10 Best and Worst Midsize SUV
What are the best and worst mid-sized SUVs that you can buy? That’s what we’re gonna find out.
I’m gonna share five of the best mid-sized SUVs that you can buy with class leading design, reliability, and value.
I’ll also share five mid-sized SUVs They’re the total opposite that you should just stay away from.
Mazda CX 90
So let’s start off with the first SUV that you should be buying, and that is the Mazda CX 90.
The CX 90 is the perfect SUV for those who want something on the luxurious side, but without spending the full luxury price.
It is a very impressive SUV with excellent performance and handling and a surprisingly powerful turbo inline six cylinder engine.
And if you want, you can also get it as a plugin hybrid, which will save you a lot of money on gas and even has a dedicated electric range of around 26 miles or 42 kilometers.
The CX 90 also has a beautifully designed interior with luxurious finishes, great technology, and plenty of space for passengers and all your stuff.
It also has a top-notch safety score from the IIHS. And Mazda has also built one of the best reputations for reliability on the market, which means it should be a very safe choice if you’re buying for long-term ownership.
This is especially true of the plugin hybrid, which uses a time tested Mazda Skyactiv for cylinder engine with proven reliability. All in all, an excellent choice to go for.
Kia Sorento
On the surface, the Sorento appears to have a lot of attractive qualities. It has a nice design, lots of impressive technology.
You can get it as a hybrid or a plugin hybrid, and it appears to offer good value with one of the longest warranties in the market.
The major issue with it is that the reliability has just not been that great. It has received poor reliability ratings from consumer reports, ISee cars and Car edge, and there have been a few significant quality issues and even safety recalls.
The most common complaints include transmission failure and transmission problems with the eight speed dual clutch transmission, which comes on the higher trims.
There have also been some reported engine issues in various electronic problems.
The safest models seem to be the hybrids which actually have the fewest report issues, but really I’d say you’re better off picking a different SUV altogether.
Honda Pilot
If you want a spacious and practical mid-sized SUV. A much better option to go for instead would be the Honda Pilot.
Unlike the Sorento, the pilot does have a very well proven reputation when it comes to reliability.
It uses a time-tested three and a half liter naturally aspirated V six engine, which has been proven to be extremely reliable with very few report issues.
And because the pilot is known for being reliable, it also has amazing resale value and very high owner satisfaction ratings.
It also has an excellent safety score from the IIHS. It comes packed with a lot of great technology and a very spacious and practical interior.
And if you don’t need to have a three row SUV, you could also consider going for the Honda passport, which comes with all the same amazing benefits of the pilot in a slightly smaller package.
Buick Enclave
one mid-size SUV that you certainly should not be buying is the Buick Enclave. The enclave is Buick’s mid-size three row SUV, that shares the same platform with the Chevrolet Traverse and the GMC Acadia.
The issue with the enclave is that it has had a rocky reputation when it comes to its reliability.
Most of the issue center around the 3.6 liter V six engine and the nine speed automatic transmission, both of which have a number of report issues including complete engine or transmission failure.
Although these issues are certainly not overly common, they are still a major concern, especially for those who don’t have impeccable maintenance.
And really why should you be buying a vehicle that’s so fragile that it needs to be over maintained just in order to run reliably doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
And because of its build quality concerns, the enclave has rather poor resale value and it’s also extremely expensive for what you’re getting.
It’s worth mentioning that GM has recently redesigned the enclaves platform cousins, both the Traverse and the Acadia. Only time will tell whether they’ve addressed all of these issues,.
Toyota 4 Runner
let’s move on to the next SUV that you should be buying And that is the Toyota 4 Runner.
I think it’s very safe to say that if you want to have one of the most reliable and best built mid-sized SUVs available right now, you really can’t do any better than the 4 Runner.
A combination of having a strong heavy duty truck platform being manufactured in one of the best manufacturing plants in Japan, and also having a very simple but also well proven four liter V six engine and five speed automatic transmission means that this is one of the most reliable SUVs that you can buy today.
I think very few could argue that if you had to bet on one brand new vehicle reaching half a million miles while having the fewest number of issues, there’s no better pick than the for runner.
This is also a very capable off-road. SUV, it’s excellent for towing, has a very spacious and practical interior, and because it’s so well made, has very strong resale value.
Now, the forerunner is certainly not perfect. It has pretty poor fuel economy, has rather dated technology and is not the most comfortable SUV to drive.
But if you can get around these concerns, there’s no question it’s an excellent choice to go for.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
The next SUV on the list, which is the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Although the Grand Cherokee is a very popular mid-sized SUV, it does have a few concerns that you need to be aware of.
