Consumer Reports highlights five standout SUVs under $40,000 for 2025, balancing value, reliability, and practicality from trusted brands.
If you’re in the market for a new SUV, there’s never been a wider choice for the all-practical segment, and there seem to be no signs of production slowing down anytime soon. While buying a brand-new SUV comes with plenty of benefits over going for a used model, there’s one key problem that makes buyers turn to the used market: price tags. In 2025, the average price for a new car is $48,841, which isn’t as high as the pandemic’s peak but is still expensive to say the least.
Luckily, some major manufacturers offer brand-new SUVs that manage to fall under the $40,000 mark, many of which are unsurprisingly the best-selling nameplates in the segment. Putting practicality at the forefront, Consumer Reports tested many of the popular SUVs on the market today under this price point, whittling it down to the models that the outlet would recommend against the incredibly tough competition. Here’s a look at five of the models that made the cut. 2025 Subaru Forester
The direction that Subaru has taken with the flagship Forester SUV makes for one of the most intriguing nameplates in the segment, making it unsurprising to see it feature in Consumer Reports’ best-of list under the $40,000 mark. Blending performance, practicality, and safety in one neat package, pricing starts at $29,995 with a $1,420 destination charge.
The Forester got a refresh for the 2025 model year, with the most notable updates to the exterior design. Consumer Reports notes its visibility, thanks to thin pillars, as one of the strong points for the new SUV. Under the hood, a 2.5L four-cylinder Boxer engine remains, but this time with 180 horsepower instead of 182 horsepower in last year’s Forester. Instead, an improved chassis and a new steering system make up for the ever-so-slight drop in power. In our review of the 2025 Forester Sport, fuel efficiency wasn’t something we felt was a strong point, with the EPA rating it at 28 MPG combined in the model we reviewed, and a higher 29 MPG in the base model.
But the standout features of the 2025 Forester are its standard all-wheel drive layout with a raised ride height, offering the sort of off-road capabilities Subaru has become synonymous with, as well as its vast array of safety-focused technology. Consumer Reports also gives the Forester an outstanding score when it comes to reliability, ticking many of the most important boxes needed to make a competitive SUV. 2025 Toyota RAV4
When it comes to the SUVs that have contributed the most to the crossover SUV’s popularity in recent years, none have had the same effect as the Toyota RAV4.
