Compact SUVs may be practical, but a lot of them are honestly quite boring. Despite their dull driving dynamics, they remain some of the most popular vehicles on the road. This boils down to the simple fact that people value practicality above most other things in their lives. Whether you're starting a family or hauling lots of equipment all the time, compact SUVs offer space that more entertaining cars simply don't.

The all-new 2026 Mazda CX-5 may be grabbing the headlines, but the SUV it replaced has one major advantage: a proven track record. More than a decade after it launched, the 2015 model continues to stand out as one of the most dependable compact SUVs you can buy used.

Over the last couple of years, Mazda has built a strong reputation for themselves. If you're looking for something luxurious on a budget with entertaining driving dynamics, they're an easy choice. The CX-90 is the brand's flagship, and the three-row SUV aims to push this ideology harder than any other model before it. In fact, lots of reviewers crack jokes that the Japanese brand has simply built a BMW, which is a pretty big compliment in our eyes.