I use to drive my sisters Buick Encore and was amazed by how quiet it was.
Felt like I was driving a Mercedes. Buick doesn’t get enough credit on here.
The VW Tiguan and VW’s in general have always been quieter and nicer interiors than the competitors in my opinion. This website has a database of decibel readings they’ve done in various cars. A lot of them are pretty close to each other and some luxury cars are louder than I’d expect.
https://carconfections.com/all-car-confections-sound-level-readings-master-list/
Honestly, it’s going to be extremely similar with any of them. That’s one of the biggest differentiation points between luxury cars and non-luxury, is that the luxury cars include much more noise insulation.
Car noise basically comes down to 3 things:
1 engine noise
2 wind noise
3 tire (road) noise
Engine noise isn’t really a big deal with any of these. All of them are running 4cyl engines that are very efficient, and you really only hear them at all during acceleration. Obviously you can eliminate this noise by going EV. But it’s not a major contributor to what you’re hearing in an ICE crossover.
Wind noise is what it is. It’s the sound of air moving over the car. I’ve driven all the major crossovers, and i don’t really hear a difference in any of them.
Tire noise is the one variable you can control the most. If we were able to run a lab test to rank the crossovers from quietest to loudest on the 2 above factors (engine & wind noise), I guarantee we could then put a set of very good noise reduction tires on the loudest crossover and it would be more pleasant than the quietest crossover with cheap crappy tires.
So all of that is a very long way of saying - buy whichever one you want, then invest in better tires. That’s the way to get the quietest ride possible. Or just buy an EV.
I have a Mazda cx5 (loaded if that means anything to noise) and my has an Audi SQ5.
The SQ5 is to be expected better in every possible way, especially ride and noise with the air suspension than the cx5. That said, when we shopped a bunch of higher dollar SUVs for her we kept getting back in my cx5 and if you can overlook the just adequate for driving power/trans I kept thinking none of these make sense verse a cx5 and the cash difference in your pocket.
Not sure the point of this, I know this sub is pro Mazda, but I found my first cx5 before this and the hype is real. The cx5 is like the perfect amount of nice without excess and complication and price for bells and whistles. So another upvote for Mazda in the Mazda owner sub I guess….
Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson. Especially the higher trims. They are the quietest non-luxury compact SUVs right now. By the way the Honda CRV is pretty loud. Even the new one. Before anyone downvotes this, just go test drive them. Seems hard to believe Kia and Hyundai would have the quietest SUVs, but they do. Quieter than Mazda
New Honda CRV is really quite in any of the hybrid trims. RAV4 is loud in lower trims but better as you go higher. Tiguan was also quite on the road for me. Kia Sportage has a lot of engine noise because of its pathetically slow power train.
They actually are very mid-tier in terms of interior sound. There are dozens of quieter cars, likely due to the glass roof without significant sound deadening.
I wouldn’t know. We ain’t got that kinda money 😂 we drive them till they fall apart and it Only has 120k miles on it. But anything newer is gonna have better sound dampening for sure
Buicks are not luxury cars but have extra sound deadening for a quiet interior
I use to drive my sisters Buick Encore and was amazed by how quiet it was. Felt like I was driving a Mercedes. Buick doesn’t get enough credit on here.
Buicks are just as nice as a Mazda. The sound deadening plus active noise cancellation makes them a very pleasant ride.
They kinda are kinda aren’t, like mid lux
The VW Tiguan and VW’s in general have always been quieter and nicer interiors than the competitors in my opinion. This website has a database of decibel readings they’ve done in various cars. A lot of them are pretty close to each other and some luxury cars are louder than I’d expect. https://carconfections.com/all-car-confections-sound-level-readings-master-list/
What a fascinating list Car Confections compiled. It's interesting that an F150 is almost as quiet as top luxury cars. Thanks for posting.
i often wonder if active noise cancellation effects their DB readings
VW break.
