The best of all worlds, possibly? An SUV promises go-anywhere flexibility, while these large models also include enough space for you, your family, and all of the detritus you might want to take along with you on a weekend adventure.
They’ll make for comfortable cruising partners during the week, leaving the commute to work little more than a vague memory as you relax into soft suspension and sumptuous interiors.
But, while large SUVs are often the preserve of luxury manufacturers, the mainstream has got involved with some cracking models, so here's our guide to the seven best large SUVs on the market.
Kia Sorento
Car lease price: from £347.69 per month*
Take the Kia badge off the Sorento and you would be forgiven for thinking the Sorento hails from a premium brand. Whisper it, but the Sorento is right up there with the very best in the class.
It’s big, brash and has an American vibe to it, but it marries that with plenty of practicality - it’ll seat seven people without any difficulty, carry loads of luggage, and will tow up to 2.5 tonnes of caravan or, perhaps, boat. It’s enormous.
Power is provided by a smooth 2.2-litre diesel engine, but there’s also a plug-in hybrid option to keep emissions down. Every option provides plenty of power and surprising frugality, especially when you find a motorway to cruise along. It should be reliable for that cruising too, as it’s got a seven-year 100,000-mile warranty.
It’s more than just a big SUV, though, as it’s loaded with tech you simply won’t find in other vehicles; there’s a blind spot camera that shows what’s coming up behind you on the digital instrument panel ahead of you. It sounds odd, but works so well. Less convincing is the relaxation audio programmes, especially when combined with the gloriously comfortable leather seating. At least the car also monitors you for fatigue, or just drifting off to the soft sounds of the forest.
Kia Sorento need to knows:
- Car Leasing Category: Large SUV
- Select’s Car Review Score: 4.1 out of 5
- Boot size: 821 litres
- Engine Options: Diesel, Hybrid, Petrol Plug-In Hybrid (coming 2021)
- NCAP Safety Rating: 5 stars
Skoda Kodiaq
Car lease price from £232.56 per month
The Audi Q7 might have the kerb appeal, but its closely related cousin still packs plenty to catch the eye. Skoda has taken the term Sport Utility Vehicle and applied the most literal translation that it could.
The result is 4.7 metres of carefully considered design that incorporates everything you need from such a vehicle and little that you don’t.
That’s not to say it’s basic; it really isn’t, especially once you start exploring the seriously luxurious Laurin & Klement trim levels with its plush leather and expensive wood trim. There are countless helpful features, called ‘Simply Clever’ by Skoda, that makes life slightly easier, from an ice scraper in the fuel filler flap (so you don’t need to open the car door and get ice and snow inside) to an umbrella hidden in the door.
A huge boot, the option of seven seats, a range of engines from frugal to fast, four-wheel-drive choices, and trim levels from good value, through sporting, and onto luxurious means this everyman car really is a car for everybody.
Skoda Kodiaq need to knows:
- Car Leasing Category: Large SUV
- Select’s Car Review Score: 4.2 out of 5
- Boot size: 835 litres
- Engine Options: Diesel, Petrol
- NCAP Safety Rating: 5 stars
Volvo XC90
Car lease price: from £439.50 per month
Volvo surprised and impressed the world when it launched the latest XC90 SUV back in 2015. It marked a significant change in Volvo’s direction, its boxy past replaced with sleek (if sizeable) models embracing Swedish minimalism and Scandi-cool design.
Step inside and you’re presented with a wonderfully minimalist cabin that merges usable technology with carefully designed trim - there’s the usual aluminium or posh woods to choose from, but Volvo has also embraced sustainability so there’s a driftwood option. You can even replace the leather seats with ones trimmed in wool.
Plug-in hybrid engines are available, and every model is electrified to some degree, although, thanks to the sheer bulk of the car, none are exactly paragons of frugality. That aside, there’s little you wouldn’t like about the XC90, from it’s style and luxury to its space and practicality.
Volvo XC90 need to knows:
- Car Leasing Category: Large SUV
- Select’s Car Review Score: 4.2 out of 5
- Boot size: 775 litres
- Engine Options: Diesel, Petrol, Petrol Plug-In Hybrid
- NCAP Safety Rating: 5 stars
Peugeot 5008
Car lease price from: £314 per month
Who'd have thought that, amongst this list of uber-luxurious SUVs, Peugeot would have a model that could compete? Well, it does, and you’d be remiss to discount it.
It lacks the rugged looks of some of its competitors but makes up for that with a cutting-edge modern style that has as much presence as even the most premium of its rivals.
The interior differs too, thanks to Peugeot’s i-Cockpit. This offers a high-tech digital instrument panel that sits above a tiny, low-set, steering wheel. It’s odd, but works well. Combined with a dashboard that mixes piano key switches, touchscreen infotainment and warm ambient lighting, it’s a pleasant environment.
