With a refreshed design for 2025, the Volkswagen Taos continues to offer a comfortable ride, a spacious cargo area, and an easy-to-use infotainment system. Despite these strengths, its starting price is higher than many competitors, and its engine, despite a power boost for 2025, can still feel underwhelming.

For fuel efficiency, the Taos delivers an EPA-estimated 31 km/L combined with front-wheel drive. It achieves 28 km/L in the city and 36 km/L on the highway. Opting for all-wheel drive lowers those numbers to 25 km/L city and 33 km/L highway, making it a slightly less economical choice for those needing AWD capability.

The 2025 Chevrolet Trailblazer offers a stylish design, a spacious interior, and a user-friendly infotainment system, making it an attractive choice for urban drivers. However, its performance is less engaging, and handling can feel uninspired compared to some rivals.

When equipped with the base engine and front-wheel drive, the Trailblazer earns an EPA rating of 31 km/L combined (30 km/L city, 31 km/L highway). Opting for the more powerful engine slightly alters these figures to 29 km/L city and 33 km/L highway, maintaining competitive efficiency without sacrificing too much performance.

The most budget-friendly option on this list, the 2025 Hyundai Venue provides a compact footprint, modern tech features, and excellent fuel efficiency. However, it lacks all-wheel drive and has limited cargo space, making it a better fit for city dwellers rather than adventure seekers.\

With its small, fuel-sipping engine, the Venue delivers an EPA-estimated 31 km/L combined (29 km/L city, 32 km/L highway), making it one of the most cost-effective SUVs for fuel-conscious drivers.

The 2025 Toyota Corolla Cross is known for its smooth ride, user-friendly technology, and strong reliability record. However, some may find its interior materials lacking, and its engine can be noisy under hard acceleration.

For efficiency, front-wheel-drive models achieve 32 km/L combined (31 km/L city, 33 km/L highway), while all-wheel-drive versions drop slightly to 29 km/L city and 31 km/L highway. This balance of practicality and efficiency makes it a solid contender in the small SUV segment.

Sitting at the top of the fuel economy rankings, the 2025 Nissan Rogue combines spacious interiors, advanced safety features, and exceptional efficiency. While its driving dynamics are not the most engaging, its fuel savings and practicality make it a top pick for many buyers.

With front-wheel drive, the Rogue earns an EPA-estimated 33 km/L combined (30 km/L city, 37 km/L highway). All-wheel drive models achieve 28 km/L city and 35 km/L highway, while higher trims like the SL and Platinum lose 1 km/L across all categories. The rugged Rock Creek edition (AWD) comes in at 27 km/L city and 32 km/L highway.