15. Mercedes-Benz GLE
The new Mercedes-Benz GLE is yet to hit the showrooms yet but following its unveiling and media launch, it has drummed up a considerable amount of interest. The new GLE has certainly upped its game in terms of appearance, as it is now undeniably one of the best looking SUVs on the market, but the new model also benefits from the class-leading interior and dashboard setup that all new Mercedes models are being gifted with. The GLE is exclusively available with 4 wheel drive and it will hit the showrooms in January 2019 with prices starting from £54,140 for the 5 seat model and £56,135 for the 7 seat model.
14. Volvo XC90
Underrated and understated. There is often a stigma that comes with owning a large, premium SUV nowadays, but the XC90 is certainly considered to be a sensible and reasonable choice. Despite having a gorgeous exterior with a particularly attractive front grille, it isn’t too in-your-face and owning an XC90 is simply delightful. Certainly, the most ergonomic and comfortable car to own out all of its competitors. The new XC90 is on sale now and is exclusively available with 4 wheel drive. Prices start from £51,860.
13. Nissan X-Trail
We were lucky enough to test the new X-Trail through the mountainous terrain outside of Vienna, Austria, and it’s an experience we’ll always remember. It’s easy to forget that the X-Trail has a solid reputation as a rugged and capable off-roader when it boasts a luxurious leather interior with high-quality components and is a real pleasure to cover smooth motorway miles in, but when you get to the tough stuff it just doesn’t stop. The X-Trail is one of those rare cars that are just as comfortably sat in city-centre traffic as it is on a snow-covered mountain - it rarely ever puts a foot wrong. The Nissan X-Trail is available as both a 4 wheel drive car and a 2 wheel drive car and prices start from £32,600 and £29,930 respectively.
12. BMW X5
The brand new BMW X5 was slightly overdue as the rest of its competitors have already been updated, but gladly the new model is finally here. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely. The new X5 is leagues above the previous model. It has a ridiculously large boot (650 litres), it’s rather quick (0-60 mpg in 6.5 seconds) and there's a huge variety of engines, specs and drivetrains available, so there’ll certainly be a model that suits what you’re looking for. There is also an X5 xDrive40i model which packs 340 horsepower and does the 0-60 sprint in just 5.5 seconds, but that’s a very expensive model. The starting price of the X5 is £57,495 and it is exclusively available as a 4 wheel drive car.
11. Audi Q7
The Q7 just keeps on growing and growing, doesn’t it? Not only in size, but also in popularity. The latest Q7 is the biggest to date and it also selling faster than any previous model. It also the smoothest driving and most composed Q7 to date. It shares its platform with a number of other high-end SUVs such as the Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus, so you know it’s a decent bit of kit. It’s another one that comes exclusively in 4 wheel drive, with the famous Audi Quattro system, and it’s available as a 7 seater. Prices start from £53,250.
10. Land Rover Discovery
Can a Discovery really look this good and still fit its purpose? Apparently so. Land Rover’s latest proper off-roader could easily be mistaken for a luxurious Range Rover thanks to its stunning aesthetics, but don’t be put-off. The Discovery still offers class-leading of off-road ability thanks to futuristic features like hill descent control and the incredibly accurate wading depth measurements. The Discovery is exclusively available with 4 wheel drive and comes with up to 7 seats which are fully adjustable. The Discovery will also achieve a modest 39 mpg on the combined cycle, more on motorway journeys, which isn’t that bad for a big 7 seat car. The Discovery starts from £47,405
9. Skoda Kodiaq
The new Kodiaq ticks an awful lot of boxes for prospective SUV buyers. It’s available with 4 wheel drive and without, its available with petrol and diesel engines, it can be spec’d as a 5 seater or a 7 seater and it starts from just £25,770 - that’s competitive. The Kodiaq hasn’t been on sale for long but it’s selling well and attracting new buyers to the brand who trust the Volkswagen-Audi underpinnings and engines. It just makes an awful lot of sense, and if you select the 2.0 TDi diesel engine you can achieve up to 56 mpg which is exceptional for a 7 seater. The 4 wheel drive models cost slightly more with prices starting from £29,265.
8. Toyota Land Cruiser
The Land Cruiser has always been the dependable warrior on the 4x4 market. It’s built to last and built to tackle and conquer everything it comes across. The Land Cruiser is globally respected as it turns its nose up at modern 4x4 trends. The Land Cruiser says ‘no’ to fancy touch screens and electronically assisted door mechanisms and ‘yes’ to big buttons that you could press with boxing gloves on and hard-wearing plastics. The current Land Cruiser is essentially the same as the model they released back in 2009, except for a few improvements to the refinement as well as some exterior enhancements. Toyota hasn’t bothered changing an award-winning recipe and fair play to them. The Land Cruiser is on sale now and prices start from £34,690 - it’s available only with a 2.8 litre Diesel engine and exclusively as a 4 wheel drive car.
