Small Car

The Fiat Topolino is not meant to replace the family SUV. Think of it more as an alternative to an e-bike or scooter with the added assurances of a roof and a heater. We think it will be a hit with the Manhattan set as well as retirees living in places like Sun City, Arizona.

So sure, play around with the other “hot” compact crossover EVs, and see if they hit the spice level you’re looking for. We’re inclined to recommend the RZ as one of the original vehicles of its type, and because it’s also among the most reliably impressive—a little bit like Tabasco.

This week's episode is dedicated to the 2026 Consumer Guide Best Buy picks. In total, 32 vehicles in 13 individual categories are covered.

The 2026 Jeep Cherokee may be one of the newest faces in the compact‑SUV crowd, but after a day of back‑to‑back comparison at the 2026 Midwest Automotive Media Association Spring Rally in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, what stood out most wasn’t any single breakthrough feature. It was how similar the segment has become. Driven alongside the Cherokee, the latest Mazda CX‑5, Toyota RAV4, and Volkswagen Tiguan delivered competent, predictable performances.

One assumes the ad’s writers understood what period consumers wanted to know about—but it is tough to imagine a contemporary audience filtering through all this copy, AND making sense of it all.