What SUV in 2026? 4Runner, Traverse, Acadia or?

Howdy everyone, first post here!

Some quick background - my wife's 2014 Chevy Captiva bit the dust recently and we are looking to replace it. I currently drive a 2019 Toyota Rav4 LE and will likely pass that car onto her and get another SUV for myself. I'm just not really sure what direction to go given the current car market/offerings and would love some of your thoughts! We live a fairly active lifestyle - enjoy going camping and what not. I also play music and value space for transporting gear. We will probably look to start a family soonish too so I have that in the back of my mind as well.

I'm looking to stay in the sub $40k range and am open to going used financed or new financed/lease.

Here's some of the models I'm considering, but I'm open to suggestions too:

- 2024-2026 Chevrolet Traverse

- 2024-2026 GMC Acadia

- 5th Gen Toyota 4Runner

- 4 door Ford Bronco

I admit that I've always wanted a 4Runner, but man do they hold their value in gold! I likely couldn't go with a new 4Runner due to price and I'm not sure if I'd really want because of the 4 cyl turbo. Is it worth considering a used 2020-2024 5th Gen 4Runner with reasonable mileage on it? Seems like a 4x4 SR5 with around 40k miles on it can be had for ~$37k, pre negotiation. But at that point, I could probably drive away in a new or lightly used Traverse LT or Acadia Elevation for a similar price. Although, I know these are sort of apples to oranges in terms of the 4Runner being on a truck chassis as opposed to something like the Chevy Traverse.

Can anyone speak to the newer GMC Acadia and Chevy Traverse? Do they seem reliable for the long term? I test drove a 2024 Acadia Elevation the other day and it was a nice ride. Very spacious.

Or do I pay the Toyota premium and stick with what I know to be reliable? Or should I be consider something completely different?

Thanks!

Posted Feb 16, 2026, 8:26 PM UTC

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