Fuel efficiency is the compromise SUV buyers have been willing to make for decades. More space, more weight, higher ride heights, and larger footprints are the desirable traits, even in compact SUVs (versus their sedan and coupe brethren), and they all work against fuel economy. And they’re amplified at highway speeds, where aerodynamics and mass take over. Efficiency was one of the driving factors in creating compact SUVs, and then midsize SUVs came along to balance the size/efficiency scales, but they were still tilted against efficiency.
But through the wonders of engineering, smaller engines (which have historically been the main protagonist in improving fuel efficiency) have acquired the power to effectively move larger SUVs, while keeping efficiency acceptable. Highway efficiency is especially important to midsize SUVs because their raison d’être is to move families comfortably, and often that involves covering vast distances—for sports tournaments, vacation getaways, and holiday get-togethers. So with that in mind, here are 10 midsize SUVs that are rated at better than 25 mpg on the highway.
2026 Toyota Grand Highlander
Highway Efficiency: 28 MPG
The 2026 Toyota Grand Highlander is broadly known as the face of the efficient midsize SUV, pushing the boundaries with its most efficient configuration in front-wheel drive, using a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine and an eight-speed automatic. Its rating is impressive, considering it’s one of the largest and blockiest SUVs in the midsize segment, and does it without hybridization … and gets better when it does.
The Grand Highlander evolved from the established Highlander with the sole purpose of creating a more usable third row of seating and matches the smaller Highlander on highway efficiency. Though it’s a recent addition to the midsize SUV segment (introduced in 2023), it leaped to the top of family wish lists on the strength of Toyota’s reputation for reliability and efficient powertrains. Rated at an overall range of 427 miles, it could conceivably push 500 highway miles between fill-ups of its 17.8-gallon tank.
2026 Infiniti QX60
Highway Efficiency: 28 MPG
Using front-wheel drive (it is also available with AWD), the 2026 Infiniti QX60 is an impressively efficient midsize SUV, and more so as a luxury model, powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine linked to a nine-speed automatic, which replaced the previous generation’s V-6/CVT setup in 2022. It achieves its lofty highway rating through variable valve timing (VVT) and variable compression ratio (VCR) technology, which adjusts the cylinders’ compression ratio according to demand for acceleration under load.
Using a large fuel tank (19.5 gallons), the 2026 Infiniti QX60 can conceivably rip out highway runs of 550 miles between fill-ups—overall range is rated at 468 miles—while maintaining the three-row space and towing capability of a family vehicle in a stylish aerodynamic shape. The QX60 transitioned from the midsize Infiniti JX35 in 2014, keeping its platform ties to the Nissan Pathfinder and elongated Murano.
2026 Cadillac XT5
Highway Efficiency: 29 MPG
Using a combination of a 2.0-liter turbo “four,” nine-speed automatic, and front-wheel drive, the 2026 Cadillac XT5 approaches the 30-mpg highway efficiency rating, but can also better the 25-mpg benchmark with the optional 3.6-liter V-6 (26 mpg highway rating) and the respective arrangements with AWD. That’s like a complete 180 to Cadillac’s history of large V-8s, but these are different times and, as you’ll note further down the list, the luxury market has embraced bigger power from smaller engines.
The base FWD 2026 Cadillac XT5 uses a 19-gallon tank to travel as much as 550 miles between highway fill-ups, but if you want more, the AWD model lowers highway efficiency (still impressive, at 27 mpg) with the addition of a larger fuel tank (22 gallons) to almost reach the 600-mile threshold that is common to electrified powertrains. The XT5 is a smaller but more aerodynamic midsize SUV (just two rows of seating), and even its V-6 models get better than 25 mpg.
2026 Hyundai Santa Fe
Highway Efficiency: 29 MPG
The Hyundai Santa Fe reacted to the introduction of the Toyota Grand Highlander with a bigger and blockier version to also take full advantage of a third row of seats. For 2026, it clears the 25-mpg highway benchmark in its most efficient FWD form, powered by a large 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-four paired to an eight-speed automatic. The efficiency is not completely lost in the switch to AWD, but was accelerated in the swap from the previous generation’s V-6.
The Hyundai Santa Fe came to market in 2001 as a compact SUV to battle the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, and moved up a weight class when the Tucson came along in 2004. It remained at the lower end of the midsize segment (D-class) until the newest generation. The combination of blockier design and smaller engine makes the 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe an ideal family mover, and its 425-mile rating is capable of approaching 515 miles between fill-ups of its 17.7-gallon tank on highway runs.
2026 Lincoln Nautilus
Highway Efficiency: 29 MPG
Lincoln
One of the most overlooked SUVs on the market, the 2026 Lincoln Nautilus uses a turbocharged two-liter four-cylinder engine to meet its power and efficiency requirements, but receives power at all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic, making it one of the most efficient AWD SUVs in the marketplace. It also cements the impact of smaller turbocharged engines to meet the demands owners place on their luxury SUVs, without the penalties at the fuel pumps.
