Published January 1st, 2025

Photos by Jay Kana unless otherwise noted.

Whether you’re travelling across town or across the country, road trips can be fun, exciting and adventurous.
What’s the best car for a road trip? Well, that depends on where you’re going and who you’re with.

As travel continues to increase, so does the popularity and freedom of the road trip. It can be well-planned or spontaneous; by yourself or with others; overnight or over a month.
There are dozens of vehicle options in 2025 that can be your chariot for adventure, each with something that suits your needs and lifestyle.

Our best cars for road trips reference guide is categorized by vehicle size/class and then we’ve listed one mainstream brand and one luxury brand with some bonus picks.

For additional help in planning your road trips, visit RoadTripper.ca for great ideas and destinations!
Let us know which vehicle you’re taking on road trips and where you’re going in the comments!

Two-Door/Coupe

Lexus LC 500
This is the absolute best car Lexus has made in the past decade and now that the silly touchpad has been exchanged for a touchscreen infotainment system, it's flawless for its class.
With a powerful 5L V8, exquisite materials and a buttery smooth drive feel, you'll be in the luxury lane on your road trip. Get the convertible version if you have the option.

Porsche 718 Boxster
The joy of driving is heightened with the Porsche 718 Boxster with a manual transmission. Enjoy the freedom to change your own precise gears as you explore and adventure, knowing that this is the last of the gasoline models. Twists and turns are taken with ease in this delightful driving machine.

Sedan

Toyota Camry
New for 2025, this hybrid-only sedan is function-first with a touch of style and superb fuel economy, ringing in as low as 4.9L/100 km used. Comfortable seats, good standard tech and great standard safety made the Toyota Camry the first choice in the segment.

BMW 550e
BMW's mid-size sedan 5-Series is the best sedan offering from the brand. 2025 sees a much better PHEV system here with up to 55 km of range plus a plethora of power and of course, a silky smooth ride. Layered in luxury and anchored in BMW's impressive driving dynamics, you'll enjoy the drive wherever you go.

Hatchback

Photo by Honda Canada

Honda Civic
The 2025 Honda Civic hatchback gives you nearly 700 L of cargo space, meaning you can easily fit four carry-on bags and have some space to spare. Add in its sturdy drive feel and that two of its three trims are hybrid, and you'll be able to go further.
A combination of touchscreen technology and physical buttons create the right balance.

Mazda 3
Mazda's hatchback can be had with modest power, which is plenty, or optioned with a turbocharged engine. The Japanese brand has the best driving dynamics in the mainstream class and the 3 shines brightly with its agility and excellent responsiveness. Standard safety scores high and the minimalist cabin and ample cargo space make for one of favourite modern vehicles.

Subcompact Crossover

Lexus UX 300h
Lexus' smallest offering, the UX 300h, is hybrid-only and can go a touch over 800 km per full tank of fuel. Ideal for a couples getaway, this small and stylish crossover comes with all-wheel drive, a strong list of standard safety, is easy to drive and easy to park.

Nissan Kicks
All-new for 2025, the Nissan Kicks goes heavy on style throughout with decent power figures to match. Two large screens give it high marks on the tech side, as does its respectable cargo space of 850 L (front-wheel drive) or 677 L (all-wheel drive.)

Buick Envista
The Envista is the best thing Buick has released in over two decades comes in its smallest offering, the Envista. Also sporting two large screens and that soft, supple ride feel Buick is built on, you'll ride in comfort here as you traverse the roads ahead.

Compact Crossover

Subaru Forester
All-new for 2025, the Subaru Forester is an excellent choice for rural or urban adventures. Excellent standard safety features and their famous symmetrical all-wheel drive system make this a terrific choice. In fact, this was the vehicle I chose for my massive road trip where I kayaked all five Great Lakes in one day.

BMW X3
All-new for 2025, the BMW X3 carries the torch for wonderful driving dynamics, modern technology and scores of cargo space at 570 L. The infotainment system is intuitive, seats are cushy and supportive and while the high-performance version can be exhilarating to drive, the base model is better suited for road trips with a softer suspension.

Mid-Size Crossover

Nissan Murano
All-new for 2025, the Nissan Murano is adorned with luxury-esque materials throughout, has an impressive digital presence, plenty of power and a very comfortable ride feel. Passengers will appreciate the spacious rear seats and to me, it's significantly better than its luxury counterpart, the Infiniti QX50 in every way.

Hyundai Santa Fe
Hyundai's all-new boxy and spacious Santa Fe features a polarizing design inside and out. With both hybrid and gasoline options, seating for either six or seven (trim dependant) and advanced technology, Hyundai keeps rolling out excellent vehicles with the Santa Fe being near the top.

