Our Top-5 Luxury Compact SUVs for 2023 // Which one would you pick?

here's our top five luxury compact SUV picks welcome to the motor mouth YouTube channel I'm Zach I'm Andrea and we do these throughout the year so if you like what you see here it would be great if you could subscribe okay so Andrew and I we get the list together and we don't rank them from five to one no we've put them in alphabetical order and here's why everybody has different needs and wants for each vehicle and so we're going to go through the pros and cons of each and we'll let you decide which one you would put as number one two three four five yeah so you can decide so one one person might really like value the other person puts a premium on sportiness another one puts it on room so it's going to be different for everyone reliability smoother ride a quiet cabin we're gonna go through it all all right and at the end we have some honorable mentions vehicles that didn't make the list but are still worth considering and one of them is very important you have to watch at the end because it's going to be replaced uh very soon so let's get into it first in alphabet medical order is the Acura RDX we always chose this one as our value trim and in the United States it still is the luxury compact SUV to beat in terms of price but in Canada oh they've done something different haven't they Andrew yeah you know when I was doing a little research for this video I noticed for 2023 in Canada the RDX only has two trims and they are a spec trims so you've got a base a-spec and then you've got a platinum Ace back so I put an email out to Acura because they thought maybe they just haven't added these trims for 2023 on the website no those are the only trims available and the starting price of the Acura RDX is over 57 000 now comes with lots of features you would be happy with that trim but what about that price point that was under fifty thousand dollars well in the United States it's a totally different story they still have all of the entry level trims and it starts at just over forty one thousand dollars yes and that's why it's on the list is because it still is for many people around North America the value trim and the reason behind this you probably have to back up just a little bit is Honda has really put the prices up of the Honda vehicles like the CRV in Canada now the top CRV is 50 Grand well you couldn't have an Acura starting less remember it used to start less than that for sure and I think that's why they've done this I remember the RDX dirty in Canada at around forty five thousand dollars a great price point okay let's get into why this vehicle is also great choice for maybe your family first of all it has just one engine and it's a powerful turbo four-cylinder engine and that could be a negative as well because there is only one powertrain right no plug-in hybrid option or a hybrid just that gas model but it is terrific and I think that if you're a growing family out of all the vehicles in this segment you would be happy with the RDX that rear seat has a flat floor so if you have to take three across they'll be pretty comfortable back there and lots of cargo space there's some other negatives as well Acura has married themselves to the track pad infotainment system so they have the big screens and everybody likes that but the way you interact with it is through this silly track pad it's not our favorite people who own these tell us they get used to it but something to consider that's why there's no five to one some people will like this some people won't and I really like the sporty drive and the steering isn't too heavy not too light it's a real balance I also think the interior is well done you've got ultra suede and there's very little hard plastic which I was surprised about all right you want to do this backs yep the RDX has a two liter turbocharged four-cylinder with a 10-speed automatic transmission 272 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque standard all-wheel drive in Canada in the us both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options are available all right let's get into the pricing the US in a second we'll start with Canada it only starts with the ace back in Canada and it's just over fifty seven thousand dollars the base RDX in the United States is 41 and a half thousand dollars and goes up to fifty three and a half thousand dollars here's the fuel economy 11 liters per hundred kilometers in the city 8.6 on the highway that's 21 miles per gallon City 27 miles per gallon highway and our next vehicle alphabetically is Audi with the Q5 and so why is the Audi Q5 still on our list well we call the Q5 the best all-rounder it doesn't excel at anything it just kind of finds that balance for people it does a lot well it's Audi's best-selling product and the one thing about it ever since it came out they haven't really changed the design that much because one thing they found out from Audi owners they like the way it looks they like the size of the vehicle so a lot of those components when it was very first introduced are still true today it really is a great all-rounder it delivers a luxury badge good room decent power and the price isn't crazy either yeah and it really has a modern look to it and you know from one Q5 to the next you'll be hard-pressed to know what year it is and I think that that's a perk for many who keep their vehicles for a longer period of time I do find that the interior needs some sort of a refresh the screen that sits on top of the dash is a bit of an afterthought in my opinion and because Audi got rid of the dial at the center console to control that screen they have some weird storage solutions that really can't fit much of anything okay so why did they do that they went to a touch screen because everybody's using their phones they want