Top-5 Compact SUVs // Our picks for 2023 plus a few more...

welcome to the motor mouth YouTube channel I'm Zach I'm Andrea and this is our top five compact SUVs for 2023. we did one last year and I'll put the card up here you can click on that at any time but things have changed Andrea um fuel economy right fuel economy new vehicles more hybrids more plug-in hybrids are available and I think with gas prices through the roof a lot of people are focusing on purchasing more fuel efficient vehicles and that's what we've done for our top five yeah so a couple have come out and a couple have gone in because of technology and fuel economy so what are we going to do at the end of our top five we have got some honorable mentions some that didn't make the list but are still great vehicles and I just want to clarify this is the non-luxury category yeah let's get into it now we got some heat last year we did because we didn't have the CRV in our top five yeah and a couple of reasons first off it was at the very end of its life cycle and was kind of old and dated and in the United States they offered a hybrid but in Canada they did not no they did not good news we've got a hybrid in Canada number five it's the Honda CRV the CRV has two powertrain options a gas model which is a 1.5 liter turbocharged four-cylinder matched to a CVT 190 horsepower and 179 pound-feet of torque front wheel drive and all-wheel drive options are available there's also the hybrid it's got a two liter four-cylinder and an ecvt 204 horsepower and standard all-wheel drive in Canada however front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options available in the U.S now there's positives and negatives to every vehicle some positives this is a much better CRV than the outgoing model better handling smoother right quieter cabin bigger also a whole new design on the outside and the inside I think the show stopper really is the dashboard they used in the Civic the HRV and now the CRV it's very pleasing to use and to interact with and all of that is good but it comes at a cost yeah so that's our biggest negative pricing especially in Canada the all-wheel drive base model is well over thirty seven thousand dollars compared to other competitors in Canada that's a four to almost seven thousand dollar difference in the U.S a little bit different you will pay a premium for a Honda but not that much more yeah there is a Honda premium but the Honda premium in the US is much easier to swallow yeah and why is the CRV in well the CRV is in because it's brand new and it is available with a hybrid but there is a reason why it's not higher on the list because in the United States the hybrid is available with a lower spec version however in Canada the hybrid is all only offered on the top Turing trim and it's 50 000 that's why this is at number five and not at number one it's also missing some features like a panoramic sunroof a 360 camera ventilated front seats and in some cases in Canada you have to go up to the top trim to get features like the Bose sound system navigation so the reality is there is some value here but you have to really dig for it yes and that's why it's at number five in Canada the first all-wheel drive model starts at just over 37 and a half thousand dollars and the hybrid is just over 48 and a half thousand dollars Canadian in the U.S the first all-wheel drive model is just over 32 and a half thousand dollars and the top hybrid sport touring is just over 38 and a half thousand dollars and here's the fuel economy on the screen for both the gas and hybrid model in number four spot it's the Mitsubishi Outlander because they came up with the Outlander gas model about a year ago and then they added in the phev version they look very similar but the phev has a lot more Tech and that's why it made the list because if you're wanting to save money on fuel this is an option The Outlander is a seven passenger SUV and has two powertrain options the gas and the plug-in hybrid the gas model has a 2.5 liter four-cylinder engine matched to a CVT with super all-wheel control 181 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque the plug-in version has a 2.4 liter four-cylinder Atkinson cycle with a CVT and a combined 248 horsepower from the gas and electric motors standard super all-wheel control it has a 20 kilowatt hour battery and you get 61 kilometers or 38 miles of pure EV range one of the reasons why we pick the Outlander obviously because of the powertrain but it also fits nicely into this compact class because it isn't a huge vehicle it comes with a standard third row which is best suited for small children for sure so it used to be just the gas model got the third row now Mitsubishi has re-engineered the back of the vehicle to have a third row on both the gas and the plug-in version now these are small seats for kids to take in a pinch to an activity you're not putting grandma back or you shouldn't put grandma back there I think Grandma's fitting yeah but at least it's an option right to have that extra seat belt set back there for kids of course there's the Sorrento which is a fabulous vehicle as well but it's kind of a bit of a tweener it just feels bigger than this compact clasp but it does have three power train options as well yeah and it's only six seats not seven seats so some positives and some negatives with this Outlander positives wow what a plush interior especially on that top trim there's some value here the tech is good it gets a 12.3 inch digital driver display that's available I really like it I like the layout I like the space for this category so on the downside the base gasoline model is a little bit lethargic it's what we would call adequate power you're not going to pass a logging truck going through the mountains it's just not that kind of vehicle now the phev does have more power and probably would be the one that I would want and great range you know it's only the Toyota RAV4 Prime that beat set the RAV4 has 68 kilometers 42 miles of UV range this has got 61 kilometers 38 miles which is pretty great all right let's look at the price in Canada the gas model starts at just over 32 and a half thousand dollars and the phev starts at just over 46 