Lincoln Nautilus
The all-new Lincoln Nautilus goes heavy on the tech with a 48-inch display screen paired with an 11.1-inch infotainment screen. Opt for a gasoline or hybrid option here and enjoy the same long list of standard safety. A soft suspension, couch-like seats and good power make the Nautilus an excellent choice.

Full-Size SUV

Nissan Armada
Another all-new vehicle from Nissan is their largest offering geared for family road trips to,well, nearly anywhere. With a robust drivetrain, oodles of power, towing capacity up to 8,500 pounds and a cavernous interior, the Nissan Armada also boasts two massive screens for a tech-heavy presence.
Special mention to the also all-new Infiniti QX80, of which it shares a platform with and is fairly similar, with the Infiniti getting higher quality materials and 25 additional horsepower.

BMW X7
BMW's X7 lets you road trip in the height of luxury with bells and whistles galore, oh-so-much space and advanced technology. Using either a six or eight cylinder engine with heaps of power, you can tow up to 7,500 pounds and enjoy road trips in style for either six or seven people.
Special mention to the Mercedes-Benz GLS, which also gives passengers a road trip experience in the lap of luxury with tons of tech.

Pickup Truck

Ford Maverick
The 2025 version of the wildly popular and practical Ford Maverick now offers both a hybrid engine and all-wheel drive, giving this small truck a bigger value. With ample power, towing at up to 4,000 pounds and functionality, there’s a lot of allure here. Plus, with a fuel rating of only 6.2 L/100 km for the hybrid, you can well over 800 km per tank of fuel.

Hybrid

Mazda CX-50
Using the wildly popular hybrid engine setup from Toyota's RAV4, the Mazda CX-50 hybrid is the newest offering from Mazda. It maintains an upscale and premium cabin, simple yet effective technology and agile driving dynamics and adds in excellent fuel economy at 6.2 L/100 km. Expect Mazda's own hybrid engine in the coming year or two.

Honda Civic
Both the Honda Civic hybrid sedan and hatchback are excellent choices for two or three adventurers to explore the open road and save some money in the process.
The sedan is rated at 5.1 L/100 km and the hatchback comes in at 5 L/100 km, meaning you can go nearly 1,000 km between gas station visits. Add in the modern cabin, remarkable drive feel and cleanly designed cabin and it's easy to see why the Civic is so popular.

Toyota Crown & Crown Signia
Both the Toyota Crown (sedan) and Crown Signia (station wagon/crossover) are hidden gems in the hybrid segment. There's a mile long list of standard safety, smart and standard technology, cavernous cabin space in both and Toyota has created such a refined ride quality here. In fact, I drove it in the Rocky Mountains last summer and was fully impressed.
Fuel consumption for the Crown with the base engine gets 5.7 L/100 km and the turbo engine lifts that to 7.8 L/100 km. The Crown Signia rings in at 6.2 L/100 km with its one engine.
Note that the Crown has 360 L of cargo space while the Crown Signia nearly doubles that to 702 L.

Lexus RX
The popular mid-size crossover from Lexus is elegant and exceptional and a stellar choice in the luxury segment. Opt for either a 2.5 L engine with 246 horsepower and a fuel rating of 6.5 L/100 km or a 2.4 L turbo engine with 367 horsepower with fuel consumption at 8.6 L/100 km.
Both offer a serene cabin, an ultra smooth ride quality that'll keep both driver and passengers comfortable, plus a wealth of standard safety.

Also consider the compact-sized NX crossover, for a similar experience with a slightly smaller footprint..

Plug-In Hybrid

Mitsubishi Outlander
With up to 61 km of electric range, Mitsubishi says their Outlander PHEV is "Canada’s Best-Selling Plug-in Hybrid SUV." It's got three rows and seats seven but it's best to fold that third row down and use it for cargo space. The ride is comfortable and the amenities are quite good for road trips and the advanced all-wheel drive system comes standard.

Toyota RAV4
Boasting up to 68 km of electric range and nearly 1,000 km of total range between the gas engine and battery, Toyota's ultra-popular RAV4 plug-in hybrid is one of the best plug-in options on the market. With a sensible cabin layout, plenty of space for people and cargo, there's a good reason you see so many on the road. Add in standard all-wheel drive, a power moonroof and lots of standard safety and this is an excellent choice.

Electric Vehicles

Photo by Volkswagen Canada

Volvo EX30 - Subcompact Crossover
The newest Volvo offering, the EX30, provides 420 km of range with the rear-wheel drive option and 402 with all-wheel drive. The minimalist yet tech-heavy interior can be appealing for those who dislike traditional design.
Fast charging can take you from 10 to 80% in 26.5 minutes.

