2025 MotorTrend SUV of the Year: The Contenders

Welcome back to our biggest Of the Year competition, SUV of the Year. The SUV has taken over the U.S. market, and the segment boasts more new metal annually than the car and truck segments, by far. Nearly 30 nameplates new or revised enough to qualify for our 2025 SUV of the Year competition did battle at Honda's Proving Center of California in the desert outside of Los Angeles and on the real-world roads nearby in Tehachapi, California, put through their paces by our expert judges. After a hot, dusty week evaluating these SUVs against our OTY criteria—Advancement in Design, Engineering Excellence, Performance of Intended Function, Value, Efficiency, and Safety—we sorted the field into contenders, finalists, and one winner.

Read on to see which SUVs were contenders, then tune in tomorrow for our finalists, and, finally, on October 24th for our winner:

2024 Acura ZDX

The new ZDX is built on promising fundamentals. Acura is still developing its own EV platform, so it tapped an unlikely partner for ready-to-go tech: General Motors’ Ultium architecture, specifically the version underpinning the Chevrolet Blazer EV, MotorTrend’s 2024 SUV of the Year. The ZDX is manufactured alongside the Blazer EV (and Honda Prologue also created by this partnership) in GM’s Ramos Arizpe, Mexico facility. Head here for the full 2024 Acura ZDX SUVOTY review.

2024 Audi Q4 E-Tron

Audi was among the first legacy automakers to fire a response when Tesla rose to prominence, launching multiple E-Tron concepts and models over the past 15 years. Now many of the German automaker’s models are receiving midcycle updates, including the Audi Q4 E-Tron, a compact EV whose improvements went way beyond the typical feature shuffling. New battery chemistry, more range, updated styling, and more horsepower earned the Q4 an invite to our 2025 SUV of the Year test, but were they enough to put it in the mix for a win? Head here for the full 2024 Audi Q4 E-Tron SUVOTY review.

2024 BMW X2

SUVs are designed as multipurpose vehicles, but it’s rare when one single machine can fill several roles and perform all of them exceptionally well. Consumers nonetheless still tend to look for that “do-it-all” solution, and the 2024 BMW X2 M35i is the latest in a long line of attempts to be that “everything” SUV. It’s attractive, sporty, luxurious, comfortable, and practical, but—spoiler alert—it doesn’t do all those things perfectly. It does get respectfully close. Head here for the full 2024 BMW X2 SUVOTY review.

2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV

The 2024 Chevy Equinox EV swaggered in on the coattails of last year’s SUV of the Year–winning Chevrolet Blazer EV with a hot design whose proportions struck many as superior and an impressive value proposition predicated on a promised $35,000 starting price. Sadly, that loss-leader model had yet to hit the production line at the time of our testing, and the loaded RS AWD example Chevy sent us tiptoes deep into the Blazer EV’s price range, which dulled some of its value luster.

Still, the judges’ initial impressions were quite positive. Big, high-resolution screens and round outboard AC vents seemingly plucked from the Camaro parts bin, plus abundant red accents and stitching, make this interior almost seem worth Blazer EV money. Much of what originally attracted us to the Blazer EV is here, as well, from a well-executed one-pedal driving mode to a roomy rear seat—even Super Cruise. What used to be for Cadillacs only, Chevy now offers as a $2,700 stand-alone option, with the slight downside that on roads not mapped for hands-free driving, there is no lane centering, only ping-pongy lane departure assist. Head here for the full 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV SUVOTY review.

2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally

Vehicles like the 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally really pit our inner children against our rational adult psyches. Our editors all reveled in the Rally’s ever so playful ability to pinwheel sand high into the sky while circulating our off-road test course—even if its approach/departure angles still don’t allow for serious Baja blasting. Hey, the exact same holds true for the headline-grabbing Porsche 911 Dakar and Lamborghini Huracán  Sterrato. Those two cost about four times as much, and we’re highly skeptical they can truly quadruple the Mach-E Rally’s fun quotient, a factor that earns the Ford major credit against our SUV of the Year value criterion. Head here for the full 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally SUVOTY review.

