What Is the Best Toyota SUV?
If popularity is anything to judge by, the RAV4 is the best Toyota SUV, hands down. But don’t sleep on Toyota’s other SUVs—especially if you’re buying used.
Written by R.E. Fulton
Reviewed by Jessica Barrett
Table of Contents
- The best Toyota SUV overall: RAV4
- The best Toyota SUV to buy used: 2016 RAV4
- The best Toyota SUV for families: Highlander
- The best Toyota SUV for off-roading: used 200-series Land Cruiser
- The best Toyota SUV for fuel economy: RAV4 Prime
- The best way to shop for Toyota insurance
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With generous cargo space, smart styling, and a list of driver assistance technology as long as your arm, the best-selling
RAV4
might just be the best Toyota SUV.But that doesn’t mean the automaker’s other sport-utility offerings can’t measure up to the competition. Whether you’re shopping for a big family, an off-road adventure, or fuel savings, Toyota has an SUV for you—and
Jerry
, the car insurance
comparison app that can lower your Toyota insurance costs
, is here to break down the lineup. RECOMMENDED
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The best Toyota SUV overall: RAV4
Starting price: $28,190
Number of seats: 5
J.D. Power rating: 79
Look, there’s no denying the truth: the RAV4 is Toyota’s best SUV.
Numbers don’t lie—over 430,000 RAV4 models were sold in 2020 alone, making it not just the best-selling Toyota SUV or even the best-selling Toyota vehicle, but one of the most popular vehicles on the road today, period. Very few vehicles have what it takes to challenge the RAV4’s popularity, and none of them are SUVs.
But what makes the RAV4 so popular—and does this compact SUV live up to the hype?
In a word, yes. The RAV4 has basically everything you’d want in an SUV: confidence, easy handling, oodles of storage space, outdoorsy styling, and tons of driver assistance tech. Practical and unfussy, the RAV4 performs admirably without complaint in a wide range of situations, including snow and some light off-road conditions.
If we had to name a sore spot for the RAV4, it’s affordability. Sure, the base model goes for a starting MSRP of $28,190, but that’s a tad high compared to the rest of the class, and more desirable versions come in much higher: the TRD Off-Road starts at $38,130, while the plug-in hybrid RAV4 Prime will run you upwards of $40,000.
MORE:
Car loan for Toyota 2022
The best Toyota SUV to buy used: 2016 RAV4
Price range: $18,431 to $25,739
Number of seats: 5
J.D. Power rating: 84
It’s not that the current generation of RAV4s isn’t good—it’s fantastic, in fact. But as we said above, pricing is the RAV4’s Achilles heel, and buying used is a great way to avoid overpaying for the best Toyota SUV.
To be honest, you’d be safe buying just about any mid-generation used RAV4 (we’ve got our eyes on the 2009, 2010, and 2017 models, too), but 2016 was a real standout year: minimal customer complaints, high resale value, and a sky-high J.D. Power rating make this the best used Toyota SUV.
Oh, and it’s available as a hybrid. You’re welcome.
The best Toyota SUV for families: Highlander
Starting price: $37,070
Number of seats: 7 to 8
J.D. Power rating: 83
Okay, we’ve established that the RAV4 is great—but if you’ve got more than five people to transport, all the rave reviews in the world won’t make it the best Toyota SUV for your family.
If you’re a bigger-than-RAV4 household, the best Toyota SUV for you might be the
Highlander
, a three-row midsize SUV that manages to marry budget-friendly pricing with styling and comfort that feel high-end. The Highlander will seat seven or eight passengers, depending on which configuration you opt for (in the ritzier trims, the second-row seat is swapped out for a pair of handsome captain’s chairs). The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) chose the 2022 model as a Top Safety Pick+, the highest safety rating available from that body. And if you’ve got little ones, don’t worry: the Highlander gets a perfect score from IIHS for LATCH ease of use, making car seat installation a breeze.
Here’s the downside of buying a Highlander for your family: legroom in the
third row
isn’t as generous as a lot of competitors. If you’ve got small kids in tow, this might not be a big concern, but families with a lot of adults (or teens about to hit their growth spurts) should shop with caution. RECOMMENDED
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The best Toyota SUV for off-roading: used 200-series Land Cruiser
Price range: $30,598 to $87,981
Number of seats: 5 to 8
J.D. Power rating: 77 (2021)
Off-roading is a bit of a blind spot for Toyota’s SUV lineup. It’s not that you can’t go off-road with a RAV4, or even a Highlander or the full-size
Sequoia
. But they’re really more at home on paved roads, and true adventurers will find more disappointment than unbridled fun taking them off the beaten path. The mid-size
4Runner
is held up as Toyota’s best off-road SUV
—but it gets surprisingly dismal ratings in other areas. If you’re serious about off-roading in a Toyota SUV, do yourself a favor and invest in a used 200-series
Land Cruiser
. This beefy truck-based SUV was discontinued in the U.S. with the 2021 model year, but models from 2008 to 2021 remain among the best Toyota off-road vehicles of all time. Pricing on used Land Cruisers varies considerably based on age and condition, and you’re not likely to get any Land Cruiser cheap: but quality is what you’re paying for. This isn’t a fussy modern SUV designed to give dads in the preschool pickup line an ego boost—it’s an old-school off-road vehicle, powered by a throaty V8 and built for dirt road greatness.
Standard four-wheel drive, a 381-hp 5.7-liter V8 engine, and 8.9 inches of ground clearance outfit the Land Cruiser for off-road adventures. Then there are the 81.7 cubic feet of maximum cargo space and eye-popping 8,200-lb maximum towing capacity. If you’re looking for a Toyota that’s country through and through, this is the one.
The best Toyota SUV for fuel economy: RAV4 Prime
Starting price: $41,515
Number of seats: 5
J.D. Power rating: 82
For our last category, we’re circling back one more time to the RAV4. This time, it’s the plug-in hybrid
RAV4 Prime
that takes the top spot when it comes to fuel economy. Running on gasoline alone, the RAV4 Prime gets 38 combined mpg, but with fuel and electric combined it’s rated for 94 MPGe. That’s astonishingly good fuel economy, especially when you compare it to our other top Toyota SUVs’ base engine configurations:
- 2022 Toyota RAV4: 27 city/35 highway/30 combined mpg
- 2022 Toyota Highlander: 20 city/28 highway/23 combined mpg
- 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser: 13 city/17 highway/14 combined mpg
The Highlander also offers a hybrid powertrain, which offers similar fuel savings for drivers who need to transport a larger crew. But keep in mind that in exchange for those long-term savings, you’ll be taking on some pretty steep upfront costs.
The best way to shop for Toyota insurance
No matter what you’re looking for in an SUV, you’ll probably find it in Toyota’s lineup—complete with best-in-class safety technology, stellar reliability and resale ratings, and affordable pricing (most of the time). And before you drive off the lot with your new (or used) Toyota, take 45 seconds to shop for the best car insurance with the
Jerry
app. There’s a reason thousands of drivers turn to Jerry for car insurance comparison. As a
licensed broker app
that partners with over 55 of the nation’s best insurance companies, Jerry can find customized quotes for you and your new Toyota in under a minute—and you’ll get expert support from Jerry’s team of insurance geniuses when you switch. Best of all? We won’t sell your information, won’t make you fill out forms in duplicate, and we will never, ever call you—unless you ask us to!
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