HYUNDAI NAMED 2026 BEST SUV BRAND FOR SECOND-CONSECUTIVE YEAR BY U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

[Palisade Forum]

• Award evaluation process included 39 U.S. automotive brands
• Editors considered quality, safety, cabin, and cargo space among other factors in four vehicle categories - Car, SUV, Truck and Luxury
• Hyundai’s popular range of SUVs includes the Kona/Kona Electric, Tucson/Tucson Hybrid, Santa Fe/Sante Fe Hybrid and Palisade/Palisade Hybrid, along with the IONIQ 5 EV and IONIQ 9 EV

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 19, 2025 – Hyundai has been named the ‘2026 Best SUV Brand’ by U.S. News & World Report. The award recognizes industry-wide excellence in the automotive market and reflects the best combination of quality, safety, reliability, space, convenience, and connectivity. The publication’s editors evaluated 39 automotive brands and concluded that Hyundai SUVs stood out, not only due to the exceptional quality of its Palisade, Palisade Hybrid, Tucson and Tucson Hybrid models, but also on the strength of its diverse SUV lineup including Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, Kona, Kona Electric, IONIQ 5 EV and IONIQ 9 EV. Earlier this year, U.S. News & World Report named the 2025 Hyundai Tucson its Best Compact SUV for the Money for a third-consecutive year, the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 was awarded Best Electric Vehicle for Families and IONIQ 6 Best EV Car for two straight years - making Hyundai the publication’s most-awarded hybrid and EV brand overall.

“Claiming U.S. News & World Report’s Best SUV brand is a defining benchmark in this segment,” said Olabisi Boyle, senior vice president, product planning and mobility strategy, Hyundai Motor North America. “With significant industry headwinds and intense competition, we’re genuinely honored to earn this recognition for a second-consecutive year. Hyundai’s SUV lineup offers interior space, real-world smart tech, and a diversity of powertrains, including HEVs, that reflect how people truly choose their next vehicle.”

“2026 marks Hyundai’s fifth ‘Best SUV Brand’ win in six years, and that’s down to the breadth and quality of its SUV lineup,” said Alex Kwanten, autos managing editor at U.S. News & World Report. “Counting electrified models, Hyundai now offers no fewer than 12 SUVs, and almost all of them are top-five finishers in our rankings.”

In their evaluations, the U.S. News & World Report editorial team assessed each company’s product offerings, weighing criteria including safety data, predicted reliability ratings, passenger- and cargo space, and the consensus opinion of the automotive press. To determine the award winners, U.S. News Best Cars averaged the overall score of all the given brand's products in each award class. The brand with the highest average score was declared the winner in that specific category.