Android and Apple integration in the touchscreen and Audi found that the dial MMI controller wasn't the best for doing that so they got rid of it but they just left a big hole in the dash you could put change in there but it does kind look like they didn't really think it through that well and you know we're going to see a more integrated screen in there like the Q3 and the Q7 and I think that Audi's virtual cockpit is probably one of the best in the business this offers a sporty Drive I find the steering for myself to be a little bit too light but that's also appealing to many it's a great family vehicle because people in the back seat you know it's not huge it is in the compact class but it's roomy enough it's got good cargo space and it gives that sort of upscale Vibe because it's a German product but you know what it has a lot going for it including you wouldn't think this there's actually some good value so let's get into the specs the Q5 has four powertrain options the base model is a two liter turbocharged four-cylinder with a seven-speed automatic transmission 201 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque the q545 has the same powertrain but more power 261 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque the SQ5 has a three liter turbocharged V6 with 349 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque and then there's the q5e a plug-in hybrid with a combined 362 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque you get 37 kilometers 23 miles of EV range let's get into pricing we'll do Canada first and then flip to the United States first up is the Q5 with the base engine is under 50 Grand at 48 400 if you get the SQ5 it starts at seventy thousand dollars Canadian and if you get the q5e that starts at 76 000 Canadian here's the pricing for the United States the base model starts at just over forty four thousand dollars the SQ5 starts at 56 and a half thousand dollars and the plug-in hybrid the q5e starts at 57 and a half thousand dollars here's the fuel economy the q540 5 gets 10.6 liters per hundred kilometers in the city 8.2 on the highway that's 23 miles per gallon City 29 miles per gallon highway the SQ5 gets 12.5 liters per hundred kilometers in the city 9.7 on the highway that's 19 miles per gallon City 24 miles per gallon highway the q5e that plug-in hybrid gets 3.9 liters equivalent per 100 kilometers combined that's 60 miles per gallon equivalent combined next up is the vehicle that started it all for the luxury compact SUV the BMW X3 and it's a fantastic choice it's a great all-rounder but then if you want a performance model you can get that with the X3 it is also a vehicle that is available with so many different engine choices even a plug-in but at its core it's still like the Audi Q5 is just a great all-rounder for family duties and it's gotten not really that much bigger on the outside but much bigger on the inside over the years well it offers a lot of rear leg room and cargo space so once again like the RDX if you've got a growing family and you want to stick with this compact class and not move up to a mid-size the X3 is such a great choice and I actually find that the X3 offers a smoother ride now than it did before it used to have a bit of a firmer suspension and BMW has really tweaked that along with the steering that you can adjust the steering that it's a little bit heavier but also lighter and it's still a great choice as we mentioned they invented this class and they've kept the grill under control too for a BMW haven't they it still looks really good the X3 some cons of the X3 I actually found that they had quite a bit of plastic in it I think it depends on you know what trim that you're getting I think it's priced fairly well oh yeah even the seats like they now come with sensate which is actually not bad for a faux leather but you've got to pay extra for vernaca and that's across the board on all BMW SUVs that they come with sensatech now save your money on the vernaska leather in our opinion this premium it's a premium price tag to get the veraska leather it feels worse than the synthetic leather I would just go with the base leather or go all the way up to their top sort of high yeah get the real leather otherwise if you're trying to keep your price point down which you can do on the X3 you know add a package here and there or an A La Carte item if you want to keep the price down you can but if you want all of those extras my goodness the X3 pricing can really climb as well okay so the one I would pick is not the one most people pick most people go for the turbo four-cylinder that's the case with all of these vehicles the one I would choose is get it while you can the inline six cylinder that's the 40i it's more expensive granted but it comes already standard with a lot of M packaged goodies like suspension and steering so that's in there and that engine of all of these vehicles I think is the sweetest it is the sweetest but you'll also pay for that sweet engine as well uh if it's within your budget great if it's not that two liter turbocharged four-cylinder is also a good one let's get into the specs the X3 has four powertrains the bases we mentioned is a two liter turbo four-cylinder with an eight-speed automatic transmission 248 horsepower but good torque 258 pound feet the m40i the inline six is 382 horsepower and the M version of that engine is 503 horsepower there's also a more efficient 30e plug-in hybrid with 288 horsepower it gets 29 kilometers just 18 miles of EV range by the way the plug-in is only sold in Canada not in the US here's the pricing thing we'll start with Canada first and then move on to the U.S the base X3 starts at just over fifty five thousand dollars and in the U.S it's just over forty six thousand dollars here's the fuel economy the base model gets 11 liters per