These Are The Most Reliable Mid-Size SUVs, According To Consumer Reports

Midsize SUVs are among the country’s most popular family vehicles, offering a combination of features and  “just right” dimensions for just about everyone. You’ve got your choice of two or three rows, two- or four-wheel drive, electrified and traditional powertrains, luxury or mainstream equipment levels, and more. Midsize SUVs can offer different levels of performance, too, so you can find one to fit your needs for towing, off-roading, commuting, or even some on-road excitement. Luckily, Consumer Reports (CR) has helped narrow things down a bit.

CR recently published its list of top midsize SUVs, and the results include vehicles that can answer all those demands. The priorities for the publication, however, were things like reliability, safety, driving experience, and fuel economy, all bundled up into a single overall score. We’re going to focus on the first of those characteristics today, to help you shop for cars that will stay out of the shop, and provide some CR-powered comparisons, too. You can think of it as a counterpart to our look at which brands make the least reliable cars. The only catch is that, obviously, only vehicles actually tested by CR were eligible — which means that some freshly redesigned midsizers that haven’t yet been evaluated, like the Honda Passport and Nissan Murano, weren’t considered. 

Two sorts of similar vehicles tied for first in the mainstream two-row category on CR’s list, with both the wagon-esque Toyota Crown Signia and Subaru Outback — the 2025 model, remember — tallying up the exact same overall score. These two vehicles take two very different approaches to driving, though, starting with the fact that the Crown Signia is a sleek city-friendly hybrid that has no idea what it wants to be, and the Outback is ready for the trail with a gas-only powertrain. 

A key difference shows up in terms of reliability as well, since the Crown Signia sees a CR predicted reliability score that’s more than 10% better than the Outback’s. On the other hand, it’s worth pointing out that, per CR itself, that prediction is “based on the similar Crown sedan and the Toyota brand score.”

The Crown Signia also stands out for its deluxe details, allowing the relaxing cabin to handle urban adventures with ease. Standard front-row seating is heated, ventilated, and upholstered with leather, while the rear seats get heated as well. Added versatility comes with the ability to fold the back seats and unlock more than 60 cubic feet of total cargo space.

It was another tie for overall scores for three-row mainstream SUVs, this time with the Toyota Highlander Hybrid and Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid — aka, the crossover to end all crossovers. Yet like the two-row rides, if you put reliability as number one on your list of demands, there’s a clear leader. And again, it’s the Toyota, even though the Highlander Hybrid didn’t fare as well as the Hyundai — or the Subaru Ascent, for that matter — in terms of three-row SUV road-test scores.

Along with 50% better predicted reliability than the 2025 Santa Fe Hybrid, the Highlander Hybrid also has a strong history of high reliability results, particularly for this generation’s powertrain and suspension/steering. The Highlander complements all that with what CR termed a comfortable ride and secure handling, plus a rewardingly roomy second row. And although the third-row accommodations can get tight, the Highlander Hybrid can be configured with eight seats, while the Santa Fe Hybrid is limited to seven. A final Toyota-only benefit is the availability of front- and all-wheel-drive models. The Santa Fe Hybrid, on the other hand, is AWD only.

The highest overall combined score on the list goes to the 2025 BMW X5, which CR called “one of the best vehicles we’ve ever tested,” saying the X5’s current iteration “optimally balances comfort, agility, power delivery, and interior quality.” That covers a lot of ground, but guess what? The X5 doesn’t, in fact, have the highest predicted reliability in its segment. That honor goes to the 2025 Lexus RX Hybrid — but not the gas-only RX or the plug-in version — with approximately 10% better predicted reliability than the BMW. 

As with the Highlander, a notable highlight here is the RX Hybrid’s track record of positive performance in CR’s past predicted reliability testing. Since its redesign in for 2023, the RX Hybrid has achieved the highest possible CR ratings for build quality, suspension/steering, brakes, and climate system for two years running now. So perhaps it’s no surprise that, according to KBB.com, the RX is also among the SUVs with the best resale value for 2025. CR, for its part, further touted the RX’s fit and finish, but did warn the infotainment system wasn’t always simple to figure out.

Well, CR says the most reliable car brand isn’t Toyota, but the company as a whole sure seems to have a stranglehold on the midsize segment. Beyond the Toyota Crown Signia, Toyota Highlander Hybrid, and Lexus RX Hybrid, the Toyota Motor Company also led the way for three-row luxury SUVs. Now, CR gave the Lexus TX Hybrid the highest overall score in the segment — even with the TX’s bizarre cup holders — but truth be told, this is another category where the best-scoring SUV didn’t have the absolute best predicted reliability.

The big body-on-frame Lexus GX, and the even larger Lexus LX, edged the unibody TX in CR’s predicted reliability testing — albeit by a single point. The flip side to this is that the brawny GX, with its true off-road credibility, had a much worse overall score that was driven, but it’s much worse road testing results. As a result, CR puts the GX in the number nine slot overall for three-row luxury SUVs. (The 2025 LX, which gains its first hybrid powertrain, hasn’t been fully analyzed yet by CR).