and a half thousand dollars Canadian in the U.S the base gas model is just under 27 000 and the starting price price of the phev is just under 40 000 U.S and here's the fuel economy on the screen for the gas and the phev in number three spot it's the Hyundai Tucson now this vehicle is very good but Hyundai has taken out some equipment and added some pricing which is why it's in third spot and not higher on our list but it does come with some great options you can get gas hybrid or plug-in the gas model has is a 2.5 liter four-cylinder engine with an 8-speed automatic transmission 187 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque the hybrid has a 1.6 liter turbo hybrid powertrain with a six-speed automatic transmission 226 combined horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque and standard all-wheel drive the Tucson plug-in hybrid has the same 1.6 liter turbocharged four-cylinder with a six-speed automatic transmission it is a 13.8 kilowatt hour battery and a combined 261 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque standard all-wheel drive the Tucson has 53 kilometers 33 miles of EV range so what are the positives well really it centers around the ride it's very quiet it's comfortable it's smooth it's got good power especially when you get the hybrid version and the hybrid comes with a 6-speed automatic there's no CVT yeah and I think that the Tucson is just so quiet in that hybrid model so negatives well Hyundai's raised their prices still good value here of course but on the gas model of the Tucson in Canada there's some odd uh packaging let's say so it doesn't come with quite a few features like the power tailgate driver seat memory heated rear seats ventilated front seats you have to move up to the hybrid trim to get some of these features and then your price goes up so I think that the value on the gas model on the Tucson could be better in the U.S different story your gas model does get most of those features so in the US it's pretty good another thing with the gas model in the US is that you get a tire repair kit instead of a temporary spare tire all right let's get into the pricing here's the pricing for the Tucson in Canada we'll look at the all-wheel drive first it's just under thirty three thousand dollars Canadian the hybrid model is 42 and a half thousand dollars Canadian and the phev starts at forty seven thousand dollars in the U.S the gas model all-wheel drive starts at just under 28 thousand dollars the hybrid starts at just over twenty nine and a half thousand dollars and the plug-in hybrid starts at just under thirty five and a half thousand dollars U.S here's the fuel economy for the gas the hybrid and the phev and number two spot the Toyota RAV4 with three powertrains gas hybrid and plug-in hybrid now you're probably wondering what what Toyota with all that technology history resale value reliability why isn't it number one well wait till you see the number one model because it offers a lot of value but the RAV4 is kind of the gold standard isn't it yeah especially in the hybrid and pricing well let's first get into powertrains the gas model has a 2.5 liter four-cylinder paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission 203 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque front wheel drive and all-wheel drive options are available in the US but in Canada for 2023 only all-wheel drive the hybrid also utilizes a two and a half liter four-cylinder matched with an ecvt and Toyota's hybrid Synergy drive with 219 horsepower and standard all-wheel drive the plug-in hybrid the Prime with 68 kilometers 45 miles of EV range has a combined 302 horsepower standard all-wheel drive all right the pros for the RAV4 first of all it's a Toyota it's got known resale value that is absolutely killer it does have great reliability with a little asterisk next to it we'll get into that in just a moment plus they've added some nice stuff for 2023 you get wireless Android and Apple in the head unit you get a standard eight inch screen available 10.5 inch screen and then there's a digital instrument cluster brand new for 2023 12.3 inches so the technology has finally been updated yeah I really like the updates for 2023 definitely one to consider some negatives we find the gas model to be very loud especially when accelerating on the highway the hybrid is much better but not as quiet as the Hyundai Tucson or the Kia Sportage and then the plug-in hybrid it really gets up there in price especially in Canada and I find that the interior although the upgrades are great it is a practical interior industrial I like to call it for sure industrial not as modern looking as some of the other ones in this category so one negative if you follow along in the news about Toyota there's something that came up in the last six months it's called cable gate it started in the province of Quebec where they found the orange cables were corroding inside their housing we understand there is a fix in the works with Toyota so stay tuned on that it wouldn't stop me buying this because I'm pretty sure Toyota's going to stand behind them the Facebook cable gate page is reporting that Toyota will Now cover the older models even though they're not under warranty as long as the gauge cluster shows that there is a problem that there's a warning light that has come on all right let's get into the pricing in Canada the gas all-wheel drive model starts at just over thirty two thousand dollars the hybrid starts at just over thirty four thousand dollars and the plug-in hybrid which is an all-wheel drive model starts at just over forty nine thousand dollars Canadian in the US the base all-wheel drive is just under twenty nine thousand dollars the base hybrid is just over thirty thousand dollars and the phev starts at just over forty one and a half thousand dollars the fuel economy for the gas the hybrid and the phev is on the screen in number one spot the Kia Sportage if you're South of the Border that's Sportage so Kia Canada decided to Market it as Sportage because of the French side of the country and in the US it's supported same car uh this is a clear winner Andrea because it packs uh with loads of features and amazing pricing