It’s well-equipped, with plenty of space for five, and room for a couple of extra people in the boot-mounted pair of seats for shorter journeys. Sensible engines, from a 1.2-litre petrol unit to a 2.0-litre diesel, there’s an engine for everyone, whether they want outright economy or improved performance.
The only thing to be wary of is that it’s SUV style doesn't mean it’s got 4x4 capabilities. It’s front-wheel-drive only, so this is an SUV strictly for the road.
Peugeot 5008 need to knows:
- Car Leasing Category: Large SUV
- Select’s Car Review Score: 4.2 out of 5
- Boot size: 780 litres
- Engine Options: Diesel, Petrol, Petrol Plug-In Hybrid (Coming Q4 2021)
- NCAP Safety Rating: 5 stars
BMW X7
Car lease price: from £735.52 per month
Have you ever looked at the BMW 7 Series luxury saloon and thought “that really needs to go off-road”? If you have, you’re in luck as the BMW X7 is a mammoth luxury SUV that can still cope with some mud-plugging.
The 21-inch wheels, foot-wide tyres and low ride height mean you won’t be thinking about tackling Mount Roraima, but you’ll have no difficulty getting out of a damp grassy car park at the Polo.
Performance could be described as ‘sufficient’ but the reality is that the X7 is mind-bendingly quick. There is a 333hp petrol-powered model, but the diesel model is cheaper, more powerful, more economical and even faster.
You're held in place in pillow-soft seats, surrounded by a typically high-quality BMW cabin, It’s plush, loaded with tech and has more space than most of its rivals. A 750-litre boot is enormous and large enough to fit an extra pair of seats that will allow seven adults to travel in the car in comfort.
BMW X7 need to knows:
- Car Leasing Category: Large SUV
- Select’s Car Review Score: 4.1
- Boot size: 750 litres
- Engine Options: Diesel, Petrol
- NCAP Safety Rating: TBC (Latest model not yet tested)
Range Rover
Car lease price: from £790.34 per month
The British big daddy has wrestled with its identity since its original appearance in 1969; is it a rugged off-roader, a luxury limo, or even just a status symbol? With fifty years of development under its belt, it’s now all three.
You pay handsomely for the latest model though, with models starting north of £80,000 and rising to almost £180,000. However, demand is high which leads to more reasonable leasing costs, masking just how much the car is worth.
The classy exterior is matched by an interior that is covered in thick leather, plush trim and all sorts of premium material choices. It’s not long on curves in the way a Mercedes might be, but straight-edged style adds to the perception of ruggedness.
It is properly rugged, though, able to tackle the most challenging terrain and almost a match for something more utilitarian, such as the Land Rover Defender. It combines that with a luxuriously compliant, smooth ride that is the envy of many luxury saloon makers.
Already a large model, you can specify the Range Rover in long-wheelbase form, with power coming from a range of sensible diesel and petrol engines, hybrid models, and potent 5.0-litre supercharged V8 units. There’s something to suit every oligarch.
Range Rover need to knows:
- Car Leasing Category: Large SUV
- Select’s Car Review Score: 4.2 out of 5
- Boot Size: 784 litres
- Engine Options: Diesel, Petrol, Petrol Plug-In Hybrid
- NCAP Safety Rating: 5 stars
Audi Q8
Car lease price: from £602.39 per month
Audi's Q8 is a bit of a box of tricks in the SUV sector, equally rugged and luxurious with a pretty powerful range of engines, underscored by the Quattro S Line's, which is capable of delivering somewhere north of 270 brake horsepower.
It's inside though, where the Q8 stands out as one of 2021's best large SUV lease options. The Q8 has been based off the uber-luxurious A8 Saloon, so there's plenty of top-quality and high-strength materials throughout. The 12-inch Virtual Cockpit is the most striking, and beneficial, elements of this stylish interior and remains the best system of its kind on the market.
This is a car that retails for, depending on trim, anything between £65k and £105k - so leasing it monthly for a fraction of that cost, while still benefitting from it's unbeatable luxury and high-class performance is one of our best large SUV offerings in 2021.
Audi Q8 need to knows:
- Car Leasing Category: Large SUV
- Select’s Car Review Score: 3.9 out of 5
- Boot size: 605 litres
- Engine Options: Diesel, Petrol, Petrol Plug-In Hybrid
- NCAP Safety Rating: 5 stars
*Prices include VAT. Credit is Subject to Status, Ts and Cs and Arrangement Fees apply. Excess mileage may apply. Price correct as of 22/01/2021.
**Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the scores of the UK’s top five leading independent car website reviews