hundred kilometers in the city 8.4 on the highway that's 21 miles per gallon City 28 miles per gallon highway the m40i gets 10.9 liters per hundred kilometers in the city nine liters on the highway that's 21 miles per gallon City 26 miles per gallon highway and the plug-in hybrid gets 3.9 liters equivalent per 100 kilometers combined so you need to stick around we've only got two more to go in our top five we do have some honorable mentions Vehicles didn't make the list but they're still worth considering next under the letter G is what the Genesis gv70 oh man I remember driving that for the first time I was so impressed with this model so they have two engine choices actually they're going to have an EV coming any moment now so they have a 2.5 liter turbo four-cylinder and they have a 3.5 liter V6 turbo in our opinion the base 2.5 liter is the one to get it offers the best overall value it does offer the best overall value uh things have kind of changed with Genesis in Canada you don't get that base trim that started at under 50 000 Canadian remember that one now the Genesis in Canada starts over fifty seven thousand dollars so you're kind of up with where that Acura RDX is now but the thing is you get a lot for your money those trims come loaded yeah and you also get a more powerful engine and the interior is arguably a nicer interior than the Acura as well yeah and I think that um it's just really in my opinion a little bit more Polished in the Acura and one of the main reasons is it has an all-wheel drive system that is a rear wheel bias system where the Acura has an all-wheel drive system that's based on kind of a front-wheel drive system so it gives you a different driving Dynamic a little more sporty a little more German feeling in the Genesis some cons to it you know I don't love the center console and the way that it's laid out you've got the dial shifter but you also have the dial to control the touch screen and I find that I get that mixed up once in a while and I found that the seats are really comfortable in the Genesis and just that luxurious interior I mean it truly is a luxury experience and not for a huge huge crazy price now you might find the seats in the back of the gv70 to be fairly small it's definitely not one of the largest in this class and the other thing about Genesis models is that they don't come with Wireless Apple carplay and Android auto only wired all right let's get into the specs the gv70 has three powertrain options a 2.5 liter turbocharged four-cylinder with an 8-speed automatic transmission 300 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque work a 3.5 liter twin turbocharged V6 with 375 horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque finally an electrified gv70 with a 77.4 kilowatt hour battery and up to 383 kilometers 238 miles of EV range it has 429 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque pricing has not been announced yet for this model let's get into the pricing the US in a second here's Canada first two and a half liter turbo starts at 57.5 thousand dollars and the three and a half liter turbo at seventy and a half thousand dollars in the United States the base model starts at just over forty three thousand dollars and the three and a half liter turbo starts at just over fifty five thousand dollars the base 2.5 T fuel economy is 10.7 liters per hundred kilometer City 8.4 on the highway that's 22 miles per gallon City 28 miles per gallon highway the larger three and a half liter turbo is 12.9 liters per hundred kilometers in the city 10 on the highway that's 19 miles per gallon City 24 miles per gallon on the highway and our final vehicle rounding out our top five list is the Lexus NX with four powertrain options you're probably thinking oh is there something missing well stick around we're going to do those honorable mentions in just a second so the NX before it was updated for this uh this year was not our favorite and it didn't make our list in the past it did not yeah and they have really turned things around Alexis and this now is a vehicle that has so many different engine and drive systems plus a much better car and one of our favorite NX models is the hybrid not only is it fuel efficient but it's priced really well more of an affordable luxury premium hybrid option out there now some positives well you've got the new Lexus infotainment system and a larger touch screen is available but but you know that 9.8 inch touchscreen on the base model of the hybrid and some of the other models it's still a really good size it comes standard with Wireless Apple carplay and Android auto it's an intuitive system to use and I think that Lexus did a really good job with that okay so you can get the base gas model you can get the hybrid you can get the plug-in as well and you can now get a new turbocharged four-cylinder engine so as we mentioned there's lots of vehicles to choose from what doesn't change on all of the mandria is the back seat isn't the biggest no I think that's one of the downfalls back seat and cargo capacity you'll really have to check that out in the NX we've been driven around in an NX to get to an event we found it to be quite comfortable back there but there isn't a ton of space I would say for car seats and for growing teenagers I would say the NX is also really good all-rounder except for the space issue and it's a really good option for people who want to buy something that's kind of luxurious and doesn't kill them at the fuel pumps you know some cons I actually find that the interior on the lower trims you know what there's some extra piano black that I could do without and some hard plastic that I think that Lexus could make those lower trims maybe give it a little bit more of a luxury experience the other positive for this is you get Lexus on the steering wheel in the