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CTV News
4 days ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Edmunds: Best SUVs for under US$30,000 ranked
This photo provided by Nissan shows the 2025 Kicks. Nissan redesigned the Kicks this year to give it a more stylish design and new technology features. (Courtesy of Nissan North America via AP) Just about every automaker these days offers an entry-level SUV. Though they are smaller than the most popular SUVs, such as the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, their appeal is obvious. They are affordable, good on gas, and are easy to drive and park. They also provide many of the attributes shoppers love about SUVs, such as a more commanding view of the road than a sedan offers and available all-wheel drive for extra traction on icy or snowy roads. But which one should you get? Edmunds' team of automotive experts have undertaken thousands of miles of testing in order to provide a ranked list of the five best SUVs under US$30,000. They're ordered below based on Edmunds' testing and rankings. All of the following prices include destination charges. Nissan Kicks Redesigned for the 2025 model year, the Nissan Kicks has gone from being a forgettable wallflower to a small SUV extrovert. Based on design alone, the new Kicks is a major step forward from its predecessor. For the first time, all-wheel drive is optional on Nissan's smallest and least expensive SUV. All three available trims — S, SV, SR — easily fall under Edmunds' budget cap of US$30,000. The top SR trim is a particularly impressive value thanks to its big display screens and many standard driver assist features. Edmunds discovered a few downsides in the newly stylish Kick, such as tepid acceleration and disappointing real-world fuel economy. But overall the Kicks is a great way to spend a little and get a lot. 2025 Nissan Kicks starting price: US$23,220 Honda HR-V Honda knows a thing or two about building easy-to-drive and comfortable SUVs. The compact CR-V is hugely popular, and its smaller sibling, the HR-V, is similarly appealing. This choice is especially appealing if space is a priority for you. The HR-V has a big cargo area for this size of SUV, and headroom and legroom for rear passengers are generous. We also like the HR-V's upscale interior design and competitive value for what you're paying. The main downside to the HR-V is its lack of power. You'll need some patience for passing and getting up to speed on the highway. 2026 HR-V starting price: US$27,595 Buick Envista The sleek and stylish Envista could get fashion-conscious SUV shoppers into a Buick dealership for the first time. It's one of the more head-turning shapes among small SUVs, yet Edmunds' testers found the Envista is much more than a pretty face. The Envista is longer than most of its rivals, and that contributes to adult-friendly legroom in either row. A sizable and intuitive-to-use 11-inch touchscreen is standard. But be aware that the Envista's tapering roofline does take a bite out of cargo volume. Also, all-wheel drive isn't available. 2025 Envista starting price: US$25,195 Chevrolet Trax Edmunds found the small size and light weight of the Trax make it genuinely entertaining to drive. The handling is precise and, while it's no road rocket, acceleration is above par among subcompact SUVs. It's also fuel-efficient. Just keep in mind, like the Envista, all-wheel drive is not available. The Trax delivers big on passenger space, cargo volume and value. The trunk is roomy, and even the base trim comes with an 8-inch touchscreen, wireless smartphone connectivity, automatic high beams, and a Wi-Fi hotspot. 2025 Trax starting price: US$21,895 2025 Hyundai Kona The Hyundai Kona sits at the top of Edmunds' rankings for extra-small SUVs. Edmunds singled out the Kona's roomy and modern-looking interior for praise, especially when it is optioned with the available 12.3-inch digital instrument panel mounted alongside the standard 12.3-inch touchscreen. Every Kona also comes standard with many driver assist features such as adaptive cruise control and blind-spot warning. One negative: The Kona's upper trims, though impressively equipped, nudge against or exceed our US$30,000 pricing barrier. Also, Edmunds noted the soft and springy suspension takes some fun out of piloting the otherwise overachieving Kona. 2025 Kona starting price: US$26,000 Edmunds says: When it comes to how they drive and the features they offer, small SUVs have grown up a lot in the past few years. Some stand taller than others thanks to their blend of pricing, driving dynamics, interior space and efficiency. In this instance, the versatile Hyundai Kona emerges as the winner. ____________ Nick Kurczewski, The Associated Press This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds. Nick Kurczewski is a contributor at Edmunds.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Associated Press
