The list of SUVs under $30,000 with all-wheel drive as a standard feature, meaning not tucked away in a higher trim or offered as a $1,500 add-on, is pretty short these days. The 2026 Jeep Wrangler starts at $34,895, and the Ford Bronco Sport would run you $31,845 before financing.If you want to put the price cut-off even lower, at, say, $25,000, we can only turn up a single model that starts with AWD below that price, and that's the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, just barely getting in at $24,995 for an entry-level 2026 S model. The question remains: is this the bargain of the year, or do you get what you pay for? Let's find out. A Look At The Mitsubishi Outlander Sport MitsubishiThe Mitsubishi Outlander Sport is sold in most markets as the Mitsubishi ASX, or Active Sport Crossover. It's also been rebadged as the Peugeot 4008, the Citroën C4 Aircross, and Mitsubishi sells it as the RVR in Japan. It doesn't have much to do with the larger Mitsubishi Outlander, except for the branding.The 148-hp, 2.0-liter straight-four under the Sport's hood can get you up to 60 mph in a not-so-brisk 10 seconds. The 168-hp, 2.4-liter engine, available in the $29,695 SEL, has been clocked at eight seconds flat. You may be thinking, "Eight seconds? I can live with that." But remember, this is a subcompact with a maximum curb weight of 3,296 pounds. Eight-second takeoffs are to be expected in a full or mid-size SUV or pickup, but this is a five-seat crossover. It's a bit too small to be moving that slowly, especially if you need to spend another $4,700 to shave two seconds off your 0-60 time. The Key Word Here Is AdequateMitsubishi Speaking of size, we found the SUV to be adequately roomy in our last reviewof the 2024 model year (and the crossover remains essentially unchanged since then), noting that the Sport offered decent legroom in both rows and 21.7 cubic feet of trunk space behind the back seats. It trails well behind the Hyundai Kona, though, which packs 25.5 cubic feet of cargo with the seats up, or 63.7 cubic feet with the back row folded down.The Sport offers 8.5 inches of ground clearance, which, combined with its all-wheel control system, makes for a decent ride in poor weather. It can handle a bit of snow and mud, and the occasional broken road, but don't go mistaking the Outlander Sport for a hardcore off-roader. This is ultimately a city car that doesn't mind stepping too far outside its comfort zone. Getting What You Pay For? MitsubishiThe Mitsubishi Outlander Sport is effectively the same SUV today that it was when it first hit the US market back in 2010. The only word for our latest review of the crossover would be "disappointed," as we were basically reviewing the same, unchanged SUV for the fifteenth time. It was never a standout SUV, but, by the post-pandemic era, it was positively antiquated, lagging well behind even the cheapest competitors, such as the Hyundai Kona.If you're thinking of going off-road in the Outlander Sport, don't let the plastic body cladding fool you. You're going to be calling a tow-truck the first time you hit a tree stump, and you'd have to listen to the driver's wisecracks the whole way out of the woods. Whatever money you're putting toward the purchase of an Outlander Sport would be better spent on a $25,975 Mazda CX-30, which also starts you off with all-wheel drive. Or just get a pair of Timberland boots, because you'd probably feel more confident adventuring on foot than in an Outlander Sport. The IIHS Didn't Even Bother Testing The Outlander Sport This Year IIHS As long as we're running this poor car down, we should note that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety hasn't even given the Outlander Sport a full crash-test rating since the 2012 model year, when it scored an Acceptable rating in the small-overlap front driver-side test and a Good in everything else. After a series of updates to the testing system, the SUV has been sitting on a single "Incomplete Rating" for small-overlap front impact since the 2024 model year.Truthfully, it's difficult to imagine the driver to whom we would recommend an Outlander Sport. Maybe you made a wish for $25,000, and you have to spend it on an all-wheel drive SUV by the end of the day, or a genie would turn your head into a giant pumpkin. Chances are that's not the case, and you probably have a little bit of wiggle room on the price, in which case, there are several SUVs we'd suggest before we get to the Outlander Sport. And some bicycles, too, like that $25,000 Lotus road bike. The Subaru Crosstrek Is An Easy-To-Recommend Alternative SubaruThat we're even talking about the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport feels like the automaker tricked us by pricing the SUV just below $25,000. Well, we won't be hoodwinked so easily. We're going to take this opportunity to highlight a much better, budget-friendly SUV with all-wheel drive standard. It'snone other than Subaru's cheapest sports utility vehicle, the 2026 Crosstrek.The 2026 Subaru Crosstrek starts at $26,995, which is an even $2,000 more than the Outlander Sport. In comparison, the Subaru is a far more competitive machine against other vehicles in the compact SUV segment. For example, the base Crosstrek can get you up to 60 mph in around 8.0 seconds, matching the Sport's top trim. The Crosstrek hybrid trims shave an additional second off the 0-60 time.Subarus are built for the trail, and the base model stands 8.7 inches off the ground, with the Wilderness trim offering 9.3 inches of ground clearance. You could see your house from up there. The Crosstrek includes X-Mode with hill descent control as a standard feature, making for a good car on bad roads. You'd almost wish for lousy weather just to see how it handles. The Subaru Crosstrek Is Reliable, Too Subaru Subaru ranked sixth in the latest J.D. Power reliability survey, behind Lexus, but two spots ahead of Toyota. The brand is somewhat overlooked when it comes to dependability, but, if you ask us, the automaker deserves to be part of the same reliability conversation as Honda, Buick, and Toyota. J.D. Power named the Crosstrek the most dependable small SUV this year, awarding it an 85/100 Quality & Reliability rating.RepairPal estimates that it should cost you around $492 a year to maintain a Crosstrek, $6 cheaper than the Outlander Sport, at $498. The difference may be a marginal win, but it's a win, nonetheless. The most expensive common fixes for the Crosstrek are mostly routine maintenance jobs and diagnostics, including the following. Brake system inspection $122-$179 No-start diagnosis $122-$179 Check engine light diagnosis and testing $122-$179 Anti-lock brake system diagnosis $122-$175 Suspension system inspection $61-$90 If it's starting to sound like we're picking on the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport here, well, that's because we are. But that doesn't mean we're being unfair. At this point, the SUV needs either a major revamp or a long-overdue retirement. Instead, it could be getting a front-wheel drive trim, essentially scrapping the only reason we're talking about it in the first place. Hopefully, we can skip right to talking about the Mazda CX-30 if we cover this topic again next year.