Lincoln
A 20-gallon fuel tank helps the 2026 Lincoln Nautilus attain a rather lofty range of 480 miles, which can be improved by 100 miles on highway runs between highway fuel stops, under ideal conditions. The Nautilus was restyled and renamed in 2019 to replace the Lincoln MKX, and a new generation came along in 2024, imported from China. It sits at the lower end of the midsize segment, with the capability to seat five, leveraging its smaller engine into improved efficiency.
2026 Lexus RX 350
Highway Efficiency: 29 MPG
The efficiency of the Lexus RX is well documented during the midsize SUV’s existence, since it became the first luxury SUV in 1998, and then the first luxury hybrid SUV in 2006. The 2026 Lexus RX 350 delivers its strongest efficiency in FWD guise, where a 2.4-liter turbocharged inline-four paired with an eight-speed automatic achieves its best non-hybrid EPA ratings. It doesn’t stray very far when using an all-wheel drivetrain (slipping to 28 mpg highway, which is still good enough to break this top-10), and only gets more efficient in hybrid and PHEV variants.
Earlier Lexus RX generations leaned into V-6 power, but the 2026 Lexus RX plays into the current trend toward smaller, more powerful engines to advance efficiency without skimping on maintaining usability. Its 17.8-gallon fuel tank enables 425–450 miles of combined range, and has the potential to top 515 miles on long highway runs, when conditions are ideal. The RX’s size hasn’t wavered much over its existence, starting out as a top-end compact SUV and growing about a foot into today’s low-end midsize.
2026 Chevrolet Blazer
Highway Efficiency: 29 MPG
As with others on this list, the 2026 Chevrolet Blazer is most efficient in front-wheel-drive, using a standard 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four and dispersing power via a nine-speed automatic. Like the Cadillac XT5 that shares its architecture, highway efficiency doesn’t waver too much in AWD and with the optional 3.6-liter V-6, dropping to 27 mpg and 26 mpg, respectively.
The Chevrolet Blazer has been around for 65 years—starting life as a pickup-based easy-to-work-on K5 Blazer and ceding the Blazer name to the compact S-10 Blazer in 1995, before taking a hiatus in 2012 until its revival as the current generation in 2019—and it has seen its share of engines (from inline-fours to V-8s), transmissions and drivetrains (rear-, four-, front- and all-wheel drive) over the decades. Today, its 19.4-gallon fuel tank is rated at a combined range of 485 miles, but can top 560 miles, under ideal conditions.
2026 Ford Explorer
Highway Efficiency: 29 MPG
The only rear-wheel drive vehicle on this list, the perennially reliable Ford Explorer, is most efficient in 2026 with the EcoBoost 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine—it is also available with a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6, with both engines available to the AWD Explorer, using a 10-speed automatic. Switching to AWD drops highway efficiency to 27 mpg, while the 3.0-liter V-6s both return 25 mpg. None of which are bad, considering the Explorer has grown to near full-size dimensions.
The highway efficiency grants the Ford Explorer a long-distance feature that isn’t usually available to large SUVs that don’t also rely on large fuel tanks. The 2026 Ford Explorer EcoBoost makes do with a 17.9-gallon tank that can conceivably allow nearly 520 miles of highway range. The V-6 Explorers get a much larger 20.2-gallon tank to allow just over 500 miles between highway fill-ups. Both figures are good for a three-row SUV at the top end of the midsize segment (Explorer started off in 1991, only slightly larger than the current Toyota RAV4).
2026 Subaru Outback
Highway Efficiency: 31 MPG
The Subaru Outback developed from a station wagon into a proper midsize SUV, as one of the early pioneers of the crossover segment. It remains unique in its exclusive use of a horizontally-opposed (boxer) four-cylinder engine, and even with only AWD (there was once a front-drive Legacy wagon, from which the Outback evolved), it still manages to tie for the best highway fuel economy on this list. A more powerful turbocharged 2.4-liter inline-four still manages 29 mpg on the highway, which would keep it in the top three.
Despite a smaller gas tank than some of its competitors (18.5 gallons), the 2026 Subaru Outback can still eke out 486 miles in combined driving, and that can potentially stretch to nearly 575 miles of highway driving between fill-ups. Physically, the latest Outback is at the bottom end of the midsize segment, with the width of a midsize SUV, and a height more in line with compact and sub-compact crossovers. Its combination offers more car-like handling, without giving up on the space and versatility of an SUV.
2026 Kia Sorento
Highway Efficiency: 31 MPG
The Kia Sorento checks off a lot of boxes as a midsize SUV, and it can now add superior highway efficiency. The 2026 Kia Sorento is available with two four-cylinder ICE powertrains (as well as hybrid and PHEV), each displacing 2.5 liters (one using a turbocharger) and linked to eight-speed automatics. The most efficient version is the naturally aspirated front-wheel drive model, though the other configurations are EPA-rated to return good highway efficiency.
The 2026 Kia Sorento is one of the roomiest and most versatile of the smaller midsize SUVs on the market, edging out its boxier Hyundai Santa Fe cousin. Its most efficient powertrain/drivetrain combination can be argued to leave Sorento underpowered, but it does allow it to eke out nearly 550 miles of highway range (460 miles, combined) and far surpasses early Sorentos (introduced in 2003) whose V6s were criticized for their inefficiency, returning just 18 mpg on the highway.
Sources: the EPA, Edmunds, Kelley Blue Book