Jeep has never really been known for having the best reliability and the Grand Cherokee is certainly no exception to that, although some owners have been very happy with them.
You can also find just as many owners who have had constant reliability issues and repairs can be surprisingly expensive.
The build quality of the Grand Cherokee just seems to be really hit or miss, which also impacts its resale value, which is certainly not the greatest.
And that’s also due to the fact that the Grand Cherokee is just an extremely expensive SUV to buy far more expensive than many other SUVs that it competes with.
So even though it is a nicely designed SUV, it does have good performance and capability and also comes with some good technology.
It’s just way too expensive and has too many build quality concerns to really be worth recommending. ‘.
Toyota Grand Highlander
The next SUV that you should be buying. We have the Toyota Grand Highlander, if you like some of the benefits that you get with the Four Runner, but you want something that’s more fuel efficient, more comfortable, and more up to date with technology, then the Grand Highlander is an excellent choice, essentially a larger and much more spacious version of the Highlander, which is also a great SUV.
The Grand Highlander is easily one of the best choices in the three row SUV segment.
It offers a few different drivetrain options, a conventional gas engine, a really fuel efficient hybrid or a high performance hybrid with the hybrid max, all of which are great choices.
It also comes with a lot of great features and technology. It has a great safety rating and it offers excellent value for everything that you’re getting.
It might not be the fanciest SUV, but it certainly does excel in all the most important areas that really matter to most consumers. And for that, it’s a really easy recommendation.
Volkswagen Atlas
The next SUV, which is the Volkswagen Atlas. Now admittedly, the Atlas does have a lot of qualities that do make it a really attractive choice.
It does have a nice design, a well put together, feature packed interior, and it does have a ton of interior space and cargo space.
The issue with the Atlas, much like the other worst SUVs on this list is that the reliability just hasn’t been the greatest.
Some owners have certainly been lucky and very happy with them, but the Atlas has had a lot of reported reliability issues and most of these issues center around the engine transmission, but mostly they’re electronic related.
And the issue with Volkswagen is that their repair costs are definitely not that cheap. Unfortunately, Volkswagens are known for being extremely expensive to repair here in North America, certainly a lot more than most of their rivals.
So unfortunately, the Atlas is just not the greatest choice to own past the warranty period. And you are better off buying one of the other SUVs instead.
And that brings us to the last two vehicles on this list. Now, I just couldn’t finish off this list without including at least one or two luxury brands.
Lexus RX
And if I had to pick one mid-sized luxury SUV to be the absolute best pick, well, it would have to be the Lexus RX All things considered.
It’s really tough to find a safer pick for a mid-sized SUV. Then the Lexus rx, its reputation for reliability is absolutely legendary and has been very consistent over the past 25 years.
And that strong reliability and very low cost of repair also helps it to maintain really high resale value much better than almost any other comparable luxury SUV.
The RX is also extremely well designed with a really well made and super comfortable interior that comes packed with a lot of great technology.
The RX also has an exceptional safety score, and you can get it in a few different options depending on what you’re looking for.
The RX 350 has a conventional gas engine, or you can get a hybrid or a high performance hybrid with the RX 350 H or 500 H, and it’s even now available as a plug-in hybrid with the RX 450 H plus.
Whichever way you go, there’s no easier luxury SUV to recommend than the Lexus rx.
Land Rover
The last SUV, which safe to say is the complete opposite, and that would be any Land Rover.
Now I know it’s not great to generalize an entire brand, but in this case I think it’s a pretty safe conclusion.
Unfortunately, the entire Range Rover lineup, whether you’re looking at the discovery, the discovery sport, the Range Rover Velar or the full size Range Rover have all just been plagued with so many repair and reliability concerns that they’re just too difficult to recommend.
Admittedly, there have been a lot of happy owners, but unfortunately there have also been just as many unhappy ones that have had constant reliability issues.
These include everything from engine and drivetrain problems to ongoing electrical problems, all of which are extremely expensive to repair.
It’s extremely difficult to go into a Land Rover dealership and not come out with a four figure repair bill.
That’s just the way it is And because of these issues, land Rovers not only have the highest cost of ownership, but they also have the worst resale value because used car buyers are just afraid to go anywhere near them.
They really are among the very best, but they just have
Way too many concerns, especially in the long run to make them worth recommending, which is why I’m putting them in last place.
So there you have it. Let me know what you thought of this list and which of these vehicles would you consider buying.