three powertrain options let's get into them the gas model has a 2.5 liter four-cylinder with an eight-speed automatic transmission 187 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque front wheel drive and all-wheel drive options are available the hybrid uses a 1.6 liter turbo hybrid powertrain with 227 horsepower standard all-wheel drive in Canada however front wheel and all-wheel drive are available in the U.S the plug-in hybrid has a 1.6 liter turbocharged four-cylinder a six-speed automatic transmission and a combined 261 horsepower and 200 158 pound-feet of torque it is a 13.8 kilowatt hour battery and 55 kilometers 34 miles of EV range we kind of teased a little bit at the beginning this is a feature-rich vehicle and it has an amazing price and when you add that together that's why it's our number one and that's the biggest positive I think well and also the gas model we found to be quieter than some of the competition the hybrid is extremely quiet just like the Tucson and then the plug-in hybrid is the same I mean we actually noticed now we did drive it in better whether it was warmer that the gas engine didn't go on as often as we thought it would but overall not only do you get a great warranty on this but it is loaded with features at an affordable price point for many and I think that's where I applaud Kia they've raised their prices just a little bit for 2023 but it's like a few hundred bucks it's not thousands of dollars like a Honda it's just a few hundred bucks it's much more manageable so some positives wow I mean let's get into it modern I mean what a beautiful interior design Zach and I will sometimes look at it and say are we in a luxury brand or is this non-luxury Great Tech that is available including large screens whether it's the digital driver display or the touch screen yeah it looks very similar to what Mercedes-Benz has with their mbux system with the Dual panel screens very upscale really nicely appointed interior all kinds of features Big Pano roof everything you kind of want really what you would expect in a luxury product at a non-luxury price and and that's why in our opinion this is clearly the the one to beat now negatives some might think that the exterior design is a little bit too futuristic for them they're missing some buttons on the interior they've got a channel that you can switch back and forth between infotainment and the HVAC system and sometimes that gets a little confusing you might be turning up the heat when you mean to turn up the volume of your music Now you kind of get used to it the only problem I have is you're driving along and you want to know what you're in you're in the Heat or you're on the radio you got to look down it's a slight inconvenience you do kind of get used to it but definitely see the positives outweigh the negatives by a lot especially opinion the price in Canada the base all-wheel drive model starts at just over 30 and a half thousand dollars the hybrid starts at just under thirty six and a half thousand dollars and the plug-in hybrid starts at just under forty five thousand dollars Canadian in the US the base gas model starts at just under twenty six thousand dollars the first hybrid model is just over twenty seven thousand dollars and the phev starts at thirty eight and a half thousand dollars here's the fuel economy for the gasoline model the hybrid and the phev so there's our top five non-luxury compact SUVs that's for 2023 and we've done a whole bunch of these last year for all different kind of categories and we're going to update our top fives for say three row SUVs luxury compact SUVs there's still a few Vehicles we have to drive first yeah but as soon as we drive them we'll put those uh videos out now we get into our honorable mentions this is a fierce category there are so many great options I mean our honorable mentions list could be this long because they are all very good but we did focus on vehicles that offer more power train options of course hybrids and plug-in hybrids there's two that were on the list last year that didn't make it this year okay so the vehicles that don't offer hybrids or plug-ins one is the Mazda or the Mazda South of the Border the CX-5 this is a vehicle that has a two and a half liter gas and it has a two and a half liter turbo four-cylinder it delivers amazing handling and a premium experience however no no hybrid or plug-in yeah so we hope that Mazda will be bringing something out next year so that we can add the CX-5 back to our list or even the cx-50 the next one is the Subaru Forester this is an absolute case study in how to develop and design a vehicle that is functional it has huge Windows it has huge doors it's got easy access for everybody it is an absolute pleasure to drive however it's only sold with one engine yep the Nissan Rogue is another great one where the cabin is very open and spacious it offers a beautiful interior especially on that top trim and comes loaded with features by the way the Mitsubishi Outlander and the Rogue share the same platform co-developed but Nissan doesn't have any kind of future technology hybrid or Plug-In or Mitsubishi does and then finally well the Ford Escape with three powertrain options the plug-in hybrid is only available as a front-wheel drive model but still a great option for many to choose it was actually in our top five last year but it got bumped out for the CRV I don't think we could leave the CRV out but I mean the Escape is amazing when it comes to fuel economy for the hybrid so consider it for sure give it a test drive so there you go there's our top five type below let us know what your top five is we'd love to hear from you wondering if it's similar to what we've come up with and also subscribe if you like what you see we put out a lot of content each week on the motor mouth YouTube channel and follow along on Instagram motor mouth underscore Andrea for a sneak peek of what's coming up on the channel weekly and also keep staying tuned because we are going to do more of these as we go through the year

Channel: Motormouth

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Length: 20min 17sec (1217 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 07 2022