Road trips are therapeutic experiences for people who thoroughly enjoy them. The vast, long roads, beautiful ever-changing scenery, and the company of our loved ones all contribute to making a road trip memorable. However, a spoiled trip is just a breakdown away, which is then accompanied by repairs and other complications. This is the end of a road trip that no one wants.
So, we have a solution: a list of 10 road trip-ready SUVs that are large on space, comfort, convenience, and, most importantly, reliability. The maintenance costs of these SUVs are on the lower side compared to the heavy hitters of their respective price brackets. While this list includes a few obvious Japanese and South Korean offerings from the likes of Honda, Subaru, Kia, and Hyundai, there are two Chevys here that show that even brutish American-made SUVs can stand tall against the famed Japanese reliability claims.
This list is curated from spacious three-row SUVs with JD Power reliability ratings of 80/100 or higher.
2025 Hyundai Santa Fe
Reliability Rating: 81/100
The 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe gets an impressive 82/100 in JD Power Rating. This helps it secure a spot on the highly competitive Best Upper Midsize SUV of 2025 list, behind popular Japanese nameplates. The Quality and Reliability rating is a solid 81/100 here.
All three rows of seats are surprisingly comfortable for adults, even the rear-most bench. Yes, those two seats are best reserved for kids, but 6-foot-tall people can fit in the way-back without too much difficulty.
– Craig Cole for TopSpeed
The Santa Fe excels further with an iSeeCars score of 8.1/100, which includes 7.7/10 for Reliability, 7.9/10 for Value Retention, and 8.7/10 for Safety. This Hyundai scores high on road-trip appeal, with features such as a spacious three-row cabin, a standard 12.3-inch touchscreen, a heated steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, and rear ventilation ducts. Powering the Santa Fe is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with 277 horsepower.
- Average Yearly Maintenance Cost: $515 (RepairPal)
- Est. Maintenance Cost During The First 10 Years: $8,720 (CarEdge)
- Total Recalls:4
2025 Chevrolet Tahoe
Reliability Rating: 81/100
Taking the top spot in JD Power‘s ‘Best Large SUV of 2025’ is the Chevy Tahoe with an overall rating of 83/100. It scores 80+ across all parameters, with a reliability rating of 81/100. The scores are solid on iSeeCars, too, with an overall rating of 7.4/10. It scores 7.7/10 in Reliability, 7.6/10 in Value Retention, and 7.0/10 for Safety. It impresses further with no recalls or investigations, as per the NHTSA.
The Chevy Tahoe is loaded with cozy features and brutish performance. It gets a large 17.7-inch central touchscreen, an 11-inch driver display, spacious, relatively luxurious three-row seating, and heated and ventilated seats. Chevy blesses the Tahoe with lots of cool engine options. The standard mill is a 5.3-liter V8 producing 355 horsepower. The most powerful option is the 6.2-liter V8 with 420 horsepower.
- Average Yearly Maintenance Cost: $744 (RepairPal)
- Est. Maintenance Cost During The First 10 Years: $9,966 (CarEdge)
- Total Recalls: 0
2025 Honda Pilot
Reliability Rating: 81/100
Honda has always had a winning run when it comes to reliability and dependability quotient. The Honda Pilot adds a spacious three-row cabin. It scores an overall 83/100 on JD Power, making it in the top five ‘Best Upper Midsize SUVs of 2025’. It impresses further by scoring an overall 8.3/10 on iSeeCars.
Regardless of trim, the Pilot features a plethora of cupholders and USB ports for all seats, and both the second and third rows can be dropped in segments to accommodate people and cargo simultaneously.
– Chase Bierenkoven for TopSpeed
Here, it gets 8.0/10 for Reliability, 7.9/10 for Value Retention, and 9.0/10 for Safety. There have been four recalls and one investigation on the 2025 Pilot, as per the NHTSA. The three-row Honda Pilot is an all-rounder with features like a 3.5-liter V6 engine, seating for up to eight people, a 5,000-pound towing capacity, and loads of convenience features.
- Average Yearly Maintenance Cost: $542 (RepairPal)
- Est. Maintenance Cost During The First 10 Years: $7,880 (CarEdge)
- Total Recalls: 4
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2025 Chevrolet Traverse
Reliability Rating: 83/100
Here’s yet another Chevy that not only offers a commendable reliability quotient but also scores high on the leaderboard. The 2025 Traverse has an overall JD Power rating of 84/100, helping it secure the second spot among the ‘Best Upper Midsize SUVs of 2025’. It has a solid iSeeCars score of 7.7/10, too. This includes 7.5/10 for Reliability, 7.7/10 for Value Retention, and 7.8/10 for Safety.
There are no recalls or investigations on the 2025 Traverse, as per the NHTSA, which is impressive. This sharp-looking Chevy is loaded with features like a standard 17.7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a standard six-speaker audio system (with optional 10-speaker Bose system), seating for up to eight passengers, with options for second-row bucket seats and ventilated front seats, and more convenience features.
