Which luxury SUV best suits you?

When the Range Rover stormed on to the scene back in 1969, it unwittingly laid the foundations for the modern luxury sports utility vehicle, otherwise known as the SUV. Now ubiquitous in almost every environment – from city centres to the countryside – this category of car is showing no signs of slinking away into the bushes any time soon.

What started with a practical, go-anywhere vehicle with touches of luxury (and, by that, we mean vinyl seats and a radio), has moved on considerably since the early days.

For decades, Range Rover had the industry wrapped, that is until Porsche popped into the fight with its Cayenne at the turn of the millennium, opening the floodgates for more and more manufacturers. In came Bentley with its Bentayga in 2015; Rolls-Royce with the Cullinan, in 2018; Aston Martin with the DBX, in 2020; and the Ineos with its Grenadier in 2022.

With more than enough to choose from, here’s our pick of the finest luxury 4x4s on the market…

While the days of Bentley’s mighty W12 are behind us, fear not as the marque’s reinvented Bentayga leans on an equally potent 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, which produces no less than 641bhp in the flagship Speed model. That’s good enough for an Audi RS5 matching 0-62mph time of 3.6 seconds, which is - quite frankly - more than enough for a car that weighs nearly two and a half tonnes and can carry a full family. Cross an SUV packed with quilted leather and one of the best interiors in the market with a pumped-up muscle car with a penchant for track days and you’re someway to understanding how the Bentley’s top-of-the-range Bentayga feels. Prices can rise very quickly indeed once you’ve engaged the near endless options list.

• From £219,000, Bentley.com

If in doubt, go original, and few SUVs have a legacy quite like the Range Rover. It all started back in 1969, with a car that was as happy traversing ploughed fields as it was trundling to the opera. Today, the Range Rover remains unbothered by the numerous newcomers nipping at its heels. Prices can easily top £250,000 for the flagship long-wheelbase SV. Expect plenty of waft, superior styling and a driving position to match. A true classic and a car so comfortable you’ll seldom want to get out of it.

• From £107,500, Rangerover.com

When Porsche wheeled out the first Cayenne in the early 2000s, it proved rather controversial. The sportscar maker had broken away and matched performance with a high-riding SUV. Look at this list today, and you can see they were on to something. Since then, they’ve evolved the Cayenne to be both practical and performance minded; a near perfect blend of daily drivability with a sizable sporting personality on the side. Delving into the electric market most recently, the battery-powered Cayenne Turbo has a hypercar worthy 1,140bhp and a 0-62mph in 2.5 seconds, so consider it a supercar wrapped in something that can still tow a horsebox.

• From £83,200, porsche.com

The X7 has never needed to shout. BMW were one of the first manufacturers to introduce an SUV, when the X5 arrived in the late 1990s. Now, with the arrival of its flagship X7, it’s dialled its SUV formula up to 11. Range Rover levels of luxury, matched with the performance and driving dynamics that the BMW badge is best known for. Oh, and a gloriously spacious interior, complete with seven seats to make it the most well-appointed family SUV in the list. Few can find fault with the X7. It’s the annoying academic all-rounder that also cleaned up come school sports day.

• From £93,280 BMW.com

The brainchild of petrochemicals magnate and Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Ineos Grenadier was created for adventurous types. The kind, like Ratcliffe, who like the idea of driving across uncharted territory in the African Bush or celebrating their birthday with a roadtrip from Paris to Peking. Part inspired by the previous generation Land Rover Defender, ad part inspired by the Mercedes G-Wagon, the Grenadier is a no-frills, no-fuss and fun adventure wagon that even makes a morning commute feel like an epic expedition. Power comes from BMW-sourced 3.0-litre straight-six in either petrol or diesel. Neither will win the traffic light grand prix but they’re both engineered to survive decades of abuse without complaint.

• From £62,500 ineosgrenadier.com

Rolls-Royce's answer to any automotive question has always been to simply refuse to compete with anything and the Cullinan Series II doesn’t stray from that in the slightest. Sporting a hefty 6.75-litre V12, it’s all about having more than enough power than you’ll ever need. Few will call it sporty but nor is it pretending to be so. The Cullinan excels when it comes to excess and that much is clear from the slab-sided “monolithic” styling alone. Prices are difficult to define when it comes to Rolls-Royce given the opportunity for personalisation is almost endless, much like the options list. But consider £330,000 as a basic starting price and work upwards from there.Read our full review of the follow-up model here.

• From £330,000 rolls-roycemotorcars.com

There are few cars with a client list like the Toyota Land Cruiser. From the Red Cross to the United Nations, the military and everyday drivers who need something comfortable and indestructible. Quite simply, It is a car designed to outlive not just its finance agreement but also its owner. Powered by a 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel that’s built for durability rather than drama, the latest iteration of the seven seat family hauler references its elders with retro styling and no-nonsense interior.

• From £80,945 Toyota

We’d wager very few owners of the DBX707 found it was lacking when it came to power and performance credentials but recently, Aston Martin added another 20bhp to make the DBX S. Still equipped with the snarling twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8, Aston’s SUV now produces no less than 717bhp, which is enough for 0-62mph in 3.3 seconds and a 193mph top speed. The great British marque refer to it as the supercar of SUVs and it’s easy to see why. An optional carbon-fibre roof and 23” magnesium wheels are there to shave weight rather than add flourish, sharpening a car that was already one of the pointiest in this class. The DBX S is less an evolution, rather a reminder that Aston intends to keep its title as the top performer in the SUV arms race.

• From £210,000 astonmartin.com

Few cars have crafted a reputation like the G-Wagen. Originally built in 1979 for the German military, it's since become the go-to for anyone keen to announce their arrival. While hugely competent off-road, most are find crawling the city streets, with the AMG-fettled G63’s twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 rumbling down the road. It’s classic, boxy proportions have barely altered over the decades and while it might have the aerodynamic profile of a house brick, it’s both rapid and unapologetically raucous.

• From £133,775 Mercedes-Benz.com

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