Tucson or RAV4

Yes. Hyundai/Kia warranty only applies to first owner. My wife and I both purchased new cars in 2013 A Toyota Camry hybrid and a Kia (Hyundai) optima. The Camry went 270k miles before it was totaled, only major repairs were at 240k replaced hybrid battery and radiator for a total of $2000. Insurance gave me $8000 for it. No minor repairs or dealer visits for anything besides the free oil changes in the beginning. Never burned a drop of oil The Kia needed a new engine at 60k (recall) was on its third transmission. Sold with 160k miles for around $4000. It cost more than the Camry and had 100k less miles and was worth half the money.

And with Tucson getting a redesign next year, lots of discounts and deals making the Tucson very good value play.

I nominate Mazda and Subaru.

Good call on the warranty. This is a common misunderstanding, and it's why Hyundai offers a long warranty. A warranty is not proof that you won't break down. It's just a prepaid contract for dealer service when you do. Think of it as an extended warranty whose cost is baked into the car's price. That's a price cut, but it's not a reliability guarantee. Toyota can get away with a shorter warranty because buyers have more confidence in their cars. There's a reason for that.

You are totally correct. The Hyundai looks good on paper, but it’ll have more issues as time goes on…

Not everyone is driving a vehicle till the wheels fall off. Plus a Rav isn't worth the 50K+ and Toyota dealer BS you are inevitably going to have to deal with.

the hyundai warranty looks great on paper but actually getting them to honor it can be a massive headache. toyota's reputation isn't just talk, those things routinely hit 200k with basic maintenance and don't ask for much in return if you're not a car person the rav4 is the easy choice, less time at the dealer either way

New hyundais have been pretty solid. My wife has a 23 tuscon with no issues and some idiot even tboned her in it and its still going strong over a year later

Upfront cost as the only value metric is short term thinking.

I'd look for a 3rd option that's more reliable than Hyundai and and won't bend you over up front like Toyota.

Toyota, hands down. Less repairs so less time in the shop leaving you car less or with a rental, plus all the money you save on repairs. I drove my Sequoia to 300k before I sold it to downsize. Car was 23 years old. Outside of general maintenance: tune up, brakes, tires and oil changes, I replaced the radiator. That's it. Oh and my husband changed a headlight. Easy peasy. Totally reliable/dependable and worth every penny. Daughter had a 4 runner. Drove it for 8 years before she totaled it and she got more from insurance than she initially paid for it. Never put anything in it but general maintenance. It was 20 yrs old when she totaled it. I currently have a 2016 rav 4. I've had it maybe 8-9 months. Great car so far

If you are getting new I'd get the Tuscon. It's just a better driving vehicle, and more features. Plus it'll be cheaper with no dealer BS with markups since the Rav is Toyotas best selling model.

Make sure you’re comparing consistently. The rav4 is now all-hybrid, so if you’re cross shopping you may want to compare only tucson hybrid trims (i find the ice offerings uninspiring and uninteresting).

Hyundai will feel more premium and prob cheaper but Toyota will last you longer. Now, not everyone actually wants to drive a car till the wheels fall off so consider your buying habit. Subjectively, I like the new rav design, but if it’s the last gen then I think the Hyundai looks way better. Going hybrid will make the Hyundai a bit more reliable than some of its gas counterparts. Either one will get you to 100k, but if you want to drive to 200k or beyond then go rav.

Features and warranty do not equal reliability. You do get way more features on a Tucson and you get the longer warranty but that does not necessarily mean the car is reliable. I think what you may be asking is does Toyota's reliability outweigh the benefits of the Tucson features in the long warranty? I think this is something you have to ask yourself. Do you put more value on the features you get to use every day vs some repair down the road? Or would you go with less features for the price because you're less concerned about a repair. I would drive both and see how you feel. I have a Tucson hybrid and it's a nice ride. The RAV 4 was too cramped for me, so I never gave it a full try out.