Edmunds: The best SUVs for under $30,000, ranked
Just about every automaker these days offers an entry-level SUV. Though they are smaller than the most popular SUVs, such as the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, their appeal is obvious. They are affordable, good on gas, and are easy to drive and park. They also provide many of the attributes shoppers love about SUVs, such as a more commanding view of the road than a sedan offers and available all-wheel drive for extra traction on icy or snowy roads. But which one should you get? Edmunds' team of automotive experts have undertaken thousands of miles of testing in order to provide a ranked list of the five best SUVs under $30,000. They're ordered below based on Edmunds' testing and rankings. All of the following prices include destination charges. Nissan Kicks Redesigned for the 2025 model year, the Nissan Kicks has gone from being a forgettable wallflower to a small SUV extrovert. Based on design alone, the new Kicks is a major step forward from its predecessor. For the first time, all-wheel drive is optional on Nissan's smallest and least expensive SUV. All three available trims — S, SV, SR — easily fall under Edmunds' budget cap of $30,000. The top SR trim is a particularly impressive value thanks to its big display screens and many standard driver assist features. Edmunds discovered a few downsides in the newly stylish Kick, such as tepid acceleration and disappointing real-world fuel economy. But overall the Kicks is a great way to spend a little and get a lot. 2025 Nissan Kicks starting price: $23,220 Honda HR-V Honda knows a thing or two about building easy-to-drive and comfortable SUVs. The compact CR-V is hugely popular, and its smaller sibling, the HR-V, is similarly appealing. This choice is especially appealing if space is a priority for you. The HR-V has a big cargo area for this size of SUV, and headroom and legroom for rear passengers are generous. We also like the HR-V's upscale interior design and competitive value for what you're paying. The main downside to the HR-V is its lack of power. You'll need some patience for passing and getting up to speed on the highway. 2026 HR-V starting price: $27,595 Buick Envista The sleek and stylish Envista could get fashion-conscious SUV shoppers into a Buick dealership for the first time. It's one of the more head-turning shapes among small SUVs, yet Edmunds' testers found the Envista is much more than a pretty face. The Envista is longer than most of its rivals, and that contributes to adult-friendly legroom in either row. A sizable and intuitive-to-use 11-inch touchscreen is standard. But be aware that the Envista's tapering roofline does take a bite out of cargo volume. Also, all-wheel drive isn't available. 2025 Envista starting price: $25,195 Chevrolet Trax Edmunds found the small size and light weight of the Trax make it genuinely entertaining to drive. The handling is precise and, while it's no road rocket, acceleration is above par among subcompact SUVs. It's also fuel-efficient. Just keep in mind, like the Envista, all-wheel drive is not available. The Trax delivers big on passenger space, cargo volume and value. The trunk is roomy, and even the base trim comes with an 8-inch touchscreen, wireless smartphone connectivity, automatic high beams, and a Wi-Fi hotspot. 2025 Trax starting price: $21,895 2025 Hyundai Kona The Hyundai Kona sits at the top of Edmunds' rankings for extra-small SUVs. Edmunds singled out the Kona's roomy and modern-looking interior for praise, especially when it is optioned with the available 12.3-inch digital instrument panel mounted alongside the standard 12.3-inch touchscreen. Every Kona also comes standard with many driver assist features such as adaptive cruise control and blind-spot warning. One negative: The Kona's upper trims, though impressively equipped, nudge against or exceed our $30,000 pricing barrier. Also, Edmunds noted the soft and springy suspension takes some fun out of piloting the otherwise overachieving Kona. 2025 Kona starting price: $26,000 Edmunds says When it comes to how they drive and the features they offer, small SUVs have grown up a lot in the past few years. Some stand taller than others thanks to their blend of pricing, driving dynamics, interior space and efficiency. In this instance, the versatile Hyundai Kona emerges as the winner. ____________ This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds. Nick Kurczewski is a contributor at Edmunds.
