SUVs are the sought-after vehicles on the market. They have moved beyond their trail-conquering roots and subsumed just about every market segment, from inveterate family hauler to high-performance monster. That also includes affordable cars now too. Buyers who once would have been limited to sedans and econoboxes can now buy a new crossover.
Cheap SUVs are not world-beaters. They typically have underpowered base engines. And they won't overwhelm you with interior quality. But they can deliver some ride height, cargo space and capability. And several newer ones even bring some sleek exterior style.
Here are the cheapest SUVs you can buy in 2022. Note that a vehicle had to have all-wheel drive available to meet our definition of SUV, which precluded some vehicles like the Hyundai Venue.
The Cheapest SUVs You Can Buy in 2022
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Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Outlander Sport is the cheapest SUV you can get AWD with. It's not particularly sexy or fun to drive (you get what you're willing to pay for). But it does come with a 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty.
The Kona is Hyundai's subcompact SUV that slots between the Venue and the Tucson. It's fun to drive — particularly with the perkier engines — and that quality (not its stingy cargo space) is why jurors named it the North American SUV of the Year in 2019.
The EcoSport was the sort of drab crossover Ford created the Maverick to destroy — and it will be one of its first victims leaving the lineup after 2022. In its favor, it comes with standard AWD and has a 2,000-pound tow rating, if you're the sort of person who would use an EcoSport to tow.
The Corolla is seldom the sexiest car on the road. Its superpower is being a cockroach that you can't kill. The Corolla Cross, as the name suggests, is the Corolla but a crossover.
We're huge fans of the Mazda 3 hatchback. But the markets want SUVs, not hatchbacks. Mazda essentially lifted a Mazda 3, cladded it a bit and called it a CX-30 crossover. It's brilliant.
Kia scored a major hit with the Telluride. The Seltos, which launched a year after, is Kia's attempt to be that but a subcompact. Fully loaded, it will blow away much of the competition with its combo of looks, space and perky driving dynamics.
Chevy revived the Trailblazer nameplate for the 2020 model year...as a tiny crossover. It looks great, borrowing a bit of style from the bigger Blazer crossover. It offers a decent amount of space. But by most accounts isn't that spectacular to drive.
The Crosstrek is Subaru's smallest and cheapest SUV. It's probably the most capable SUV off-road on this with Subaru's AWD (standard) and 8.7 inches of ground clearance. Alas, the Crosstrek also takes about 8.7 seconds to reach 60 mph with its base engine.
If you were product planning for Honda, you'd want "the 11th-generation Civic...but a crossover." That almost literally is the all-new 2023 Honda HR-V, a great value crossover plagued by an underwhelming engine.
The Taos is VW's all-new entry-level compact crossover model for 2022, which slots in below the Tiguan. It's a de facto replacement for the Volkswagen Golf and — as much as it pains us to admit this — meets present needs and tastes better than the Mk8 Golf would have
