Luxury SUVs have become a staple of premium car makers' line-ups, with at least one from every major player, and each accounting for a healthy chunk of its manufacturer's global profits.
These are cars in great demand, and rightly highly desired for their combination of versatility, comfort, refinement and performance both on- and off the road. Genuine 4x4 ability is common amongst them, as is the upmost in luxury, space and refinement. And amongst the many factors motivating buyers, stylish design and brand allure are becoming increasingly important. So who makes the best of 'em?
1. Range Rover Sport
The luxury SUV market is increasingly crowded, with brands eager to a take a slice of this overly profitable pie. Yet while increasingly talented new arrivals continue to make a bid for supremacy there's a familiar name at the top of our list - the Range Rover Sport. All-new from the ground-up in 2022, this third generation machine takes off where its class-leading predecessor left off.
As ever, its not quite as large or as spacious as its bigger sibling the Range Rover and isn't the lightest car of its kind (according to our scales it's around 150kg heftier than the old car), but the Range Rover Sport more than makes up for it with its remarkable breadth of talent. It's built on the same MLA-Flex platform as the full fat Rangie, which means it offers a complete catalogue of abilities, among them is outstanding offroad ability, and real on-road handling dynamism and driver appeal for car of this size. First-rate cabin richness, refinement and luxury ambience also come as standard, as does Land Rover's latest 13.1-inch Pivi Pro infotainment.
The car's roster of qualities is certainly one for which Land Rover charges a tidy premium, even over prices typical of this rarefied class; although Land Rover softens the blow for some with the Range Rover Sport's P440e and P510e plug-in hybrid powertrain that pack a claimed 70 miles of EV range, which for fleet users means a Benefit in Kind rating of 8%. Land Rover's latest six-cylinder Ingenium petrol- and diesel engines also feature, with the D300 and D350 mild-hybrid diesel options serving a compelling blend of parsimony, pace and peace. For those less fussed about fuel consumption there's BMW-sourced 4.4-litre V8 that packs a 523bhp punch.
The kerbweight necessary to provide the Range Rover Sport's offroad ability doesn't dilute its on-road prowess either, especially when kitted out with the optional Stormer Handling pack that comprises four-wheel steering, active anti-roll bars and trick torque vectoring diffs. This is still a big car, but it can be hustled hard.
Even so, to drive one of these cars is to quickly realise that some prices are worth paying. The Range Rover Sport really does it all, and may well be all the luxury SUV you'll ever want or need.
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2. Audi Q8 e-tron Quattro
The pace of development of the luxury electric car is something to behold right now. Five or so years ago, an all-electric option would barely have threatened to get to the top of this list; but today the inherent qualities of electrified propulsion are really being brought to bear by the very best luxury EVs on the market, and there can be no doubt that the Audi E-tron Quattro is one of them.
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I do like the Range Rovers. The cars have the best looking interiors, are best offroad and look good, though reliabilty still needs to improve.
I'll take a reliability hit to bypass all the boring Japanese cars in this class and some mingers like the Audi Q7. For me the only rival to Land Rover is Porsche and in fairness to both brands they both offer something different to one another that appeals.
Autocar and other magazines should show reliabity of older models when reviewing older models, but also other factors such as Depreciation (go to the bottom of the class BMW) and customer satisfaction. For me Depreciation is more of an issue in buying a car than reliability, so no more new BMW's from now on.
YOU MISSED MASERATI
Come on!
What a joke. You're taking BMW, Audi, Range Rover but you forgot the Maserati Levante Trofeo. It's got so much hp, almost 580 hp and does 0-60 in just 4.9 secs!
JLR steals the show
Absolute quality cars JLR is producing now days.I cannot wait for the new jaguar XJ myself, but the land rover defender is an a master piece.This is by far the most exciting brand going into 2020.