2025 Genesis GV80

We’ve made peace with the existence of SUV “coupes” even if they don’t make logical sense. The customer is always right in matters of taste, as the full saying goes, and customers like the style of these vehicles more than maximum carrying capacity. And if style is the goal, it’s hard to do better than the 2025 Genesis GV80 Coupe 3.5T e-Supercharged.

As good a job as Genesis did restyling the GV80 SUV’s exterior into a fastback, the real triumph is inside. Our SUV of the Year judges couldn’t compliment the cabin enough, calling it “absolutely exquisite,” “absolutely gorgeous,” and “terrific-looking” among other praise. Our team was particularly enamored with the blue-gray leather, red accent stitching, and 3D-weave carbon-fiber trim, not to mention the single, unbroken screen spanning more than half the dash. Head here for the full 2025 Genesis GV80 SUVOTY review.

2024 Honda Prologue

Even a good compromise requires both sides to give a bit. Working with GM allowed Honda to get its hands on a competitive EV platform quickly with minimal development costs, but it meant giving up control over the engineering and suppliers. The result, the 2024 Honda Prologue EV, is a good EV that lacks Honda’s typical personality.

“The Prologue is a perfectly fine first EV for an average sized or smaller family,” associate editor Bob Hernandez said, “and an acceptable SUV for 99.9 percent of the things that SUVs do today.” Head here for the full 2024 Honda Prologue SUVOTY review.

2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

We adore the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Our 2023 SUV of the Year features expressive styling, brilliant packaging, and refined road manners, not to mention its fast charging and strong safety credentials, among other distinctions. After 18 months with an Ioniq 5 for a long-term review, pretty much all we could gripe about was its lack of a rear windshield wiper and shorter-than-indicated range. We admire it so much that some on our staff have even wisely chosen the Ioniq 5 as their personal daily driver. Head here for the full 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N SUVOTY review.

2024 Hyundai Kona Electric

There it is. There’s the Hyundai Kona we knew. We were wondering where it went, as the gas-powered version that competed in our last SUV of the Year competition seemed to have lost its charm. This year, the new 2024 Hyundai Kona Electric Limited was in the running, and it’s clear where all the personality went.

Indeed, while the most recent redesign offered more space and features for a similar price, that appealed more to the head. Our hearts were left wanting. Now that we’ve driven the Kona Electric, both head and heart are satisfied. Mostly. Head here for the full 2024 Hyundai Kona Electric SUVOTY review.

2024 Ineos Grenadier

What happens when a petroleum billionaire who happens to be a classic Land Rover Defender fanboy gets rejected when he tries to resurrect the Defender on its deathbed? You get the 2024 Ineos Grenadier FieldMaster, his own take on the original Land Rover 4x4 and one of the most curious vehicles in some time. The Grenadier has no interest in how modern life has redefined what an SUV is and can be. Instead it looks to reach back to the roots of the term. Head here for the full 2024 Ineos Grenadier SUVOTY review.

2025 Infiniti QX60

It’s always something, isn’t it? For years, we asked Infiniti to give the QX60 a different engine, and once it finally does, we’re still somewhat unsatisfied. The popular luxury three-row SUV has always leaned toward value as a differentiator, but loaded non-luxury three-rows have never been better. As the pressure builds on price-sensitive luxury SUVs from below, how well does the Infiniti hold its own? Head here for the full 2025 Infiniti QX60 SUVOTY review.

2025 Infiniti QX80

Full-size luxury three-row SUVs aren’t only about comfort and versatility. For these boxy brutes, projecting status and prestige is equally as important. In this segment, the Infiniti QX80 has stumbled as its competitors have swaggered upward; swaths of leather and shiny metal accents have never sufficiently differentiated it from the more pedestrian Nissan Armada sharing its fundamentals. Infiniti desperately needed to change the narrative with its new 2025 QX80, and in many ways it has, as it’s clearly the best version yet of the big SUV. But unfortunately, as we found out, some things never change. Head here for the full 2025 Infiniti QX80 SUVOTY review.

