TOP EARNING CARS ON TURO

The Turo Carculator® shows which vehicles have the best average return on investment on Turo.

Hosts have listed thousands of vehicles on Turo to help offset the cost of car ownership, or to build small businesses as additional income streams. Some share their cars to help cover monthly payments, insurance, and maintenance costs, while others use Turo as an opportunity to afford cars that may have otherwise been out of their price range.

To find out which vehicles may be the best to start a business with on Turo, we pored over the data and used it to power the Carculator, an interactive tool that aspiring entrepreneurs can use to estimate how much a specific vehicle could earn on Turo.

Analyzing the performance of all vehicles listed in 14 top market areas on Turo, we ranked the top models by their potential return on investment (ROI) by comparing their annual earnings on Turo (averaged across those same 14 markets) to their estimated annual loan payments. They’re split into three buckets grouped broadly by the base MSRP for every listing in the dataset: cars that start between $10,000–$30,000, $30,000–$50,000, and $50,000–$75,000.

These figures give an idea of how profitable each car can be on Turo. Note that the average annual earnings are estimates and don’t include the vehicle down payment, vehicle loan payments, or business expenses like cleaning, parking, maintenance, damage claims, depreciation, or other costs.

To see lists of the top-performing vehicles in our biggest metro areas, or to see what a specific model could make in different markets, check out the Turo Carculator.

EXPLORE THE CARCULATOR

Economy: $10K–$30K

The top-performing models on Turo are economically priced — the best of this group all earn over double their estimated loan payments on average across the top 14 metro areas we looked at. According to our return on investment calculations, the most profitable model to share on Turo is the Fiat 500!

Though discontinued in 2020, the Fiat 500 is a charming, small city car that’s user-friendly and efficient on the road. It’s a good pick for Turo guests who simply need an affordable A-to-B car to zip them around, but want something with a cheery personality to brighten up their travels. Same story with much of the rest of this group's top 10 — the Kia Rio, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, Kia Forte, and Volkswagen Jetta are all compact hatchbacks or sedans that are good value and will save trips to the pump.

The Chrysler Voyager minivan is also a good value option — it’s essentially an economy version of the popular Chrysler Pacifica. A couple compact SUVs, the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross and Hyundai Venue, also make appearances lower down the top 10.

Vehicles in this price bucket score the highest for average ROI — they’re affordable to own, and because of their lower daily prices, they tend to secure both frequent bookings and longer trips, which is great news for hosts who share them.

Mid-range: $30K–$50K

The list of the best-performing vehicles that start between $30,000 and $50,000 at the dealership is a bit of a hodgepodge of approachable luxury cars, practical SUVs, and longtime favorites. The top-ranking Audi S5 Cabriolet is the sportier, convertible version of the two-door Audi A5 (the A5 Cabriolet ranks number six in this group), which surely draws guests looking for a posh top-down experience, without going overboard on the luxury. The fairly new Cadillac CT5 and BMW Z4 could be attractive with guests for similar reasons.

Later down this top 10 list are the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (the four-door Wrangler) and Dodge Challenger, which have long been favorites on Turo. And the Wrangler’s appeal likely also applies to the Jeep Gladiator, which sneaks in at number 10.

We also see a couple large three-row SUVs in the Chevy Suburban and Hyundai Palisade (seven and nine, respectively) doing well for hosts. Each top-ten vehicle in this group has the potential to pull in well over its estimated annual cost (on average) in earnings for Turo hosts in the US.

Upscale: $50K–$75K

Among the best-performing vehicles of the priciest group we looked at — models starting between $50,000 and $75,000 — most are either large family vacation-ready SUVs or attractive sports cars. The top-ranking Porsche Panamera, however, is an outlier — one rationale for its strong return could be that Turo guests are drawn to the Panamera because it’s the only Porsche that comes as a sedan, and hosts are able to charge more for the luxurious experience it provides.

Coming in at number two is the Porsche 718 Boxster, which has done consistently well over the past few years. The Chevy Corvette and BMW M2 are the other sports cars in this upscale bucket that perform the best for hosts. All three are exciting high-octane cars for sure, but are generally on the more accessible end of things for what they offer. The Corvette boasts famously good value for its performance, and the 718 Boxster and M2 could be considered entry-level sports cars for Porsche and BMW M, respectively.

Then come the big SUVs: The Lincoln Navigator L, Land Rover Defender, Cadillac Escalade ESV, Land Rover Range Rover, and Ford Expedition Max surely prove popular with travelers who need lots of seats and cargo space for comfortable road tripping.