Volkswagen ID.Buzz - Three-row crossover, seven seats
Retro lovers rejoice as the Buzz is finally here! The rear-wheel drive version runs up to 377 km of range and the all-wheel drive sees a tiny dip to 372 km of range.
Fast charging can take you from 10 to 80% in 26 minutes.

Hyundai IONIQ 6 - Sedan
This stellar all-electric sedan, which I took through the Rockies for a week and loved, has an impressive 550 km of range via rear-wheel drive and 509 km via their all-wheel drive option.
Fast charging can take you from 10 to 80% in 18 minutes.

Hyundai IONIQ 5 - Subcompact Crossover
The boxy crossover is polarizing throughout and will take you up to 504 km with the rear-wheel drive option and as much as 463 km with all-wheel drive. Plus, this year, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 gets a rear wiper, all while keeping its stellar technology and great driving feel.
Fast charging can take you from 10 to 80% in 18 minutes.

Chevrolet Equinox - Compact Crossover
The golden bowtie says this is "Canada’s most affordable EV with over 500 kilometres of estimated range on a full charge." 513 km, to be specific via the front-wheel drive option. All-wheel drive can take you as much as 494 km.
The trade off is there's no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, however.
Fast charging can take you from 10 to 80% in around 40 minutes.

Honda Prologue - Compact Crossover
This joint and one-time-only partnership with GM gave Honda what it needed for its first EV.
The Prologue has been well received so far and range-wise, we're at 452 km of range, all-wheel drive comes standard and it's a smart first step for Honda.
Fast charging can take you from 20 to 80% in around 40 minutes.

EV9 - Three-row crossover, seven seats
This practical, stylish and smart looking EV goes up to 489 km of range via rear-wheel drive and as high as 451 km with all-wheel drive. The Kia EV9 is a smart choice for a proper three-row crossover that’s all-electric.
Fast charging can take you from 10 to 80% in 25 minutes.

Off-Road

Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness
This outdoor-inspired trim takes all the good things from the Subaru Crosstrek and adds all-terrain tires, extra body cladding, roof rails with extra load static weight capabilities, 0.6 inches of extra ground clearance and easy-to-clean soft seating material.

Ford Ranger Raptor
The Ford Ranger Raptor goes all-in here by decking out their mid-size pickup truck with heavy duty shock absorbers, 405 horsepower and 430 lb-ft. of torque, a heavy duty bash plate, a Bang & Olufsen 10 Speakers audio system and more. Delve deep into any terrain here as you adventure responsibly.

Toyota Land Cruiser
The 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser is dubbed by the Japanese brand as ‘the original adventure vehicle" and the new iteration stays true to that.
A powerful hybrid engine, all the modern amenities from an advanced infotainment system, to loads of standard safety to a wide array of off-road features and tools, the Land Cruiser delivers on its promise as I've driven one in the Canadian Rockies.

Convertible

Mazda MX-5
The iconic Mazda MX-5 (Miata for those who are purists) has sold over one million units and remains an icon in the automotive world. Choose between a soft top or hard top, manual or automatic, find one person to sit shotgun or do a solo trip, and enjoy the open road.

Ford Mustang
From one icon to another, the Ford Mustang was fully redesigned recently and after driving one myself for a week in rural Nova Scotia, it's earned a spot here. With a sleek appearance, various engine choices, including manual and automatic transmissions, there's no bad choice here as long as a convertible is included.

Manual

Mazda 3
The Mazda 3 has the best shifting manual transmission in the non-luxury market. Period. As one of the last automakers to offer a manual, Mazda does it flawlessly. Row your own gears, find up to three people to join you (nobody needs that middle seat) and appreciate just how fantastic of a car the manual Mazda 3 is.

BMW Z4

With a long-awaited manual transmission, BMW's Z4 is an excellent roadster that's been made better. Relatively smooth shifts, a clutch with a noticeable bite point and all that BMW engineering into making this a joy to drive comes together quite nicely.

Special mention goes to the Hyundai Elantra N for giving us nearly 300 horsepower and a slick-shifting manual gearbox for less than $40,000.
And another shoutout goes to the Porsche 718 Boxster for even offering a manual gearbox, let alone one so precise and fun to drive.

Minivan

Toyota Sienna
There are only four models in Canada (Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, Kia Carnival and Chrysler Pacifica/Hybrid) and the Sienna is by far, the best one. As a hybrid-only, you'll save fuel and bring up to seven other people with you on the journey. Add in sliding doors that are significantly better than SUV doors and a plethora of technology, and Toyota's the clear-cut winner.
If you're saying "aren't minivans dead?" well, Toyota is offering six different trims, so they're still valued.
KIa offers nine configurations of their minivan, Honda offers four and Chrysler has five.

The Best Cars For Road Trips in 2025