The best cars of 2026 include the Honda Civic Hybrid, Hyundai Palisade Hybrid and Tesla Model 3, but if you're looking for something else, don't worry. The best SUVs, trucks and family cars available this year span a variety of classes, ranging from efficient little commuter sedans to boat-hauling behemoths.
Read on to see the best cars of 2026, based on testing by Edmunds, sorted by category and including cars that have come on the market since the last Edmunds Top Rated awards in 2024.
Best cars of 2026
Best hybrid car of 2026: Honda Civic Hybrid
The Edmunds Top Rated 2026 winner among all cars was the compact Honda Civic, specifically the gas-electric powertrain that's standard for the top two trim levels. The grunty hybrid powertrain makes 200 horsepower and 232 lb-ft of torque, which endows the Civic with confident performance in traffic and on the open road. Yet that power doesn't come at the expense of efficiency since the evergreen Honda achieves 49 mpg combined in EPA testing. The Civic's handsome interior and inoffensive styling, as well as a starting price of just over $30,000, make it a very compelling option in its segment.
Starting price: $30,690
Edmunds Rating: 7.9 (out of 10)
Best car of 2026: Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry is one of the most popular new vehicles in America for good reason. Decades of attention to detail have given the midsize sedan a sterling reputation for quality, and the current generation, redesigned for 2025, adds excellent fuel economy to the mix by moving to a hybrid-only lineup. Better still, there's enough power and handling prowess to make even boring errand-running feel somewhat enthusiastic if you're behind the wheel. Reasonable pricing and no-cost scheduled maintenance only add to the appeal.
Starting price: $30,895
Edmunds Rating: 8.4 (out of 10)
Best electric car of 2026: Tesla Model 3
Fresh off a significant update that brought crisp styling and a newly refined suspension to the mix, the Tesla Model 3 is once again the highest-rated electric sedan testers drove this year. A new base Model 3 brings the price all the way down to $38,630, not a bad sum for an EV with 321 miles of range and more than 300 hp. That said, stepping up to the Model 3 Premium, which brings a nicer interior, a more sophisticated suspension, and 42 additional miles of range, may be worth the $5,500 expense for some buyers.
Starting price: $38,630
EPA-estimated range: 309-363 miles
Edmunds Rating: 8.4 (out of 10)
Best luxury car of 2026: Lexus ES
The newly redesigned Lexus ES breaks a lot of new ground for the automaker's formerly staid (some would say boring) midsize luxury sedan. For starters, it's the first Lexus four-door to offer a fully electric powertrain, and it offers hybrid power as well. It has an edgy, futuristic design that should help it appeal to a younger demographic. The interior is Tesla-like in its minimalism, but materials and finishes are up to Lexus' high standards. Unusually, the full EV is the base model, offering 221 hp and 307 miles of range for less than $49,000. The also efficient ES 350h hybrid demands $2,200 extra to start.
Starting price: $48,895
EPA-estimated range: 272-307 miles
Edmunds Rating: 8.3 (out of 10)
Best SUVs of 2026
Best SUV of 2026: Hyundai Palisade
The first-generation Hyundai Palisade was no slouch, offering lots of space, value and comfort, but its 2026 replacement is somehow still an incredible improvement. Every redesigned Palisade, including the base SE model, has a premium-feeling interior and room for six fully grown adults, while the top Calligraphy trim is effectively a half-price Range Rover for all the premium leather trim and luxury amenities it boasts. The base 3.5-liter V6 is definitely on the sluggish side, but there is the optional turbocharged and hybridized 2.5-liter four-cylinder and its attendant boost in power, torque and efficiency.
Starting price: $41,385 (2027)
Edmunds Rating: 7.7 (out of 10)
Best hybrid SUV of 2026: Hyundai Tucson Hybrid
One of Hyundai's most affordable vehicles is also one of the best. The Tucson Hybrid is designed to compete with the likes of the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, but with a surprisingly feisty 231-hp turbo-electric four-cylinder under the hood, it feels far quicker than its 36-38 combined mpg might suggest. Add in one of the biggest cargo areas in its class, and you have a very capable, practical family crossover.
