The Best SUV for 2023

By and large, the family sedan isn’t in. There is now a new type of car called an SUV, or “sport utility vehicle.” It’s thanks to smart packaging, a wide range of sizes, and a lot of options that SUVs are now very popular in the United States. You might not be able to choose the right SUV for you at first because there are so many to choose from.

We’re here to help. We’ve driven just about every Midsize SUV, Luxury SUV, Affordable SUV, and crossover on the market, from small to big and cheap to expensive, and we’ve tried them all. These are our picks for the types of cars that most people will buy, and we’ve even made sure to include hybrids and electric cars for people who want to look even further down the road.

People who want to live in a small space will love the Hyundai Venue, which is basically the smallest SUV on the market today.

The Hyundai Venue may be small, but it has a lot of value. It has a 1.6-liter inline-4 engine that makes 121 horsepower and 113 pound-feet of torque, which is enough to make this small car feel quick. The standard CVT transmission makes things even smoother. The EPA says it can get up to 30 miles per gallon in the city and 33 miles per gallon on the highway.

In the Venue, style is very important, whether it’s the funky-fresh exterior or the sensible yet interesting inside. This is true whether it’s the outside or the inside. If you want to spend a little more money, the Denim trim can go with a very cool blue color scheme inside. Also, there’s an 8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and safety systems like automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping help.

Mazda has a new compact SUV called the CX-9 to get something bigger than the Venue. It’s a newcomer to the market, but it builds on Mazda’s recent success with small SUVs.

The CX-9 has a roofline that looks like a coupe. This small SUV has a lot of personalities it. It’s best shown inside, where the higher-end models feel like they could be from a high-end hotel, with soft touchpoints and a surprising amount of soft leather. As long as you add a simple layout that keeps distractions to a minimum, you have an ideal commuter spot!

There’s also some bite to go with the CX-30’s bark. The car has an 8.8-inch infotainment screen and many safety features, like adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and lane-keeping assist. A 2.5-liter I4 under the hood gives enough power and torque to move the car. Front-wheel drive is standard, but all-wheel drive can be added for a little extra money. These cars get 33mpg on the highway and 25mpg in the city.

First, the Kia Telluride shocked us. It was a lot bigger than we thought. Despite being more than a year old, it still stands out as a great midsize SUV that isn’t afraid to get a little fancy.

Nappa leather, heated seats, and power-folding rear seats can be added to the Telluride, even though the starting price is only about $32,000. Big families don’t have to choose a car that won’t fit in their garage with the Telluride. It has three rows of seats. An 8-inch infotainment system is standard, but higher-end models get a 10.3-inch screen with both touch and physical controls. This is better than the standard 8-inch screen. Because it’s so cozy, too.

If you have front-wheel drive, it gets 20 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway with its 291-hp V6 engine. If you have all-wheel drive, that drops to 1 or 2 mpg. In the midsize SUV space, it’s still good value for the money. It can carry the whole family and tow up to 5,000 pounds.

This type of SUV is still around, but it’s more difficult to find. Most of these large trucks-based utes are called “body-on-frame SUVs.” But if you need to move a lot of people or goods, the new Chevy Tahoe is ready to go.

The Tahoe has a new independent rear suspension that makes the ride feel more like a car than a truck. That new rear end also helped make the most of space, with 66% more space behind the third row (now 25.5 cubic feet) and third-row seats that have 10 inches more legroom. It’s almost like having a Brooklyn studio apartment in this place, but for a lot less money than you’d pay for real estate in New York City. The prices start at $50,000.

Families will love almost everything Tahoe has to offer. As many as nine cameras can be used to get a detailed look around the car when you park it, and there are USB ports on every row. With the Tahoe, standard safety features like automatic emergency braking and blind-spot monitoring have finally made it to this market.

It doesn’t matter if you agree that Mercedes-Benz needed a small luxury SUV to go between the GLA-Class and the slightly bigger GLC-Class. The car that ended up there is good and might even be better than the other two.