- Average Yearly Maintenance Cost: $656 (RepairPal)
- Est. Maintenance Cost During The First 10 Years: $9,602 (CarEdge)
- Total Recalls: 0
2025 Subaru Ascent
Reliability Rating: 84/100
Subaru is known for its peppy, fun-driving cars. The Ascent stays true to this notion while also offering extra features with a three-row interior and a lot of convenience features. It has an overall score of 84/100 by JD Power, which also puts it at the top of their ‘Best Upper Midsize SUV of 2025’ list. iSeeCars gives it a 7.8/10 on Value Retention and 10/10 on safety.
The latter is a rare feat. Furthermore, there are no recalls or investigations as per the NHTSA. Powering the 2025 Ascent is a peppy 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer engine, coupled to the famed Subaru AWD system. With a commendable ground clearance of 8.7 inches and rugged visual cues, this Subaru can add more off-roading challenges to your road trip.
- Average Yearly Maintenance Cost: $617 (RepairPal)
- Est. Maintenance Cost During The First 10 Years: $8,778 (CarEdge)
- Total Recalls: 0
2025 Toyota Highlander
Reliability Rating: 84/100
This handsome three-row SUV is built for cozy road trips. The 2025 Highlander has an overall JD Power score of 82/100, of which 84/100 is for Quality and Reliability, 78/100 is for Driving Experience, 90/100 for Resale, and 76/100 for Dealership Experience. It has an impressive iSeeCars score too, with an overall 8.5/10.
This constitutes a Reliability score of 8.1/10, a Value Retention score of 8.3/10, and a Safety score of 9.0/10. According to the NHTSA, this Toyota has two recalls and no investigations as of now. Making road trips cozier on the 2025 Highlander are features like available leather-trimmed and heated or ventilated front seats, an impressive suite of safety features, and a super-refined and frugal standard 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
- Average Yearly Maintenance Cost: $489 (RepairPal)
- Est. Maintenance Cost During The First 10 Years: $6,225 (CarEdge)
- Total Recalls: 2
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2025 Nissan Pathfinder
Reliability Rating: 84/100
This is Nissan’s midsize SUV that fuses brute force, rugged looks, and impressive refinement levels with a commendable reliability quotient. The 2025 Pathfinder scores an overall 83/100 on JD Power. Quality and Reliability (84/100) and Dealership experience (85/100) are two of the top-scoring criteria here. This Nissan has an overall iSeeCars score of 8.4/10, again an impressive number.
This constitutes a Reliability score of 7.7/10, a Value Retention score of 7.4/10, and a Safety score of 10/10. As per the NHTSA, there has been only a single recall on the Pathfinder to date. Highlighting features of this Nissan SUV include a refined 3.5-liter V6 mated to a standard nine-speed automatic transmission, a standard six-speaker audio system, three rows of seating, and a comprehensive suite of safety and assistive features.
- Average Yearly Maintenance Cost: $542 (RepairPal)
- Est. Maintenance Cost During The First 10 Years: $8,178 (CarEdge)
- Total Recalls:1
2025 Hyundai Palisade
Reliability Rating: 84/100
The elevated reliability quotient is a prime contributor to the 2025 Hyundai Palisade‘s commendable overall JD Power score of 82/100. This includes a Quality and Reliability score of 84/100, a Driving Experience score of 84/100, a Resale score of 85/100, and a Dealership Experience score of 71/100. While iSeeCars has yet to give it a Reliability score, the Palisade scores high: 8.0/10 for Value Retention and 9.0/10 for Safety.
Furthermore, there have been a total of two recalls on the Palisade, as per the NHTSA. Hyundai has loaded the Palisade with lots of comfort, convenience, and technology features. Notable ones include a 12-3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, spacious three-row seating, and a host of sophisticated safety features.
- Average Yearly Maintenance Cost: $474 (RepairPal)
- Est. Maintenance Cost During The First 10 Years: $8,816 (CarEdge)
- Total Recalls: 2
2025 Kia Telluride
Reliability Rating: 85/100
This is the most reliable, VFM road-trip-worthy SUV here. The 2025 Kia Telluride scores an overall 83/100, of which the greatest contributors include Quality and Reliability (85/100), Driving Experience (83/100), Resale (89/100), and Dealership Experience (73/100). It takes third place on JD Power‘s ‘Best Upper Midsize SUV of 2025’ list.
This Kia scores high via iSeeCars, too, with a Value Retention score of 7.9/10 and Safety score of 10/10. The Telluride is a looker of an SUV that packs a 3.8-liter V6 coupled to an 8-speed automatic transmission. It offers cool features like Remote Smart Parking Assist, a standard 12.3-inch infotainment screen, and a suite of advanced driver-assistance features.
- Average Yearly Maintenance Cost: $474 (RepairPal)
- Est. Maintenance Cost During The First 10 Years: $8,730 (CarEdge)
- Total Recalls: 2