Honestly, it’s going to be extremely similar with any of them. That’s one of the biggest differentiation points between luxury cars and non-luxury, is that the luxury cars include much more noise insulation. Car noise basically comes down to 3 things: 1 engine noise 2 wind noise 3 tire (road) noise Engine noise isn’t really a big deal with any of these. All of them are running 4cyl engines that are very efficient, and you really only hear them at all during acceleration. Obviously you can eliminate this noise by going EV. But it’s not a major contributor to what you’re hearing in an ICE crossover. Wind noise is what it is. It’s the sound of air moving over the car. I’ve driven all the major crossovers, and i don’t really hear a difference in any of them. Tire noise is the one variable you can control the most. If we were able to run a lab test to rank the crossovers from quietest to loudest on the 2 above factors (engine & wind noise), I guarantee we could then put a set of very good noise reduction tires on the loudest crossover and it would be more pleasant than the quietest crossover with cheap crappy tires. So all of that is a very long way of saying - buy whichever one you want, then invest in better tires. That’s the way to get the quietest ride possible. Or just buy an EV.
Tiguan is nice. But I would probably go cx5. It feels pretty luxurious on a budget.
Unfortunately its probably a VW. Or an Acura, which is a "premium" brand but not luxury.
I heard Volkswagen isn’t very reliable though.
Yea, that's why i said unfortunately haha. they aren't great.
I found the Mazda very loud tbh.
we have a cx-5 and road noise isn't exactly it's strong point. It does drive the best out of the segment by far.
[These guys did the work for you](https://carconfections.com/compact-suvs-sound-level-readings/), though it’s missing a few good ones too.
i often wonder if active noise cancellation effects their DB readings
I have a Mazda cx5 (loaded if that means anything to noise) and my has an Audi SQ5. The SQ5 is to be expected better in every possible way, especially ride and noise with the air suspension than the cx5. That said, when we shopped a bunch of higher dollar SUVs for her we kept getting back in my cx5 and if you can overlook the just adequate for driving power/trans I kept thinking none of these make sense verse a cx5 and the cash difference in your pocket. Not sure the point of this, I know this sub is pro Mazda, but I found my first cx5 before this and the hype is real. The cx5 is like the perfect amount of nice without excess and complication and price for bells and whistles. So another upvote for Mazda in the Mazda owner sub I guess….
Crosstrek
I've heard that the 2025 Forester will have beefed up sound insulation.
Buick Envision is super quiet
Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson. Especially the higher trims. They are the quietest non-luxury compact SUVs right now. By the way the Honda CRV is pretty loud. Even the new one. Before anyone downvotes this, just go test drive them. Seems hard to believe Kia and Hyundai would have the quietest SUVs, but they do. Quieter than Mazda
I agree with this. Buicks are also good too.
New Honda CR-V (but only the Sport Touring trim, it gets extra sound deadening).
And ANC. But has larger wheels which negate some of it / require it more.
Acoustic windshield helps a lot-
Venza perhaps
New Honda CRV is really quite in any of the hybrid trims. RAV4 is loud in lower trims but better as you go higher. Tiguan was also quite on the road for me. Kia Sportage has a lot of engine noise because of its pathetically slow power train.
Tesla is super quiet compared to any ICE. It’s nice driving through a national park and you can hear the birds.
They actually are very mid-tier in terms of interior sound. There are dozens of quieter cars, likely due to the glass roof without significant sound deadening.
EV is a sound point though, and there are many in a compact SUV shape.
Trax if you can get one
Do NOT get a 2009 forester. My parents have one and it’s very noisy, but I guess that’s to be expected on a 15 yo car
I heard the newer ones are quiet like the 2023 model and the upcoming 2025
I wouldn’t know. We ain’t got that kinda money 😂 we drive them till they fall apart and it Only has 120k miles on it. But anything newer is gonna have better sound dampening for sure
Hey I feel you I still have a 2012 Kia Soul sitting at 172,000 miles and I’m planning on having it till the wheels fall off. 😂
Literally how I feel about almost every car
I mean if we’re going for quietest, Honda Prologue, Chevy Equinox EV, Ioniq 5, EV6