10 of the best luxury SUVs

Time was if you wanted a seriously premium cabin and a sense of being away from the grubby public, you bought a prestige saloon. But now more and more drivers are switching to large and luxurious SUVs because they have large and luxurious cabins, coupled with often surprising pace and road manners – plus you get to sit up high, like a king on his throne. Here are our top ten choices if you want to get away from them all.

10 Lexus RX

With a V6 petrol engine you get an electric motor, giving you performance and low bills and emissions. It’s also very comfy and a doddle to drive, so it makes a lot of sense for a company car. Not quite as quiet or practical as some, but otherwise a sound choice.

Our choice: RX 450h Luxury

9 Porsche Cayenne

If you want a large SUV that drives like a hot hatch then this is about as close as you’re possibly going to get. It’s a very desirable SUV even if you need to tick the expensive options boxes to get all the kit you’d expect as standard.

Our choice: Diesel S

8 BMW X5

Another big SUV that is designed very much with the road in mind, and a fast road at that. For such a large vehicle it handles incredibly well and displays all the maturity you’d expect from a third-generation model.

Our choice: xDrive25d SE

7 Bentley Bentayga

If you want a statement SUV then this is it, Bentley’s first ever SUV. The cabin is one of the classiest creations on the road and the performance is absolutely sensational. There’s nothing not to like except most of us can’t afford one, with prices starting – but rarely finishing – at £137,000.

Our choice: Diesel

6 Range Rover

Range Rover makes SUVs donchaknow. For over 40 years in fact, and the latest one continues the family tradition of offering on-road opulence with serious off-road ability.

Our choice: 3.0 TDV6 SE

5 Range Rover Sport

The Range Rover for those who acknowledge they don’t have a country estate they need to cross in their SUV. The interior, with the option of seven seats, is still at the high end of the luxury spectrum, and the relaxed engines and ride will help you cover the miles in real style.

Our choice: 3.0 SDV6 HSE

4 Volvo XC90

This would have a podium position were it not for the jiggly ride and a lack of top-end refinement. Otherwise it’s a terrific blend of practicality, versatility and, in the latest form, sheer driving pleasure. The cabin is quirky Scandi, and all the better for it.

Our choice: 2.0 D5 PowerPulse Momentum

3 Porsche Macan

You want an SUV but you also want that Porsche badge and the ability to clobber hot hatches wherever they roam. Which is why you’ve bought a Macan, and why you’ve realised you haven’t bought a practical, flexible SUV, you’ve bought a Porsche designed to see off those hot hatches.

Our choice: Diesel S

2 Land Rover Discovery

It’s new, it’s huge, it’s got seven seats. Practical, posh and pretty good value, the full-size Discovery moves forward the SUV game with a vehicle rammed with clever tech, some of it designed to help you cross the sort of terrain you’d normally only attempt in your howdah on the back of the elephant with the beaters going ahead.

Our choice: 3.0 TD6 HSE

1 Audi Q7

It’s Audi’s flagship SUV innit? Which means it’s very large, very luxurious and has a very, very brilliant cabin. Naturally there is tons of space for the family and all their belongings, if not for all their ponies. Not quite, anyway.