Like it or loath it, the family SUV has become the default choice for many buyers looking for a car that can do it all. Whether its working hard on the school run, trips to the tip, towing duties or long-distance motorway cruising, these high-riding machines are equally at home. Many also earn brownie points for their willingness to tackle wintry conditions and mildly rugged terrain.
It's a hotly contested and strategically important segment, where style, safety and space rank at the top of the agenda for buyers, and the ability to seat seven is often desirable.
That importance is underestimated by manufacturers at their peril, given that the segment has effectively obliterated the MPV market and is only expected to keep on growing in the future.
Despite a lack of variety in the styling and approach taken by many, it's now a fairly diverse segment that has attracted different brands into the fold of SUV making, many of them premium players.
As a result, you're spoiled with choice, with many models available as tax-friendly plug-in hybrids and EVs, too, as manufacturers scramble to grab a bigger slice of the increasingly emissions-conscious fleet market.
Here are our favourites.
1. Land Rover Discovery Sport
The Discovery Sport is 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, affords better visibility and has off-road capability that's pretty much unrivalled. And while it feels more like a traditional SUV from behind the wheel, it actually handles in an impressively tidy fashion, with accurate steering, good body control and surprising agility.
There's a practical interior, with the huge selling point of being available with seven seats for those who need them. It has now been given a much needed lift in premium appeal, too, and fitted with Land Rover's latest Pivi Pro infotainment set-up, helping to give it a similar feel to the firm's upper-crust Range Rover offerings.
Its petrol and diesel engines are now supplemented by 48V mild-hybrid architecture in a bid to improve fuel economy and performance, 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 isn't class-leading (and lands it in the 12% BiK banding, 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.
Join the debate
Add your comment
[ JOIN US ] My last pay test was $2500 operating 12 hours per week on line. my sisters buddy has been averaging $15000 for months now and she works approximately 20 hours every week. i can not accept as true with how easy it become as soon as i tried it out.copy and open this site .……......>> LiveJob247.com
I am making $162/hour telecommuting. I never imagined that it was honest to goodness yet my closest companion is earning $21 thousand a month by working on the web, that was truly shocking for me, she prescribed me to attempt it simply , COPY AND OPEN THIS SITE ……>> LiveJob247.com
I cant comment on this.
pointed out it's not realistic to put this car on 1st place.
only in the UK...
True. A Disco is not really the best family car. My Q7 is also a great family car, but looking at a family budget, they both fail. Therefore Kia/Hyundai or Skoda should be up there, eventually even a Citroen Belingo or a Dacia as the best budget family car..