The top 10 SUVs in Canada for 2023

If you’re one of the many Canadians looking to buy a new SUV this year, there are lots of things to consider. In addition to purchase price, it’s important to consider fuel economy, the cost of insurance, and safety.

Our goal at Ratehub.ca is to be the champions of choice, so we’ve put together a buying guide showcasing the top ten SUVs in Canada in 2023. We’ve taken the ten best-selling SUVs and crossovers in Canada and ranked them by sales volume, purchase price, fuel economy, insurance cost, and safety ratings. 

Finally, we tallied up all the rankings to create our list of the ten best SUVs in Canada, overall.

Meet the best-selling SUVs in Canada

SUVs now make up over half of passenger car sales in Canada, and Canadians seem to agree that midsize crossovers like the Toyota Rav4 and Honda CR-V are the way to go. These vehicles usually have room for five, ample cargo space, and good fuel efficiency.

These are the best-selling SUVs in Canada based on 2022 sales, according to Driving.ca.

1. Toyota Rav-4

With 55,921 units sold in 2022, the Toyota Rav4 tops the list of the bestselling SUVs in Canada. This family hauler is known for having room for safety, reliability, and gas mileage. Toyota has sold over 10 million worldwide since introducing the Rav4 in 1994.

2. Honda CR-V

The Honda CR-V sold 32,096 units in 2022, making it the second-best-selling SUV for the year. The crossover is described as roomy, practical and ideal for families.

3. Hyundai Kona

This subcompact crossover is the smallest vehicle in the top ten. A modern answer to the hatchbacks of yesteryear, the Kona is small, sporty and fun to drive. Canadians bought 24,579 Konas in 2022.

4. Jeep Wrangler

When you picture a Jeep, you’re picturing a Jeep Wrangler. This classic off-roader is powerful and capable, if not the most practical for family driving. 

5. Mazda CX-5

The Mazda CX-5 compares closely with many of the other family SUVs on this list. It’s said to have good performance and handling, but with slightly less cargo room than some of the competition.

6. Ford Escape

The Ford Escape has fallen from its one-time position as the top-selling SUV in Canada but remains popular having sold 23,848 copies in 2022. This compact crossover compares closely in many ways with the bestselling Toyota Rav4.

7. Hyundai Tucson

The next step up from the Hyundai Kona is the Tucson, a small SUV that compares well with the Honda CR-V and Mazda CX-5. It’s described as roomy and comfortable, and as being a good value for the money.

8. Nissan Rogue

Yet another compact crossover, the Nissan Rogue is comparable to the Toyota Rav4 and Honda CR-V. The car’s continuous variable transmission is said to be more fuel efficient but less reliable than its competitors.

9. Jeep Grand Cherokee

Where the other vehicles on this list prioritize efficiency, the Jeep Grand Cherokee delivers similar features with power in mind. It leads this list in towing capability and, aside from its sibling the Jeep Wrangler, is the only SUV on this list to come with a standard V6 engine.

10. Kia Seltos

Selling just over 16,000 units last year, the Seltos is Kia’s answer to the bestselling Kona – in fact, the two share a platform and many components. The Seltos is slightly larger and styled more like an SUV than its cousin.

The best SUVs in Canada ranked by price

While the starting price of an SUV is a good comparison tool, it makes a bit more sense to compare prices that include the features you want.

For this comparison, we’ve looked for the price of each vehicle with a few of the most wanted features including all-wheel drive, compatibility with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and adaptive cruise control. The ranking is weighted 80% in favour of the equipped price and 20% in favour of the base price.

Thanks to its much lower starting price, the Hyundai Kona comes in as the best budget SUV in Canada out of the 10 most popular. The Mazda CX-5 and Kia Seltos round out the top three, each coming in under $35,000 with our desired options included.

While larger SUVs tend to be more expensive, size isn’t the only contributor to price. The Hyundai Tucson has the third-most cargo space with the seats folded yet ranks fourth for price. And the lowest-priced Hyundai Kona has more front leg room than the pricier Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The best SUVs in Canada ranked by insurance cost

To rank the top 10 when it comes to insurance, we compared car insurance quotes for each of the top 10 vehicles using Ratehub.ca. 

Our statistically representative driver is “Jennifer Madeup”, a 42-year-old woman from Toronto who drives 20,000 km per year including a daily commute of 15 km each way. Her standard policy includes $ 1 million in coverage for third-party liability, loss of use coverage, accident forgiveness, and a limited waiver of depreciation with a $1,000 deductible.  

Jennifer’s quotes ranged from $117 to $143 per month, with the lowest quote being for the Hyundai Kona. The Kia Seltos took the second spot, while the Jeep Wrangler came in third.

The highest insurance quote was for the Honda CR-V, which would cost our fictional driver $26/month more per month than the top-ranked Kona. 

Keep in mind that how much you pay for car insurance depends on dozens of factors, of which your car is only one. Compare auto insurance quotes online to find the best price for the coverage you need.

The best SUVs in Canada ranked by safety

When choosing an SUV to carry your precious cargo, safety is a top concern.

To find the safest SUVs out of the top 10, we combined each vehicle’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety rating with data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The IIHS data is based on five crashworthiness ratings, child restraint ease of use, and vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention. 

While the rankings are fairly close, we can identify a few trends in the data. The Ford Escape, Toyota Rav4 and Nissan Rogue are the only three vehicles in the top ten to get perfect marks from both the NHTSA and IIHS. The Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-5 and Honda CR-V each lost points for child restraint ease of use to end up in a tie for second place.

A running theme in this comparison is that the two Jeep vehicles are at the bottom of the list. The Grand Cherokee and Wrangler both missed the mark on IIHS front crash test results.

The best SUVs in Canada ranked overall

To determine a winner, we assigned each vehicle points based on its performance in each of sales, price, fuel economy, insurance cost and safety. First place earned 10 points, second place earned 9, all the way down to a single point for last place.

With 40.5 points out of a possible 50, the Hyundai Kona takes first overall to earn the title of the best SUV in Canada. The small SUV scored in the top 3 in every category except safety, where it primarily lost points for not coming with front crash prevention as a standard feature.

Second place goes to the Toyota Rav4, which fell behind on its scores for purchase price and insurance cost. Considering the Rav4’s relative size – it has about 50% more cargo capacity than the Kona – its high score suggests it’s a great value and worthy of being the most popular SUV in Canada.

At the bottom of the list, the Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee fall far behind their competition. Both models fare poorly when it comes to purchase price, fuel economy, and safety. The relatively high cost of insurance for the Grand Cherokee sealed its position at the bottom of the ranking.

The bottom line

After comparing sales volume, prices, insurance cost, fuel economy, and safety, the Hyundai Kona takes the top spot on our comparison of the ten best-selling SUVs in Canada. But the Toyota Rav4 shows the best value and, despite coming in second place overall, likely deserves its place as the top-selling SUV in the country.

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