The best family SUVs - driven, rated and ranked

Unusually, the Nissan X-Trail is powered exclusively by three-cylinder engines. That doesn’t bode well for effortless motoring, but for the e-Power hybrid versions at least, the opposite is true

Nissan claims that its hybrid system – where the engine only ever powers a generator and the wheels are driven by electric motors – provides an EV driving experience, but with the reassurance that you can simply fill up with petrol. The X-Trail gets very close indeed, which makes it a very undemanding car to drive. Motorway efficiency is good, but could be better, while efficiency in town is excellent.

Away from the novel powertrain, the X-Trail is very well considered. It’s a slightly smaller vehicle than cars like the Hyundai Santa Fe or Skoda Kodiaq, but still offers seven seats as an option. The second row has plenty of space, the rear doors open 90deg and the boot space is competitive.

In front, the X-Trail feels familiar from the smaller Nissan Qashqai, but that’s a good thing, because there are big buttons for commonly used functions and the infotainment is mostly logical, which makes the car very easy and frustration-free to use. The front seats are very comfortable, too.

On the road, the X-Trail is an easy-going companion. It suffers from a slightly crashy low-speed ride, but is very supple everywhere else, and even offers some dynamism in the corners.

The Discovery Sport may well be the entry-level Land Rover, but that doesn't mean it's short on the brand's trademark capability, comfort or charm.

Facelifted for 2019, the Discovery Sport sits on the same PTA platform as the Range Rover Evoque, but hasn't lost out on any of the characteristics that we liked about the original. It's still higher-riding than many of its opponents and affords better visibility.

True to the Land Rover brand, the four-wheel-drive versions will also go further off road than most owners will ever needs. However, it also handles in an impressively tidy fashion, with accurate steering, good body control and surprising agility.
Its practical interior is available with seven seats for those who need them. The current versions have plenty of premium appeal and benefit from the latest Pivi Pro infotainment system, which help give it a similar feel to the firm's upper-crust Range Rover offerings.

Most of the petrol and diesel engines have 48V mild-hybrid assistance, but the particularly slick P300e plug-in hybrid is the standout version, thanks to its well engineered integration that allows smooth transition between petrol and electric power.

However, its claimed EV range of 34 miles is no longer class-leading (and lands it in the 12% BiK band), plus the need to accommodate the motor and battery pack means there's no seven-seat option on this version.

If you want a family SUV with more versatility and off-road ruggedness than the class average, the Discovery Sport delivers that with very few compromises. Still one of the best 4x4s by far.

From value-for-money bargain basement brand to genuine premium player, Hyundai's head-spinning progress over the past decade or so almost beggars belief. Yet you need to take only a cursory look around the Santa Fe to appreciate just how far the South Korean firm has come. This futuristic SUV features distinctive looks and a spacious and classy cabin, plus a range of drivetrains that includes a full hybrid and a plug-in hybrid.

The key to the Santa Fe's appeal is its interior, which blends a real upmarket vibe with plenty of space. Unlike many seven-seat rivals, there's actually room in the third row for adults and access is fairly straightforward. There's a vast boot, too: 725 litres with five seats in place. Quality is excellent, with numerous high-grade materials, loads of standard kit and a decent infotainment set-up.

It's not the most exciting car to drive, but the steering is light and precise and the Hyundai handles corners with surprising composure for something so tall and heavy. It's at its best when taking it easy, which is no bad thing when you consider its family-friendly credentials.

The relatively soft suspension can become a little discombobulated over really challenging surfaces, but the rest of the time the Santa Fe is refined and relaxing companion that's as happy mooching about town as it is taking in a long haul trip.

If you need a show-stopping car that fits seamlessly into family life, the Hyundai takes some beating. Compared with a lot of rivals, you’ll get far more space and equipment for the money, too.

The XC60 is now one of the oldest cars in Volvo’s line-up, having been introduced in 2017, but it’s as handsome as ever. Although the refresh in 2022 makes for a good game of spot the difference, Volvo made plenty of useful changes that keep it at the sharp end of this list.

It still isn’t the last word in driver appeal, but as a slick, comfortable, easy-to-use family wagon, there's plenty to recommend here. The revised engine line-up means that all XC60 variants now offer some form of electrification. The B-series petrol and diesel models now have 48V mild-hybrid power for fractional reductions in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, and they remain the choice for private buyers.

Company car drivers will be delighted by the recent upgrade to 18.8kWh for the Volvo XC60 T6 and T8 Recharge PHEVs, which gives them well over 40 miles of EV range and drops the benefit-in-kind rate to just 8%. If you want an SUV for making stylish and serene progress, look no further than the XC60.

What's this: a decent-handling mid-range SUV? Before BMW set about making SUVs, the idea would have been borderline laughable, but the X3 has handling appeal sorted.

