Best Turbocharged Cars for 2025
These are the best turbocharged cars, SUVs, and trucks based on iSeeCars’ analysis of each vehicle’s reliability, resale value and safety.
Best Turbocharged Cars by Vehicle Type
Turbocharged engines have been around for decades, and they have become increasingly popular in modern cars because of their ability to enhance both horsepower and fuel efficiency. Initially, turbo engines were popular in sports cars, sports sedans, hot hatches and high-performance coupes in the 1980s. But turbo cars slowly faded away as exhaust emissions and fuel economy standards tightened after the 1995 model year.
However, around 2010, automotive technology advanced to the point where a smaller displacement engine, enhanced by a single or twin turbo intake system, resulted in both improved power output and higher mpg ratings. This expanded the appeal of turbocharged engines beyond performance cars, with American brands like Chevrolet and Ford leveraging the technology on their full-size pickups. The result is an ecoboost, turbocharged powertrain in both the modern-day Ford Focus hatchback and the best-selling vehicle in America, the Ford F-150.
iSeeCars has identified the best turbocharged cars across every major vehicle category and ranked them below. The cars are ranked by their iSeeCars quality score, which takes reliability, resale value, and safety into consideration, with the best cars scoring well in all three areas. Additional information, including new and used pricing, along with horsepower and fuel economy specs, are available for each model.
How Does a Turbo Work?
Turbo engines operate by using the flow of an engine’s exhaust gases to turn an impeller, similar to how wind turns a windmill. The pressure created by the impeller is used to compress the air coming into an engine, creating a denser air-fuel mixture and a more powerful explosion. This technology allows V6 and four-cylinder engines to create power like a V8 while maintaining the fuel efficiency benefits of the smaller engine. A supercharger uses a similar approach to compressing the intake charge, but is run off the engine’s crank rather than its exhaust gases.
Which New Cars Offer Turbo Engines?
Nearly every modern automaker is using turbo technology to enhance performance and fuel efficiency. German luxury brands like Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche all sell turbocharged models. The same is true of mainstream European and Japanese brands, with the Mazda 3, Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, Nissan Rogue and Volvo S60 all featuring turbo engines. This technology works well on any drivetrain layout, whether front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, and it benefits both automatic and manual transmission vehicles.
So whether you’re shopping an exotic Ferrari or McLaren with supercar styling, or a mainstream Ford Mustang or Volkswagen Jetta with real-world pricing and practicality, you can find a turbo engine under the hood.
Best Turbocharged Cars
Best Turbocharged SUVs
Best Turbocharged Trucks
Best Turbocharged Hybrids
How We Rank These Cars
The best turbocharged cars rank vehicles by iSeeCars Score which is based on our proprietary assessment of a vehicle’s reliability, resale value and safety (based on ratings from IIHS and NHTSA).
We analyze data from over 12 million new and used vehicles in our Longest-Lasting Cars and 5-Year Depreciation Studies, combined with the NHTSA's Safety Ratings to give you an unbiased guide to the best vehicles in each segment.
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).
