Best Small and Compact SUVs for the Money for 2025
The best small and compact SUVs for the money are ranked based on an analysis of their price and average lifespan, with the top-ranked models offering the longest life at the lowest price.
The best small and compact SUV for the money is the Mazda CX-5 which has the lowest iSeeCars Annual Lifespan Cost. We rank vehicles by how much a vehicle costs to purchase relative to how long the car lasts which we believe is a good determiner of value - the lower the cost, the better the value. The Mazda CX-5 has an average new car list price of $34,917 and an average lifespan of 161,855 miles or about 15.2 years, resulting in an annual purchase cost of $2,294. Using this method, the second best small and compact SUV for the money is Toyota RAV4 with an Annual Lifespan Cost of $2,299. In third place is Honda CR-V which has an iSeeCars Annual Lifespan Cost of $2,317.
The best small and compact SUV for the money is the Mazda CX-5 which has the lowest iSeeCars Annual Lifespan Cost. We rank vehicles by how much a vehicle costs to purchase relative to how long the car lasts which we believe is a good determiner of value - the lower the cost, the better the value. The Mazda CX-5 has an average new car list price of $34,917 and an average lifespan of 161,855 miles or about 15.2 years, resulting in an annual purchase cost of $2,294. Using this method, the second best small and compact SUV for the money is Toyota RAV4 with an Annual Lifespan Cost of $2,299. In third place is Honda CR-V which has an iSeeCars Annual Lifespan Cost of $2,317.
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Annual Lifespan Cost
2294.15
- Avg Lifespan: 161.855015625K Miles (15.22 Years)
- Starting MSRP: 28770
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
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Reliability
8.1
/ 10
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Value Retention
8.3
/ 10
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Safety
9.0
/ 10
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Annual Lifespan Cost
2299.3
- Avg Lifespan: 174.7703125K Miles (15.63 Years)
- Starting MSRP: 29250
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
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Reliability
8.2
/ 10
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Value Retention
9.1
/ 10
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Safety
9.0
/ 10
-
Annual Lifespan Cost
2317.02
- Avg Lifespan: 178.127421875K Miles (15.51 Years)
- Starting MSRP: 30920
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
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Reliability
8.2
/ 10
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Value Retention
8.8
/ 10
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Safety
9.0
/ 10
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Annual Lifespan Cost
2605.7
- Avg Lifespan: 159.12853125K Miles (14.38 Years)
- Starting MSRP: 29995
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
-
Reliability
8.0
/ 10
-
Value Retention
8.7
/ 10
-
Safety
9.0
/ 10
-
Annual Lifespan Cost
2969.49
- Avg Lifespan: 149.4210625K Miles (11.21 Years)
- Starting MSRP: 28600
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
-
Reliability
7.7
/ 10
-
Value Retention
7.8
/ 10
-
Safety
8.0
/ 10
-
Annual Lifespan Cost
3128.42
- Avg Lifespan: 144.610453125K Miles (11.26 Years)
- Starting MSRP: 28590
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
-
Reliability
7.7
/ 10
-
Value Retention
7.9
/ 10
-
Safety
7.4
/ 10
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Annual Lifespan Cost
3204.0
- Avg Lifespan: 148.01340625K Miles (11.24 Years)
- Starting MSRP: 29900
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
-
Reliability
7.7
/ 10
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Value Retention
7.9
/ 10
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Safety
8.0
/ 10
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Annual Lifespan Cost
3273.29
- Avg Lifespan: 126.2584140625K Miles (10.67 Years)
- Starting MSRP: 29495
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
-
Reliability
7.5
/ 10
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Value Retention
8.0
/ 10
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Safety
7.4
/ 10
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Annual Lifespan Cost
3285.29
- Avg Lifespan: 160.589421875K Miles (11.9 Years)
- Starting MSRP: 29995
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
-
Reliability
7.8
/ 10
-
Value Retention
8.2
/ 10
-
Safety
9.0
/ 10
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Annual Lifespan Cost
3308.68
- Avg Lifespan: 153.789921875K Miles (10.95 Years)
- Starting MSRP: 29645
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
-
Reliability
7.7
/ 10
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Value Retention
7.7
/ 10
-
Safety
8.2
/ 10
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Annual Lifespan Cost
3354.69
- Avg Lifespan: 132.77334375K Miles (10.02 Years)
- Starting MSRP: 28690
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
-
Reliability
7.5
/ 10
-
Value Retention
8.0
/ 10
-
Safety
9.0
/ 10
-
Annual Lifespan Cost
3426.9
- Avg Lifespan: 135.669140625K Miles (9.48 Years)
- Starting MSRP: 29515
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
-
Reliability
7.5
/ 10
-
Value Retention
7.7
/ 10
-
Safety
8.0
/ 10
-
Annual Lifespan Cost
3605.55
- Avg Lifespan: 119.80821875K Miles (9.55 Years)
- Starting MSRP: 28705
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
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Reliability
7.4
/ 10
-
Value Retention
8.1
/ 10
-
Safety
9.7
/ 10
-
Annual Lifespan Cost
Not Available
- Starting MSRP: 30500
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
-
Reliability
Coming soon
-
Value Retention
8.2
/ 10
-
Safety
10
/ 10
-
Annual Lifespan Cost
Not Available
- Starting MSRP: 26545
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
-
Reliability
Coming soon
-
Value Retention
7.8
/ 10
-
Safety
8.0
/ 10
-
Annual Lifespan Cost
Not Available
- Starting MSRP: 30995
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
-
Reliability
Coming soon
-
Value Retention
7.7
/ 10
-
Safety
8.0
/ 10
-
Annual Lifespan Cost
Not Available
- Starting MSRP: 24135
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
-
Reliability
Coming soon
-
Value Retention
9.0
/ 10
-
Safety
7.0
/ 10
-
Annual Lifespan Cost
Not Available
- Starting MSRP: 24995
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
-
Reliability
Coming soon
-
Value Retention
7.9
/ 10
-
Safety
7.0
/ 10
Related Rankings
How We Rank These Cars
The Best Cars for the Money list ranks cars by their annual cost, which compares the purchase price of the car against how long the car lasts. We believe this is a good determiner of value--the lower the annual cost, the better the value.
iSeeCars analyzed millions of cars to determine how long each car can last. Then we calculated the annual cost over the lifespan for each vehicle. In the event two or more vehicles have the same annual cost, we use iSeeCars proprietary rating of the overall quality of the car (iSeeCars Score) to break the tie.
The overall iSeeCars Score is an analysis of three factors: reliability, resale value and safety. It is calculated based on the latest research and analysis by our data science team. The data analysis comes from over 12 million new and used vehicles in our Longest-Lasting Cars and 5-Year Depreciation Studies, combined with NHTSA and IIHS Safety Ratings.
Vehicles are scored in three categories:
Reliability
The reliability score represents an analysis of iSeeCars' proprietary research on the longest-lasting vehicles.
Value Retention
The value retention score is based on our data science team's statistical analysis and prediction of 5-year depreciation from MSRP to determine which cars hold their value best, using US Bureau of Labor Statistics data to adjust for inflation.
Safety
The safety score is calculated based on the last five years of crash test ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and incorporates the latest Top Safety Pick information from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).