Mercedes-Benz GLB250 is a small luxury SUV with the same boxy shape as the three-row GLS-Class but smaller. It’s called the GLB250. It’s a beautiful shape and serves a purpose, with its taller roof giving people inside a more pleasant experience. Heck, Mercedes-Benz even has a third row in this car. You can’t fit anything bigger than a child back there, though.

With a 2.0-liter turbocharged I4, the GLB250 makes 221 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. Both FWD and AWD models can get 30 or more mpg on the highway. There are a lot of standard techs inside, with two 7-inch screens hanging out even on the base model. You can also get two 10.3-inch screens for a little extra flash. The screens run Mercedes-MBUX Benz’s infotainment software, which is one of our favorites because it can read natural language and is simple but not feature-light.

The first luxury SUV from Hyundai’s Genesis offshoot is a stunner that puts luxury over the sport in a way that few cars do. No car on the road looks like Genesis GV80, thanks to the brand’s sharp look. It has split head lights, taillights, and a big shiny grille in the front. You can still get a lot of storage space in the back of the car and even make some of it into a third row that folds down. The fastback-style roofline doesn’t cut into the space in the second row.

With an optional 3.5-liter V6, the GV80 can hit speeds of up to 375 hp and 391 lb-ft. If you drive on the highway for a long time, the ride will be soft and comfortable. It doesn’t have air suspension. There is a lot of attention paid to soft edges and high-quality leather surfaces inside of the house. Genesis has a lot of good technology, too, like its 14.5-inch infotainment screen, which looks better than what the Germans are currently selling.

If you thought the Cadillac Escalade was just a fancy Tahoe with more leather, you were wrong. It’s a lot more than that. Until 2021, you would have been right. But now, Cadillac’s big and powerful truck is a real tech show on wheels.

Cadillac did a great job with the Escalade. A new independent rear suspension has made the ride much better and increased the space inside for both people and packages. It has a new look that is imposing in a good way, and the inside has improved. It has a unique layout that doesn’t feel like a business.

There are three OLED panels on the dashboard that makeup 38 inches of screen, stretching from the driver’s eyes almost to the passenger. This is because the dashboard is made up of three separate screens. GM’s infotainment system is great, too, and the hands-free Super Cruise system should help ease the stress of long road trips that take hours to get to. In most cars, V8 engines are under the hood. There will be a 3.0-liter diesel I6 engine for those who want a little more efficiency.

When it comes to high-performance SUVs, it’s hard to beat Porsche, and its small Macan is a lot of fun to drive.

GTS is the best way to show off Porsche’s on-road mantra in the new Porsche Macan. You’ll hear some of the most beautiful noises you’ll ever hear from a sport-ute when you drive this one. Is it as impressive on paper as the Turbo model, which has 434 horsepower? Not at all. The GTS has 375 horsepower and 383 pounds-feet from its 2.9-liter, twin-turbo V6 engine. If it wants more, it’ll work all day and never stop.

The inside of the car has a lot of traditional Porsche style. For example, the gauge cluster has a huge tachometer in the middle and many other controls on either side of the gear lever. Porsche’s Communication Management software is on a 10.9-inch touchscreen, and it’s one of our favorite systems because it’s simple and easy to get to all the usual menus. You can customize the Macan GTS in ways that few other carmakers are able to do. Porsche is known for having a lot of extra options.

There is a GLS63 that can take the whole family to a speed that might allow them to leave low Earth orbit. 603 horsepower and 627 pounds of torque come from a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine. It can go from 0 to 60 in less than three seconds. But comfort is still very important, and its ride is smooth enough to make the miles go by on a long road trip.

Mercedes always puts luxury first, and the GLS63 is no different. My favorite thing about its interior is how simple it is, but it has a lot of soft leather and warm wood trim to make it look good. All three rows are comfortable, but the front bucket seats get the most attention because they have massage seats and enough space for most, but not all, of your Birkins.

“Astonishingly efficient” is what our review of the Toyota Highlander Hybrid says about it, and it’s true, too.

