Best SUVs Under $30,000

If you are planning to buy a new car, an SUV is likely to be on your short list. If that's the case, your options are too wide-whether you want ultra-small, full size, or anything in between, SUVs can be found in almost every price range, with shapes, size and power configurations.

Here, we rank the best SUVs in each market segment based on approximately 200 data points covering acceleration, handling, comfort, cargo space, fuel efficiency, value for money, and driving pleasure. Car and Driver's ranking is based on the results of a large number of instrument tests we conduct on hundreds of cars every year, as well as the intuitive experience our expert editors gain while actually driving. We take rankings very seriously because we want you to have a comprehensive understanding of every car you are interested in.

Car and Driver's rankings are based on the results of extensive instrument testing of hundreds of vehicles every year, as well as subjective evaluations accumulated by professional editors during actual road driving. We selected the best SUV under $30,000 based on approximately 200 data points covering acceleration, handling, comfort, cargo space, fuel efficiency, cost performance and driving pleasure. We take rankings very seriously because we want you to have a comprehensive understanding of the models you are interested in. The vast majority of this list are small SUVs, but there are also some compact SUVs that cost just under $30,000.