The Verge
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Verge
BMW iX3 prototype drive: your next-gen EV is nearly here
There's a fight for control going on inside the cockpits of many modern cars. Enable all the active safety systems in a Tesla, and it'll do most of the steering for you. But if it makes an errant turn or meanders a little too far this way or that in the lane (and trust me, it will), you're left wrestling the wheel out of Autopilot's virtual hands. Assistance systems from other manufacturers do better at ceding control whenever you feel like taking over, but BMW is about to take that to a new level with the first car built on its upcoming Neue Klasse platform. It includes an advanced driver assist system that the company says is a proper symbiosis, where the car's sensors and systems don't fight with or yell at you but instead work with you to make driving safer and less stressful. I sampled this suite in a prototype of BMW's iX3, the first electric SUV on the Neue Klasse platform, designed from the ground up to offer more range, better handling, and way more smarts. BMW is promising 400 miles of range from a new battery architecture that can charge at up to 400 kW. That means adding something like 200 miles of range in 10 minutes, but there's a lot more to it than that. Better brains At the core of the iX3's safety system is a computing platform that BMW calls a 'superbrain.' That's an evocative term for a Qualcomm Snapdragon Ride chip, but it does offer far more power than anything the company has put on the road before. That's paired with a more advanced sensor suite, with better cameras and higher-fidelity radar sensors, all combined to give a better view of the world around. One of those key sensors is the driver monitoring suite, which can detect where you're looking and whether you're paying attention while behind the wheel. Plenty of cars offer some degree of monitoring like this, usually nagging you with beeping and blinking unpleasantries when your eyes linger on a roadside distraction for too long. The iX3 goes beyond that by using eye-tracking technology to not just complain, but actually improve your experience. If you're driving down the highway and BMW's highway assistant is active, it'll steer itself and even change lanes. In some current BMWs, you can just look in the mirror to initiate a lane change. The iX3 takes that a step further by proactively putting on the turn signal for you should you take the wheel and change lanes yourself. Yes, finally, a BMW designed to tackle the most common preconception about BMW drivers: they never signal before changing lanes. Try to change lanes manually without checking the blind spot, the lane-keep assistance system will resist the change and try to keep you where you are. But, if you've looked first, the car won't resist your control at all, as you've proved to it that you're doing your part. The car will detect your attention in other ways, too. I had a chance to drive next to a dummy pedestrian standing partially in my lane. Without any input from me, the car came smoothly to a stop. But, when I tried again, steering slightly to the left and showing that I was paying attention, the car allowed me to move out of the lane without resistance. Smooth driving, smoother stopping I also got a chance to sample the other brain inside the new iX3, which the company has unfortunately labeled 'Heart of Joy.' This in-house developed processor aggregates all the traction, stability, and electric motor management functions that are typically handled by a dozen different processors sourced from a dozen different suppliers and scattered throughout the car. Unifying all that has some significant implications. The car can more quickly and seamlessly manage power to the dual motors that give it 400 horsepower and all-wheel drive, so when I was sliding the camouflaged prototype around a wet test track, it felt like the stability and traction control systems were working to help me, rather than just trying desperately to slow me down. But when it was time to pause the action, something almost magical happened. On a test track, I was told to close my eyes and let the iX3 bring itself to a stop. That process of deceleration was so smooth that I genuinely couldn't tell when the wheels had stopped rolling. The new systems controlling those electric motors allow more precise application of the regenerative braking function. That not only means smoother one-pedal driving, but the kind of perfectly controlled stop that'll keep your passengers from getting jostled at every red light. An irresistible EV? Ultra-smooth stopping is a small thing, but it really does increase the comfort of driving around in the iX3. By the end of the day, I was blown away by everything BMW's new EV brings to the table. And that's on top of the big, dashboard-spanning Panoramic Vision display, which runs from one pillar to another to provide a customizable and interactive information display. The big question, though, is whether any of this will be enough to convince the largely EV-skeptical luxury car buyers out there that all this is good enough to finally make the switch away from internal combustion. The company's gas-powered X3 is consistently one of its top sellers, and while that isn't going away, BMW clearly has high hopes that the iX3 will bring that kind of sales success to its battery-powered efforts. But it's just the first of multiple models planned on this Neue Klasse platform, all with the same combination of tech and finesse. If they're successful, maybe the world can finally put that BMW blinker stigma to bed for good.