People can tell that Toyota knows a lot about hybrid cars, and it shows. In front-wheel-drive mode, the Highlander Hybrid gets 36 mpg city and 35 mpg highway, which is great for a three-row SUV that starts at just under $40,000. It has a 2.5-liter I4 gas engine that pairs with two electric motor generators to make 243 hp, which means it’s not exactly a slouch.

Highlander is a good choice for people who need to get things done, but Toyota’s new version adds some style to the mix, too, with a clever dashboard layout that looks futuristic and has a lot of storage space for both drivers and passengers. As long as you only take your pets or kids back there, the third row is fine. Adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, and lane-keeping assist are all standard on the new cars, and they all come with the car.

The best electric SUV can’t be a Ford Mustang, so how can that be? Because it’s so good, that’s why.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E might be a little over-the-top when it comes to marketing, but underneath the Mustang-like taillights and badges is a well-built electric crossover. Some trims have two or four driven wheels, which means people can get sportier versions or something more low-key. Range also varies by trim level, but Mach-E variants can get up to an EPA-estimated 300 miles of range, which should be enough for most people.

The Mach-style E’s is unique both inside and outside. It’s not like any other. A clean dashboard with fabric trim makes the interior feel both luxurious and spacious. A 15.5-inch portrait display runs the best version of Ford’s Sync 4 software to date, impressing us with its features and the visual punch of having a big screen right in the middle of the dash, making the interior look and feel bigger. If this is a preview of what Ford’s electric cars will look like in the future, we’re excited.

As far as SUVs go, Land Rover has been known for making them good on the road and off-road. I like this new model because it’s an example of that.

People in the United States love the Land Rover Defender because it brings back a well-known brand. When it comes to its design, it’s a mix of old and new. It turns Defenders from the past into softer but still aggressive SUVs. There are two-door and four-door versions of this unibody utility car. Because it can go on all kinds of ground and because the bigger version has 11.5 inches of ground clearance and can get through almost 3 feet of water, it can be used in many different situations.

With a turbocharged I4 that makes 296 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque, the base engine is a 2.0-liter turbocharged I4. You’ll have to pay a little more to get the 3.0-liter I6 with the mild-hybrid system. It has 395 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque, but both engines can pull up to 8,200 pounds.

To go over the top, you can’t go wrong with a piece of metal that comes from Germany.

There are a lot of ridiculous SUVs out there today, but the Mercedes-Benz G550 is one of the best. Because it’s also very powerful. It’s a lot of fun to drive for a very long time. You can put crazy-colored leather inside and paint the outside in matte paint, but even if you show off this thing to death, it still looks like a tool. Mercedes is known for this kind of thing.

And when it comes to its abilities, they can’t be matched, as can other things. People who drive the G550 can climb a 45-degree slope and wade through more than 2 feet of water. An AMG version that can also break the sound barrier can help with this and a lot of other things, as well. Due to the fact that the price starts at $131,000, it should be everything you want in an off-road SUV.

There’s no other car like the Rolls-Royce Cullinan. If you want to spend money from your house on a car, there’s nothing better.

Finally, Rolls-Royce did what the public wanted. They came out with a sport utility vehicle with all the luxury features you could ever want. A fiber-optic star map of the sky on the exact date of your birth will be a good headline for you if you want. Royce can do it. Do you want bright yellow leather to match sheepskin floor mats that are also yellow? Look no further, then. Feel like a glass of champagne from the back seat? If you want to open the compartment that holds your chilled crystal flutes, you can do that.

At $325,000, the Cullinan doesn’t seem like a real deal to most people. But for those who want to go all out, there’s no better option than Rolling Stone.

Comparison of the best SUVs

How we made our list

They drive a lot of cars over the course of a year, and they all try to get into as many different types of cars as they can. SUVs on this list are the cars that we would want to own in each category because we have put cars through their paces for years.

You can, of course, take this list with a grain or two of salt. Most of the time, Roadshow’s editors get to drive a car for about a week, except for long-term loans that last up to a year. If you want to know how long-term reliability is, you might want to talk to some people who own cars. You might also want to figure out how long it will take for the costs to come up. These prices are based on what each manufacturer’s website has to say, but they don’t take discounts or price increases into account because the final price is up to each dealership to set.

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