How long do you plan on keeping the car? If they’re both new the Tucson is a bit cheaper and has more features. They’ll both definitely last at least 5 years. Obviously a lot longer with routine maintenance etc. So the question would be is the $3-$4K premium worth it now? If you plan to drive the car into the ground most would say the RAV4. If you want more stuff (and probably not going to keep the car long) and want to save $3-$4k now get the tuscon. Another factor if you’re not going to keep the car long is the resale value. It’s crazy that the RAV4 may actually keep its value or even go up on the used market. The easier answer is rav4 but in tough markets it’s hard to get one even at MSRP. I imagine there are a lot of incentives for Tucson’s right now. So the nuanced answer is what’s more important. Money now or money later? You might get more money later but it’ll cost you more right now.

10 years ago? I would not touch a Tucson. Nowaday? RAV4 right now are just ridiculous with the waitlist, mark-ups, etc., for a vehicle that is truly not THAT special. Throw in loud droning noise, cheap interior... Tucsons are fine tbh. It is due for a redesign so you may find bargain in the outgoing model anyway. Make sure you look at the Tucson hybrids instead of regular though for comparison - better fuel economy AND better power anyway. Take a look at its cousin Sportage also. Ok, RAV4 Prime (PHEV) is better than the Tucson one but that's like what? 5% of buyers? And "other choices"... CR-V Hybrid: More spacious than RAV4, but definitely lacking in features. Plus somewhat underpower. Forester Hybrid: Proven AWD and practicality, but it is seriously underpower compare to its competitors. CX-50 Hybrid: Looks nice inside and outside, but uncomfortable seat and firm ride are common complaints.

Hyundai’s warranty is complete crap. Reading the final print you have to understand what a powertrain warranty is versus a bumper to bumper warranty. Basically, the powertrain is the last thing to fail on a vehicle but mechanically, all common failures aren’t tied to the powertrain so the claims get denied. Other companies don’t need to do a powertrain warranty because they don’t need to. Hyundai advertises it to get you in the door thinking the “powertrain warranty” is worth a damn. It’s more of a marketing thing than anything else.

I got the 2025 RAV4 I like the design and the fact that it’s not hybrid plus the 2026 looks like a Nissan to me and I just cannot un see it. I don’t know why they went with that design. I did want to get the Dodge Durango, but it looks like they are stolen a lot and can cost you a lot in repairs. The Tucson is super nice. It does have a lot of nice features but what I have seen is the screen cracks easily and it just doesn’t look like it’s made as well as a Toyota, but it is more flashy if you were wanting leather and. I plan to put those on my RAV4 and save myself some money because my concern was wanting a better engine. Toyota does make you pay for everything extra so things like splash guards and running boards can all be put on later. I’m very happy with it so far, but I was a little nervous to buy Kia or Hyundai. My area only has one dealership and they’re not that good so I picked Toyota because we have two here and it just seems like a better quality.

Fair point on resale value. Toyota does hold ridiculous value in the market. Speaking general market, hybrids overall prove a lot more reliable than their gas equivalents. Toyota of course makes more reliable gas cars as well, but in the modern day of CVTs, 3cyl turbos, cyl deactivation, and other methods to get better fuel economy has resulted in less reliable gas cars. Hybrids take away the problem of the transmission (in Toyotas design at least) and a super reliable Atkinson engine that will last for a long time. Not sure about your government turning off your car thing. Remote deactivation exists in any car, gas or not. My gas forester can be turned off remotely. Not saying the government is doing that, but the ability exists on any newer car

Toyota, don't get fooled by the long warranty and "more features" of Kia/Hyundai, many of my friends tried them once and sweared never again You want a reliable car that you can sell for good money later like Lexus, Toyota, Acura, honda

RAV4. Don't get me wrong, it's got it's share of problems, my friends 2018 RAV4 was plagued: endless infotainment glitches, sunroof shattered spontaneously, premature brake wear, leaking oil and oil pressure sensor faults, half a dozen batteries, automatic transmission so slow she can even safely get onto the highway, squeaks and rattles more than an average rickshaw. But a used Hyundai without warranty will be even worse.

Hyundai is temu Mercedes

Toyota