Starting price: $32,950
Edmunds Rating: 8.7 (out of 10)
Best electric SUV of 2026: Hyundai Ioniq 9
You may be noticing a pattern here. Hyundai products regularly rank highly among the test team, and the three-row Ioniq 9 electric SUV is no different. Every trim level achieves more than 300 miles of all-electric range, and there's a surprising amount of space for up to seven passengers and their cargo (plus a little more storage for seldom-used items in the front trunk). The Ioniq 9's $60,605 starting price puts it a couple of grand below the recently introduced Tesla Model Y L, with a slightly longer range estimate up to 335 miles as well.
Starting price: $60,605
EPA-estimated range: 311-335 miles
Edmunds Rating: 8.4 (out of 10)
Best luxury SUV of 2026: Mercedes-Benz GLE
The folks behind the three-pointed star really know how to build 'em. Despite being more than seven years old at this point, the current Mercedes GLE remains a top-rated luxury SUV by nature of its classy styling, comfortable interior, and respectable performance envelope that ranges from relatively inexpensive four-cylinders and torquey plug-in hybrids to fire-breathing AMG V8 monsters.
A refreshed GLE is on the horizon for 2027.
Starting price: $63,500
Edmunds Rating: 7.9 (out of 10)
Best trucks of 2026
Best small truck of 2026: Ford Maverick
The Ford Maverick took the Edmunds Top Rated Truck honors for 2026 as a standout all-arounder. It comes standard with a 250-hp EcoBoost 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, allowing it to tow up to 4,000 pounds and haul up to 1,500 pounds of payload when properly equipped. There's also a street-oriented Lobo sport truck that's darn fun to drive through the cones, and if your tastes skew toward the rugged, a Tremor model features a lifted suspension and a version of the Bronco Sport Badlands' torque-vectoring twin-clutch rear differential for better performance in the rough.
Starting price: $28,990
Edmunds Rating: 7.6 (out of 10)
Best midsize truck of 2026: Ford Ranger
One of the previous Edmunds Top Rated winners, the Ford Ranger continues to impress with a powerful engine lineup and a variety of trim levels. At up to 7,500 pounds of capacity, the base XL and nicely equipped XLT trims make great tow vehicles, while the Lariat can do double duty as a hauler and a comfortable daily driver. And then there's the Raptor, whose twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 and Fox Live Valve long-travel dampers give it superlative performance in the dirt.
Starting price: $35,445
Edmunds Rating: 7.1 (out of 10)
Best full-size truck of 2026: Ford F-150
America's bestselling vehicle for the past 49 years is the Ford F-Series, including the full-size F-150 light-duty pickup. Like the smaller Ranger and Maverick, the F-150 appeals to a huge variety of customers thanks to its wide range of trim levels. But unlike its kid siblings, the larger Ford also boasts three cab styles and three bed sizes to ensure every buyer has the right truck for their needs — a regular-cab long-bed 4x2 for hard-working professionals or an incredibly spacious SuperCrew crew cab for hard-playing families. The F-150 Raptor established a whole new level of factory-fresh off-road capability upon its debut 16 years ago.
Starting price: $40,085
Edmunds Rating: 7.7 (out of 10)
Best hybrid truck of 2026: Ford Maverick Hybrid
Among the highlights of the Ford Maverick, the Edmunds Top Rated pickup of 2026, is its hybrid version. Not only is it efficient (up to 38 mpg combined), it also offers the same towing and hauling capabilities as its gas-only turbocharged sibling. The sporty Lobo and off-road Tremor trim aren't offered with the hybrid powertrain, but all-wheel drive is an option, which makes the gas-electric Maverick a tempting proposition compared not only with other trucks but also with crossovers and sedans.
Starting price: $29,990
Edmunds Rating: 7.6 (out of 10)
Best electric truck of 2026: Rivian R1T
The only thing keeping Ford from sweeping the truck category is the Rivian R1T. It has modern styling, a lovely interior and space-efficient design, and it brings some genuine off-road capability to the EV world thanks to its adaptive dampers, air springs, torquey electric motors, and massive 14.9 inches of ground clearance. The R1T will travel between 289 miles and 420 miles on a charge, and the available Quad trim (which gets, you guessed it, four motors) can hustle to 60 mph in just 2.5 seconds. For those keeping score, that's nearly as fast as a Ferrari 296 GTB.
Starting price: $81,885
EPA-estimated range: 289-420 miles
Edmunds Rating: 7.9 (out of 10)
This story was produced by Edmunds and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
