In a shocking turn of events, all of the 2021 Toyota SUVs were excluded from the list of best SUVs to buy for this year. With everything from the new CH-R, Highlander, and 4Runner in the running, something fell short. Where did the Toyota Highlander or the RAV4 go on MotorTrend’s list?

What Toyota SUVs are on the market for 2021?

Toyota has numerous SUVs available in the 2021 lineup, so why did these models fall short? For this year’s market, it does seem that SUVs are having a big year.

The Toyota 4Runner is usually a popular choice for midsize SUVs with three rows. However, the Kia Telluride has stolen the glory for this year. The 4Runner received a score of 64 from Consumer Reports but predicted reliability of five out of five.

The Telluride received a 97, with the same five out of five reliability score. Not far behind it was the Toyota Highlander. Coming in at number three on the list wasn’t bad.

The 2021 Toyota Venza received a score of 78 from Consumer Reports. That made it the number four choice for midsized SUVs. The Subaru Outback, Ford Edge, and the Nissan Murano all placed above it. The Outback is just having a big year and to be fair, it deserves it.

The Toyota Sequoia falls into the large SUV category and fell behind the Expedition, but not by much.

How can Toyota make the top of the lists next year?

Though we are a few months into 2021, not all of these SUVs have been driven to the fullest extent yet. It is possible that by next year, the Toyota options have made it back to the top of the list.

A lot of these scores compiled by various companies are predicted. Predicted reliability and predicted reliability. These scores could change as the miles increase. In addition to those two categories, the predicted fuel economy often fluctuates.

Many of these ratings are purely subjective until the actual data comes out. Toyota hasn’t made it to the top of these lists year after year without performing. But along the same line, other automakers have been seriously stepping it up

Subaru is having a big year and has the lineup to back it up. Same with the various Kia models on the market. Kia even beat Toyota in the J.D. Power dependability study this year. Times are changing! Hope in your Kia and try to keep up.

The competition is steep

Perhaps the issue wasn’t with Toyota. There doesn’t seem to be a poorly performing car or SUV in the bunch, it just happened that others were better.

J.D. Power says that cars are getting more reliable overall, which is a good thing for all drivers. Not having to sacrifice safety for a less expensive car means we can all arrive safer. Toyota has always been a frontrunner for safe and reliable cars, and that has not changed.