It also has powertrains with plenty of power and performance. The smaller diesel version can be a touch unrefined, but the multi-cylinder M40d and BMW X3 M40i are both rapid and smooth.

In fact, the BMW is a car of contrasts, with the all-electric BMW iX3 at one end of the scale, the fairly monstrous 503bhp BMW X3 M at the other and in between the BMW X3 xDrive 30e plug-in hybrid version. Yet for most, it's the conventional four-cylinder petrols and diesels that are best suited to the X3, although the increasingly unfashionable 3.0-litre straight-six diesel in the BMW X3 xDrive 30d is still unrivalled for refined and efficient muscle. Whichever X3 you choose, it'll steer neatly and precisely but is still happier taking it easy than being driven on its door handles.

The X3’s cabin is classy in the way that we’re used to from BMW. It received a facelift in 2021 but escaped the button purge that’s been happening at BMW recently. As a result, it still has the older, clearer infotainment system with its rotary iDrive controller and physical climate control buttons.

Standard equipment is a bit mean on some trim levels, but the car's perceived quality is above that of almost all others and serves up just enough space that you'll never feel you have to leave something behind. There's no seven-seat option (you'll need the bigger and pricier BMW X5 for that), but in all other respects, this is a roomy, versatile and satisfying family SUV.

The new second-generation Skoda Kodiaq is ultra-sensible, is undemanding to use and offers a truly huge amount of space for the money.

So what are you sacrificing? A chunk of premium-feel materials compared with some rivals, for a start, although it's not as much of a step down as you might think. Plus everything feels well screwed together.

There are more upmarket family SUVs, but not many that offer as much space for the money. Five and seven-seat models are both on offer - the former especially helpful if you value boot space over everything else, as it offers an enormous 910 litres worth.

All versions handle tidily, with commendable agility and composure and a good feeling of connection from the steering fooling you into thinking it's smaller than it actually is.

PHEV models are available, which is great for company car drivers, but it’s worth knowing that they don’t come with seven seats, because the third row seats and the battery occupy the same space.

Jaguar's first SUV came to market with typically good handling back in 2016, as well as plenty of cabin space and looks that rocketed it into the position of becoming Jaguar's best-selling model until it was overtaken by the smaller Jaguar E-Pace.

It received a facelift in 2021, which was fairly subtle on the outside but also involved Jaguar throwing most of the old interior in a skip and starting over. And to good effect: the design now looks modern but classy, and perceived material quality is excellent across the board. The clunky old infotainment has also been replaced with the much more user-friendly Pivi Pro system.

Under the bonnet, an expanded range of engines now includes petrol and diesel four-cylinder engines, as well as a pair of mild-hybrid straight sixes. The facelift also introduced the slick Jaguar F-Pace P400e plug-in hybrid. It was initially down on range compared with rivals, but newer models benefit from a larger, 19.2 kWh battery, which lifts the claimed EV range to 40.4 miles and drops the car into the 8% BiK company car bracket.

While the straight-six petrol F-Pace P400 is lovely, it is thirsty, so for balanced in-town and out-of-town driving, the F-Pace D300 diesel is still our choice, while the mild-hybridised four-pot diesels have better drivability and refinement than than they used to.
The go-faster Jaguar F-Pace SVR is an absolute riot and a fine example of a brilliantly executed performance SUV brimming with V8 drama, although its thirst and bombast mean you'll have to be happy to be marked out as a devotee of conspicuous consumption.

It's hard to pick faults with such a classy and consummate all-rounder as the Audi Q5, although slightly anodyne handling is what will prevent it from really appealing to keener drivers. This shortcoming hasn't stopped the Q5 emulating the sales success of its predecessor, though, which was a car that became the best-seller in its segment in nearly every country in which it was offered.

Although a pricey option, the Q5 is quiet, practical and desirable, with outstanding driving refinement and material finish. And if you prefer your SUVs with a little more style and less utility, there's a swoopy-roofed Audi Q5 Sportback version as well.

The Q5 received a pretty wide-reaching facelift for 2020, with efficiency-boosted mild-hybrid powertrains going in under the bonnet, some new digital technology going into the cabin and a wider trapezoidal grille going onto the front end. The big-selling Audi Q5 40 TDI diesel version got a 14bhp power boost as part of that revision, and it remains a refined, comfortable, assertive-performing and easy-driving family car, while the 2.0-litre petrol-powered Audi Q5 45 TFSI is a punchy and smooth device. If you want more than four cylinders, the V6 diesel Audi SQ5 is your only option.

The 50 TFSIe plug-in hybrid is a particularly smooth operator, with its electric motor and 2.0-litre turbo petrol four-pot combining to produce just shy of 300bhp. However, with its electric-only range of 39 miles, the Audi just misses out on the lowest company car tax bracket of 8%, falling into the higher 12% banding instead.