I’ve got a CX-5 that I really like, but I don’t consider it small, so I’m not sure exactly what the parameters are. My daughter has a Crosstrek and really likes it, too. I have no problem with the Mazda, and I’m not in the market, but I’d consider a Subaru.
I just bought a used 2019 BMW X-3 with around 50k miles for $23k. I don’t know if it’s “best” for the money, but it’s a lot of fun to drive.
My sister’s RAV has 320,000 miles on it. She swears by it.
Mrs. Cretin and I loved our 22 year old Subaru Outback; We love our 3 year old Forester even more.
I think Volvo’s reliability went down as people came to expect more modern, actually useful infotainment. SENSUS (their previous system that I had in my 2014 S60) was a complete shit-show compared to others of the era like Uconnect (chrysler) and whatever Ford’s was called. Their newer system (used in my Polestar 2, a Volvo offshoot) is also a shit-show. People say the underlying platform is fantastic, but the infotainment makes the car frustrating to use. Updates have helped somewhat, but my car is 4 years old and I still can’t get the radio to reliably stay in “preset” mode (ie the steering wheel button hops to the next preset instead of the next station up the dial), and the Range Assistant (that tells you your power consumption) is still wildly different from the car’s actual consumption.
I’ve always had compact cars until August, when I bought a used Ioniq 5, considered a “crossover SUV.” On the smallish side for an SUV, but definitely bigger than anything I’d owned before. I freaking love it, and it regularly gets listed as best car in its category.
Does this actually get factored into reliability ratings?
If so, I’d point out that the infotainment system on every Subaru I’ve been in has been terrible too, even in their 2025 EVs. It’s janky, slow, miserable, unstable, unreliable, and generally just shitty. I think it’s actually getting worse over time as they try to cram more features (like Android Auto / the iPhone equivalent, 360 cameras, integrated nav with the HUD, etc.) into the software, without having the corresponding level of UX expertise to do it in an effective manner. Even if I just want to leave it in Android Auto mode, that only works maybe 1/3 of the time (the other times it just errors out with no clear remedy), and still gets overridden by other parts of the software, like the turn cameras.
Mechanically they’re fantastic cars. Software-wise, they’re atrociously bad to the point of what I’d consider nearly unusable. Their mobile apps (the several of them, each a ragtag, disjointed attempt separate from the others) are an order of magnitude worse, with many functions just outright broken, and even the working ones are very slow and unreliable.
I’m not sure which manufacturer might be better in this regard, but it is a major point of weekly annoyance (and sometime stress and danger) for me, so much so that it will be a point of consideration for my next car. I’m a software dev, though, so maybe the issues just bug me more than they would the average person? 
My partner doesn’t even notice half of them, or just turns it off and drives silently.
So if infotainment matters to you… eh… the Subarus are also really bad in this regard. Try it out during a test drive, making sure you connect to your phone in the usual way you’d use it (or not) and make some turns, etc. to see how you like it. Maybe you’re fine with it, or not, but better to find out before you buy it. Oh, and then clear the phone from the car at the end of the test drive so you don’t leave all your contacts and texts on it.
Yes, to an extent, but it isnt a critical rating, like the drive train.
Not at all.
Then I’d wholeheartedly recommend them (Subarus, especially the ICE ones that are not rebranded Toyotas). They’re great in most other regards, especially the drivetrain and overall reliability.
Yes, I know, and if i was in the market for a new car, Subaru and Honda would be my choices. Now, see, yes, several cars have infotainment systems which arent the best- but that doesnt figure in reliability. What does is that if that system breaks down.
I’m not sure if a RAV4 is “smallish”, but here is a recent Alex on Autos (probably my favorite youtube auto reviewer). The summary is, except for rear seat room (can’t fit rear facing child seat), is VERY good (though not perfect) in all areas.
As I commented, the Corolla Cross is right-sized for me, but the RAV gets only slightly worse mileage, and is only slightly more (and has a plug in variant, though I’m not sure I even want to know the real world price of a plug-in since Toyota makes about 10 of them a year and supply and demand, esp with high gas prices…)
Brian
RAV4s are great, but I doubt we could get one with less than 100K miles in our price range.
I’ve been shopping around for them lately and am happy to estimate it’s worth a good 40-50% better than that around here.
It may be here, as well. I was going by some website’s valuation.
Sorry, I forgot your price range. Then some of the suggestions (2026 Crosstrek Hybrid) are also right out. My price range is a bit higher, and am also looking for a crossover or small SUV at some point in the future (not this year)
Brian
And a CX-5 it is. We just got a 2019 in our price range with under 60K miles. Our 2014 Sonata has been demoted to 2nd car. It has almost 150K miles, but has been a very good car. The demotion means it’s parked on the street rather than the driveway. We were originally going to look at a Crosstrek, but the sales guy messed up and lost the sale. I called early to confirm it was still available, and they told me it was but they “couldn’t find it.” Told me he’d call back within an hour. A couple of hours went by with nothing, and meanwhile we found out about the Mazda (which was a little less expensive even without being in Virginia where sales tax is lower). We decided to go see the Mazda and liked it. While the paperwork was being done there was a message from dealer number 1. Supposedly the Crosstrek was having the work it needed to qualify as “Certified.” Thing is, it had been listed on the website as Certified for at least a week or so. It was a 2018, which makes me think it wouldn’t qualify for that designation. We probably would have gotten it without it being Certified, so their questionable honesty cost them the sale.
All I’ve read about that generation CX-5 is positive. Here’s to all going for the best.
Yay! Congratulations, I think you’ll be happy with it.
Thanks. It’ll be mostly Ms. P driving it, since she drives further and more often. I’m semi-retired and never work than a mile or so from home, so the Sonata gets demoted to being driven by me. I should get to drive it plenty during vacation, though.