Top Gear
02-06-2025
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Skoda Enyaq Interior Layout & Technology
Interior What is it like on the inside? All very tasteful. And conventional too. It's less annoying than, say, the inside of an ID.4, chiefly because it has fewer of those infuriating touch sensitive buttons and sliders. For example, the steering wheel has a smattering of normal buttons and a clickwheel for volume: they're far easier to use than the VW's touchpads, and there's significantly less risk of accidentally muting the radio whenever you turn left. Ahead of the driver is an unusually small 5in screen – a far cry from some of the giant digital clusters we've become used to, it really only displays speed, charge, trip info and the status of the adaptive cruise control. But it's clear and easy to read, and useful info like satnav directions or radio station can be displayed on the head-up display. Advertisement - Page continues below What about the infotainment? The central screen is a generous 13 inches. It does take a little while to wake up when you switch the car on, which is annoying if you're in a rush. But after that it responds pretty quickly to your inputs and has a sensible UI. At the top of the screen sits a row of customisable shortcuts (to driver assist settings etc), while quick access to the climate controls/heated seats is via a band that runs across the bottom of the touchscreen – whether you're looking at the map, radio, Apple CarPlay or anything else. A touch slider directly under the screen does volume and temperature (a little awkwardly – don't rest your hand there to use the screen while you're driving). Meanwhile a row of proper physical buttons underneath the screens offers access to the driver assist modes (turning off the speed limit and lane keep assist is two presses away), drive modes, climate controls, de-mist functions and so on. Advertisement - Page continues below Will my passengers enjoy the ride? All the seats are comfortable and there's plenty of room for people and things. The flat floor means it's easy to sit three abreast in the back. Shame the rear bench doesn't slide about like it does in a Kodiaq, but there's decent legroom anyway. Up front the driving position is well judged. Clever Skoda-y touches include an umbrella secreted in the driver's door and an ice scraper hidden in the tailgate. There's no storage space under the bonnet like you get other EVs, but the big boot is 585 litres with the seats up and 1,710 litres with them all folded flat. That's more than you get in the VW ID.4 and Audi Q4 e-tron. Cable storage is under the boot floor with a compartment right by the lip, which means you don't have to empty out your clobber to get at your cables. But if you're fully loaded it still means shoving bits and pieces about. Hmm. Why no storage net under the parcel shelf like you get in the Elroq?
Edmunds
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Edmunds
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Long Term Update: Luxury on a Budget?
Hyundai offering a luxury trim might seem a little incongruous considering the same company has a legitimate luxury brand known as Genesis. However, Hyundai isn't alone in this. Think about the Chevy Tahoe and its High Country trim, which offers a ton of luxury features even though the mechanically similar Cadillac Escalade exists. It's because the brands appeal to different kinds of buyers, and along the same lines, some Hyundai shoppers would never think of shopping at a Genesis store. It also lets those who have fallen in love with the Santa Fe's blocky styling get a few extra bells and whistles. What does the Calligraphy add? Our Santa Fe cost us $51,425 with the $1,415 destination charge included, with the only options being the $1,000 matte-finish paint job and $210 carpeted floor mats. Opting for the Calligraphy gets you Nappa leather seats, which are softer than the regular leather you get in a Santa Fe Limited, and they feature eight-way adjustability for the passenger. There's also a "relaxation" setting for the driver and front passenger, which reclines and adjusts the seat into an optimal napping position when you're parked. You also get two wireless charging pads instead of one, a head-up display on the windshield, two-tone leather on the steering wheel, a faux suede headliner, and a more advanced driver assist system. In the rear, the second row gets a pair of ultra-comfy captain's chairs instead of the three-across bench in the rest of the lineup.