hood and that counts for you know really solid reliability so it's one of those Vehicles you could buy and you could sleep well at night one thing I'd like to add is that the NX comes with run flat tires so double check that if you are on a pretty rough pavement you're going to notice that the sound level of the cabin go up a bit but we did find driving it in Vancouver that it wasn't that loud and and we thought it was a much better experience than when we were on the highway for example in Toronto all right let's get into the specs the NX has four powertrain options the NX 250 with a 2.5 liter four-cylinder an 8-speed automatic transmission 203 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque the 350 has a 2.4 liter turbocharged 4-cylinder also with an 8-speed automatic transmission 275 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque the 350h the hybrid model has a 2.5 liter four-cylinder with Lexus Hybrid Drive matched to an ecvt it is a combined 240 horsepower the 450h the plug-in hybrid model a 2.5 liter four-cylinder with Lexis plug-in hybrid drive and ecvt and a combined 304 total system horsepower 61 kilometers 37 miles of EV range all models are all-wheel drive except the NX 250 there is a front-wheel drive option in the U.S let's get into pricing the US in a moment first Canada all of the numbers are on the screen the base 250 starts at just under forty eight thousand dollars in the United States the base model starts at just over forty thousand dollars let's get into the fuel economy with the 250 all-wheel drive 9.4 liters per 100 kilometer City 7.4 on the highway that's 25 miles per gallon City 32 miles per gallon highway next is the 350 that's the turbo four-cylinder 10.5 liters per 100 kilometer City 8.3 on the highway that's 22 miles per gallon City 29 miles per gallon highway the hybrid is only 5.7 liters per hundred kilometers in the city and 6.4 on the highway that's 41 miles per gallon in the city 37 miles per gallon on the highway the plug-in version of the hybrid gets 2.8 liters equivalent per 100 kilometers that's 84 miles per gallon equivalent combined now that's our top five lists those are the ones that we think will appeal to many buyers you're probably thinking to yourself Andrea and Zach where is that Porsche Macan what about the Mercedes-Benz GLC and what about the stelvio all right so we'll do the Mercedes first Mercedes-Benz is going to be introducing a brand new GLC just before summer so we didn't put it in because we're going to wait till we drive it and then we can always redo this video as Zach said there is a new GLC model coming this year but surprisingly this one holds up and is a great choice the interior feels like Curious the drivers are fine you've got that quick acceleration and the cabin is well insulated the Beast model has a 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with a 9-speed automatic transmission 255 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque it has a starting price of just over 51 and a half thousand dollars in Canada and just over 45 and a half thousand dollars in the U.S well here's one if you want to have a lot of fun the Alfa Romeo stelvio it has two powertrain options a two liter turbo four-cylinder and an eight-speed automatic transmission with 280 horsepower and 306 pound-feet of torque it is a very powerful Quattro folio version of the stelvio with 505 horsepower a starting price of fifty nine thousand dollars in Canada and forty eight and a half thousand dollars in the United States States a favorite of ours is the Porsche Macan it didn't make our list even though the base model is priced well once you start adding packages and a la carte items it really climbs and becomes an unaffordable option for many there are three powertrain options the base has a two liter turbocharged four-cylinder with a seven-speed automatic transmission 261 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque other models available include the mccon S with 375 horsepower and the GTS with 434 horsepower a maccon EV is coming soon and the last of our honorable mentions is the Volvo XC60 with three powertrain options including if you want it a plug-in hybrid model this is an elegant and sophisticated looking vehicle on the outside and the inside the base four-cylinder powertrains are matched to an eight-speed automatic and it has either a 240c 7 horsepower engine or 295 horsepower engine the plug-in hybrid model has 455 horsepower and you get 58 kilometers or 36 miles of EV range and the starting price of the Volvo XC60 is 51 and a half thousand dollars in Canada and 43 and a half thousand dollars in the United States so tell us what you think and you're going to tell us which one you would pick and why it might be price it might be space it might be power it might be handling it might be you know who knows reliability any of those yeah so that's why we did it this way and then what else do they have to do oh you got to subscribe hit that notification Bell you'll be notified when all of our reviews drop we put out a lot of different content each week and I think that you'll really enjoy it and also follow along on Instagram at motor mouth underscore Andrea I always put a sneak peek out of what's coming up what vehicles we're reviewing and when all those videos dropped and we'll see in the next one

Channel: Motormouth

Views: 555,299

Keywords: top-5 luxury compact SUV?, Best Luxury Compact SUV?, Which Compact Luxury SUV is relibale?, Which Luxury compcat SUV should I buy?, Acura RDX, audi q5, bmw x3, genesis gv70, lexus NX, porsche macan, alpha romeo stelvio, volvo CX-60, mercedes benz glc, mercedes glc, zack spencer, andrea spencer, zack spencer's wife, couple car review, motormouth

Id: uSV-CIl4pWM

Length: 24min 17sec (1457 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 07 2023