Saving & Spending Home & Auto

15 Cheap, Safe and Small SUVs Under $40K

These SUVs offer a variety of safety features for a reasonable price, which might make them high-value purchases.

By Jarret Hendrickson

Edited by Chris Kissell

Updated March 25, 2025

Many American SUV shoppers are on a tight budget. They also want to purchase a vehicle that will protect their family. Thankfully, there are numerous safe, affordable SUVs that are smart money moves for car owners.

Kelley Blue Book has identified these 15 affordable SUVs with top-notch safety features that may be worth your time and money.

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2025 Honda CR-V

Base price: $30,100

The 2025 Honda CR-V comes with impressive standard safety features, such as lane-departure warning with steering assist.

This small SUV also features adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist. Additionally, it has traffic sign recognition and traffic jam assist, along with a driver monitoring system.

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2024 Mazda CX-30

Base price: $24,995

The 2024 Mazda CX-30 comes with safety features such as blind-spot monitoring and lane-departure warning.

Mazda's small SUV also comes with rear cross-traffic alert, hill-start assist, and LED headlights. Additional safety features include 10 air bags, high-beam assist, lane-departure warning, and adaptive cruise control.

2024 Hyundai Kona

Base price: $24,250

The 2024 Hyundai Kona comes with a driver monitoring system and rear cross-traffic alert. It also features safe-exit assist and traffic-sign recognition.

This small SUV's other safety features include LED headlights, hill-start assist, lane-keeping assist, and blind-spot monitoring.

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2025 Lexus UX

Base price: $37,715

The 2025 Lexus UX features highly sought-after safety features such as automatic LED headlights and high-beam assist.

This luxurious small SUV also comes with 10 air bags, heated outboard mirrors, lane-departure assist with steering assist, lane-centering assist, blind-spot monitoring, traffic-sign recognition, all-speed adaptive cruise control, and rear cross-traffic alert.

2025 Honda HR-V

Base price: $25,400

The 2025 Honda HR-V comes with a bevy of impressive safety features. Among them are hill-start assist, high-beam assist, and automatic LED headlights.

This affordable compact crossover SUV also features adaptive cruise control, traffic-sign recognition, lane-keeping assist, and traffic-jam assist. It has nine air bags in its cabin.

2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee/Grand Cherokee L

Base price: $36,495

The 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee/Grand Cherokee L is an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick.

This rear-wheel drive vehicle comes with LED headlights and hill-start assist, as well as a seven-air bag cabin.

It also features advanced safety technology such as rear-park assist with automatic braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, rear cross-traffic alert, and lane-departure warning.

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2024 Volkswagen Atlas

Base price: $37,725

The 2024 Volkswagen Atlas has earned Top Safety Pick honors from the IIHS. Its safety features include adaptive LED headlights, rain-sensing wipers, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, hill-start assist, and high-beam assist.

The German SUV also comes with blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and Volkswagen's Poor Weather Lights, which improve visibility during inclement weather.

2024 Hyundai Tucson

Hyundai Tucson displayed at NY Auto Show

Base price: $27,600

The 2024 Hyundai Tucson has advanced safety features such as adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, lane-following assist, a driver monitoring system, safety-exit assist, and junction-turning assist.

This compact SUV is also an IIHS Top Safety Pick. Its additional safety features include high-beam assist, LED headlights, and hill-start assist. It comes with eight air bags.

2024 Subaru Outback

Base price: $28,895

The 2024 Subaru Outback is an adventurous crossover SUV that earned a Top Safety Pick award from the IIHS.

This all-wheel drive vehicle comes with automatic adaptive LED headlights and has eight air bags. It also features high-beam assist, adaptive cruise control with lane-centering assist, lane-keeping assist, and lane-departure warning.

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2024 Nissan Pathfinder

Base price: $36,650

The 2024 Nissan Pathfinder was awarded Top Safety Pick+ honors by the IIHS. It comes with automatic LED headlights, hill-start assist, and high-beam assist. It also features 10 air bags and has rear-park assist.

This three-row SUV has rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning, and blind-spot monitoring as standard safety features.

2024 Kia Sportage

Base price: $27,390

The 2024 Kia Sportage earned a stellar five-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Top Safety Pick honors from the IIHS.

It comes with safety features such as LED headlights, high-beam assist, hill-start assist, a driver monitoring system, lane-keeping assist, and lane-following assist. You also get rear-park assist and lane-departure warning, as well as eight air bags.

2024 Mazda CX-50

Base price: $30,300

The 2024 Mazda CX-50 was given Top Safety Pick+ honors by the IIHS. This crossover SUV features hill-start assist, LED lights, eight air bags, and high-beam assist.

It also includes advanced safety technology, such as adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist with steering assist, a driver monitoring system, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and lane-departure warning.

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2024 Kia Telluride

Kia Telluride SE display at a dealership

Base price: $36,190

The 2024 Kia Telluride comes with navigation-based adaptive cruise control, automatic projector LED headlights, and high-beam assist.

The SUV also has safe-exit assist, hill-start assist, seven air bags, and heated outboard mirrors with integrated turn signals as standard features. It also earned a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS.

2024 Subaru Ascent

Base price: $34,395

The 2024 Subaru Ascent is an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ selection.

This three-row SUV comes with automatic adaptive LED headlights, seven air bags, and high-beam assist.

It also features advanced technology, like adaptive cruise control with lane-centering assist and lane-keeping assist.

2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport

Base price: $37,190

The 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport earned Top Safety Pick honors from the IIHS.

This two-row SUV comes with adaptive LED headlights with high-beam assist. It also features an auto-dimming rearview mirror, hill-start assist, rain-sensing wipers, and Poor Weather Lights.

Bottom line

Shoppers looking to keep more of their hard-earned money should talk to their insurance provider after purchasing an SUV.

Buying a vehicle with the latest safety technology and a better structure than the cars of yesteryear can help you save on car insurance.

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Author Details

Jarret Hendrickson

Jarret Hendrickson is a FinanceBuzz writer who got his start in the personal finance space while in college at San Francisco State University. He ghostwrote a column on the best grocery stores, restaurants, and entertainment spots offering discounts for students on a budget. The money he saved using these deals paid for nearly every tank of gas during his college years.