Buying a used car is a great way to save money on a new purchase while not having to deal with the problems that buying a cheap beater will have. However, of all the used SUVs on the market, Edmunds says that the Mazda CX-5 is the best used SUV of them all. Here’s why. 

How Edmunds found the winners

According to Edmunds, this study was conducted based on all the customer satisfaction as well as the critic ratings given to cars from around the country. Furthermore, Edmunds mainly looked at SUVs from 2016, as those SUVs are just starting to enter the used-car market, and the values haven’t depreciated much. 

On top of that, 2016 is a good year to look at because SUVs from 2016 still have plenty of modern technologies and features. This is important because modern SUVs will tend to have more smart safety features than older SUVs will have.

Similarly, an SUV’s engine power and design tend to improve with model years, so a 2016 SUV will probably be more powerful and more fuel-efficient than an SUV from a much older model year. 

But ultimately, as Edmunds said, price is the biggest factor in choosing the best used SUV. So, when all of that is added together, Edmunds found that the Mazda CX-5 was the best used SUV overall. 

What the Mazda CX-5 offers

Like other Mazdas, Edmunds praised the CX-5’s performance and handling capabilities. Edmunds says that, when the CX-5 is equipped with its optional 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, it feels “more like a sport sedan than an SUV.” Edmunds explains that the CX-5 handles really well and its 2.5-liter engine, which generates 250-hp, makes the CX-5 feel really sporty. 

However, Edmunds also says that’s not the case with the CX-5’s standard 2.0-liter four-cylinder. Edmunds recommends that prospective buyers of the CX-5 choose the 2.5-liter for the best experience with the SUV. 

And while the CX-5 is powerful, it’s also pretty practical as well. That’s another big reason why the CX-5 is Edmund’s choice for the best used SUV on the market right now.

For example, the CX-5, even with its powerful 2.5-liter engine, gets 25 MPG in the city and 31 MPG on highways, that equals out to about 28 MPG combined. 

On top of that, Edmunds praised the CX-5’s decent cargo carrying capacity as well as its great safety features and safety ratings. The CX-5 has about 31 cu. ft. of cargo space and about 60 cu. ft. of cargo space when its rear seats are folded down. Compared to its competitors, the CX-5 doesn’t have the most cargo space. However, when combined with its performance figures, the CX-5 does come out ahead.

But again, price is the main reason for choosing to buy a used SUV. Edmunds says that a 2016 CX-5 costs about $19,000, which is 36% less than the cost of a brand-new CX-5. This affordable price, when combined with the CX-5’s 8.1 out of 10 score from Edmunds and its 4.3 out of 5 score from customers, gave the CX-5 the top spot in terms of used SUVs. 

Other good choices

In second and third place were the Ford Edge and the Kia Sorento. Both of these used SUVs were good, and both received roughly similar ratings from both Edmunds and customers. 

However, both SUVs were more expensive than the CX-5 was, and both weren’t as good overall as the CX-5 was. That said, Edmunds liked all three used SUVs, and Edmunds recommends them all for prospective buyers.