2026 Top-5 Compact SUVs plus a few more // Plus our overall pick!

This is a Motormouth couple car review of the to-5 compact SUVs for 2026 plus a few honourable mentions thrown in for good luck. Honda CR-V The Honda CR-V has two powertrain options, hybrid and gas. The hybrid has a 2L 4-cylinder with a pair of electric motors, it’s matched to an e-CVT and has a combined 204 horsepower and 247 lb-ft of torque, standard AWD in Canada. FWD and AWD options are available in the US. The base gas engine is a 1.5L turbocharged 4-cylinder matched to a CVT, 190 horsepower and 179 lb-ft of torque. FWD and AWD options are available.Consumer Reports gives the CR-V gas model an overall score of 79/100 and the Hybrid 83/100. JD Power gives the gas model an overall score of 83/100, the hybrid hasn’t been rated yet. Hyundai Tucson The Hyundai Tucson has three powertrain options, the gas model a 2.5L 4-cylinder with an 8-speed automatic transmission, 187 horsepower and 178 lb-ft of torque. FWD and AWD options are available. Both the hybrid and PHEV have a 1.6L turbocharged 4-cylinder with a 6-speed automatic transmission, the hybrid has a combined 231 horsepower and 271 lb-ft of torque. The PHEV a combined 268 horsepower and 271 lb-ft of torque. It has 51 km/32 miles of range. In Canada, standard AWD and in the US, FWD and AWD options are available for the hybrid, standard AWD for the PHEV. Reliability: Consumer Reports gives the Tucson gas model an overall score of 76/100, the Hybrid 82/100 and the PHEV 83/100. J.D. Power gives the gas model a score of 81/100. The hybrid and PHEV have not been rated. Kia Sportage The Kia Sportage has three powertrain options, the gas model is a 2.5L 4-cylinder with an 8-speed automatic transmission, 187 horsepower and 178 lb-ft of torque. FWD and AWD options are available. Both the hybrid and PHEV have a 1.6L turbocharged 4-cylinder with a 6-speed automatic transmission, the hybrid has a combined 232 horsepower and 271 lb-ft of torque. The PHEV a combined 268 horsepower and 271 lb-ft of torque. The plug-in hybrid gets 53 km/34 miles of range. In Canada, standard AWD and in the US, FWD and AWD options are available for the hybrid, standard AWD for the PHEV. Reliability: Consumer Reports give the Sportage gas model an overall score of 75/100 , the hybrid 74/100 and the PHEV 80/100. J.D. Power gives the gas model an overall score of 81/100. The hybrid and PHEV have not been rated. Subaru Forester The Forester has two powertrain options, the gas model, a 2.5L 4-cylinder engine matched to a CVT, 180 horsepower and 178 lb-ft of torque, standard AWD. The hybrid is a 2.5L 4-cylinder e-Boxer hybrid, it’s matched to a lineartronic CVT and gets a combined 194 horsepower and 199 lb-ft of torque, standard Symmetrical full-time AWD. Reliability: Consumer Reports gives the Forester a fantastic overall score, it’s the best of all of the vehicles on the list. The gas model a score of 93/100 and the hybrid 94/100. J.D. Power gives the gas model an overall score of 84/100. The hybrid has not been rated yet. Toyota RAV4 The Toyota RAV4 is offered in two electrified powertrain options, a Hybrid and Plug-in hybrid. The hybrid has a 2.5L 4-cylinder matched to an eCVT, it has the 5th generation hybrid system and gets a combined 236 horsepower. In Canada, standard AWD. In the US FWD and AWD options are available. The RAV4 plug-in hybrid has a 2.5L 4 cylinder matched to an eCVT, it gets a combined 324 horsepower. It uses the 6th generation PHEV system with two electric motors, it gets 84 km/52 miles of range. The GR Sport a little less 77 km/48 miles and the Woodland 79 km/49 miles of range. Standard AWD. Reliability: The new model hasn’t been rated yet but the 2025 RAV4 gets an overall score of 81/100 from Consumer Reports, the plug-in hybrid 88/100 and the gas model 76/100. J.D Power gives the RAV4 gas and hybrid an overall score of 79/100. The PHEV has not been rated.

Added 31 Jul 2026