starting price of around $24,000, we think this vehicle offers a lot of great premium extras at no additional cost. The safety scores for this vehicle are also great and the fuel economy is impressive at an average of 35 mpg.

Nissan Rogue

The only SUV in the compact class to offer a third seating row, the Nissan is great value for families who don’t always need 7 seats but find it a useful feature. The Rogue has a great interior and a smooth ride so it’s not just the ‘third row’ that got it on our list. Priced at around $24,000 it’s in the ballpark on cost. The fuel economy could be better though at an average 28 mpg.

Subaru Forester

Perhaps not the most obvious choice, we have the Subaru on our list because the vehicle’s engine performance is amongst the best in the class and the storage space is the hands down winner. With a starting price around $22,500 it’s fairly priced too. The average fuel consumption is 25 mpg but it’s worth it for the more powerful engine.

Porsche Macan

So clearly this is not your average compact SUV, but at the luxury end of the market (with a starting price of around $52,000) this is top of the pile in our humble opinion. As you would expect the interior is gorgeous, and though it’s a little cramped in the back for taller passengers it handles like a top notch sedan so you won’t get thrown around. It has some impressive acceleration too. If you’re at this end of the compact SUV market take this baby for a test drive!

Hyundai Tucson

With a starting price of $22,700 the Hyundai is competitively priced. The somewhat plasticky interior is probably its weakest point, but there’s plenty of interior space to distract you especially in the back. The 23 mpg fuel consumption is about average. Drivers rate the uncomplicated dashboard and touchscreen display for their simplicity. There a huge array of optional features available. A quiet and smooth drive too.