2024 Lexus RX

Ah, the Lexus RX 450h+. To the uninitiated, the name sounds like Lexus picked random characters out of a hat, but the SUV is actually the most expensive RX Lexus has ever offered. It’s also the very first plug-in hybrid RX, and we can’t help but think of it as a partially electrified alternative to the RZ EV. But as a competitor to German plug-in hybrid luxury SUVs? That’s a little more complicated.

We’re fans of the Lexus RX. And no, we’re not talking about the original one that won MotorTrend’s very first SUV of the Year award and influenced an entire industry but rather the new one, reimagined for the 2023 model year. Head here for the full 2024 Lexus RX SUVOTY review.

2024 Lexus TX

After more than two decades of waiting for a Lexus-branded three-row SUV in the spirit of the RX, the TX has finally arrived.

And it’s ... fine.

Joining the GX and LX in the Lexus family of three-row SUVs, the TX is the most affordable of the trio, and it’s a great blend of spaciousness and value. A 275-hp turbo I-4 is standard in the TX350, but there’s also a 366-hp TX500h hybrid as well as a 404-hp TX550h+ plug-in hybrid. So far, so good. Head here for the full 2024 Lexus TX SUVOTY review.

2025 Lexus UX

Lexus’ entry-level compact SUV isn’t all-new, but it received a significant midcycle update that transforms both its powertrain and the nameplate. The 2025 Lexus UX 300h now features a hybrid system borrowed directly from the new Toyota Prius, the vehicle that earned MotorTrend’s 2024 Car of the Year honors. The 300h designation replaces the outgoing 250h, marking Lexus’ debut model equipped with this new powertrain. Head here for the full 2025 Lexus UX SUVOTY review.

2025 Mazda CX-70

When discussing the 2025 Mazda CX-70, the marque’s latest SUV, we collectively could not get past the fact that the CX-70 is simply the CX-90 with the third row removed and a new badge glued on. Like literally. Like all the sheetmetal between the two SUVs is the same. This strikes us as hugely lazy. Like, Mazda didn’t even remove the third-row cupholders. Talk about badge engineering. But could this be indicative of something else? Head here for the full 2025 Mazda CX-70 SUVOTY review.

2024 Porsche Cayenne

The Porsche Cayenne roared into our SUV of the year testing on the back of its refresh for 2024; powertrains were shuffled, the styling was futzed with, and the interior technology was upgraded. It’s always been a sensational SUV to drive, but would these updates push it over the top? Head here for the full 2024 Porsche Cayenne SUVOTY review.

2025 Subaru Forester

Conventional wisdom says you shouldn’t fix what isn’t broken. Sound advice, right? The all-new 2025 Subaru Forester leans into that philosophy, following the same tried-and-true formula that has earned it legions of fans. But lacking any real innovation or wow factor, it merely stays on the lead lap, content to cater to loyalists rather than win converts.

Let’s start with what’s new. The 2025 Forester was redesigned inside and out with a look that brings it in line with Subaru’s current design language. We wouldn’t call it conventionally beautiful, but it is handsome and purposeful, and the design is perhaps the most cohesive Subaru we’ve seen in a while. The Forester needs to look like it can confidently conquer dirt, mud, and asphalt, and it has that down pat. Head here for the full 2025 Subaru Forester SUVOTY review.

2024 Volkswagen ID4

Volkswagen’s ID4 launched in America for 2022 and landed with a definitive “meh.” We tested a launch-year model for 12 months and found it to be generally fine, but buggy and slow infotainment, poor voice controls, and middling charging speeds conspired against its fairer qualities to prevent a full-throated recommendation. Not to mention the asinine, penny-pinching decision to combine the controls for all four windows into just two switches. Head here for the full 2024 Volkswagen ID4 SUVOTY review.