7. Dacia Duster
The Duster has been updated! We love the Duster here, it does exactly what it says on the tin and delivers so much practicality that, for the price, it simply cannot be rivalled. Every panel on the new Dacia is new yet the Duster retains its charm and is still frighteningly cheap with prices starting from £9,995 for the 2 wheel drive base spec models. The Duster will return up to 64.2 mpg on motorway journeys too, which makes it ridiculously cheap to run. If you would like a 4x4 model the prices start from £13,695.
6. Mitsubishi Shogun
Much like the Toyota Land Cruiser, the Mitsubishi Shogun is a big beastly car that doesn’t mess about with nonsensical touchscreens and fiddly displays. It’s a utilitarian workhorse that is built to be abused. It comes with just one engine, a 3.2-litre diesel, which is loud and sounds like a tractor, but in a nice way. The Shogun is supremely comfortable cruising around town and the ride height is imperious, but the Shogun shines on loose surfaces and when it’s dragging something along. The Mitsubishi Shogun is good for towing up to 3,500 kilograms - which is 700 kilograms more than the Toyota Land Cruiser which is its nearest competitor. The Shogun is on sale now and prices start from £33,315, which is marginally more expensive than the Toyota.
5. Jeep Cherokee
The Cherokee has had a new facelift and it’s looking rather smart, isn’t it? Of course, the Cherokee is a rather American choice, which some people find attractive and some people find off-putting, but this new model really does compete with the European SUVs. There are only two specs to choose from, the Longitude Plus which starts from £35,750 and the Limited which starts from £34,715. Both models are 4 wheel drive but the Longitude Plus is only available with a 2.0-litre diesel engine whereas the Limited has the option of a 2.2-litre diesel. Both diesel engines are pretty good units and both return as good as 50 mpg on the combined cycle. There are no petrol models in the lineup.The Cherokee is back with a bang… and a massive shiny grill. Loaded with kit from the entry level up, this should be shortlisted if you don’t fancy spending an awful lot on optional extras - because Jeep have been very generous here. Steer clear of the basic 138PS diesel engine and you’re onto a winner. The 185PS model actually feels pretty quick and the auto gearboxes are really easy to get along with.
4. Land Rover Discovery Sport
The Freelanders replacement has been selling incredibly well since it was released and buyers like that it boasts the styling cues of the more expensive Range Rover models while offering the technology and ruggedness of the Land Rover models. The Disco-Sport is built on the platform of the Evoque but it has been stretched to cater for an extra row of seats, as every model is sold as a seven-seater. The Discovery Sport is pretty practical too, aside from the 7 seats, if you fold down the rear row of seats you’ve got a massive 680 litres of luggage space, which is plenty. The Discovery Sport is on sale now and prices start from £30,145 for the front-wheel-drive model and £32,500 for the all-wheel-drive model - the latter being the one you’d want.
3. Jaguar F-Pace
Jaguar’s first ever SUV continues to be one of the best selling cars on the SUV market in the UK. Perhaps due to our innate love of the British brand but also due to the fact its such an attractive, well rounded and desirable car. Few rivals offer such a complete package as the F-Pace. The diesel models use the highly decorated Ingenium engines that exist in the Land Rover lineup as well as the off-road technology, so this isn’t a soft SUV, it can roll its sleeves up and tackle tricky terrain. The F-Pace is served as a rear-wheel-drive car initially with prices starting from £36,520 and the all-wheel-drive models start from £40,895. You’ll also be able to achieve over 50 mpg in the former and about 42 mpg in the latter.
2. Volkswagen Touareg
The Touareg is another car built on the same platform as the Audi Q7, Lamborghini Urus and Bentley Bentayga, and it rides just as beautifully as the sibling it shares it’s genes with. If you’re after a big SUV, like a properly big one, then there are few cars which offer as much bang for your buck as the Touareg does. Volkswagen hasn’t cheaped out one bit with the Touareg, both the interior and the exterior are beautifully crafted, in fact, the side profile looks incredibly similar to the Bentley Bentayga. The Touareg is absolutely dripping with chrome bodywork, but if that’s not to your taste then it can all be blacked out from the factory at zero cost. The Touareg is available on the handy side of £50,000 with prices starting from £48,995 and all models are 4 wheel drive.We couldn’t really not put the Bentayga near the top of this list because despite its Cheshire appearance and staggering price tag; it is simply the fastest, most luxurious and most comfortable SUV in the world. Not that you’d ever want to, but the Bentayga does genuinely possess the ability to go off-road with an extremely clever 4 wheel drive system and futuristic off-road technology on board. Some love it, some hate it, nobody can doubt what it is capable of though.
1. BMW X3
The X3 is BMWs offering to the Small SUV market which has become incredibly popular over the last few years. It’s an important car for BMW and they’ve made sure they’ve got it bang-on with this new model which now sports incredibly large kidney grilles as well as a number of other attractive design cues. The X3 is a very agreeable car. The 2-litre diesel is good for 53.3 mpg while there is also a high powered diesel model with 326 horsepower that returns a healthy 44 mpg. That performance diesel model goes by the name ‘m40d’ and it’s definitely the one to go for, but it’s quite a stretch as it is priced at over £50,000. The entry-level X3 is priced from £39,120 and all models come with BMW’s xDrive 4-wheel-drive platform as standard.
