Off road

The explosion in the 4x4 market over the past 10 years has been enormous. Nearly every manufacturer now offers some sort of SUV and they've become a favourite among family buyers. Few venture off road but it's the extra practicality, raised driving position and feeling of safety that has much appeal. These are our top large off roaders and SUVs.

Lexus RX 450h (2009-)
Lexus isn't afraid to do things differently as the RX 450h shows. Not only does it look very different from other 4x4s, but as the 'h' in the name suggests, it's a hybrid. It combines a V6 petrol engine with an electric motor to keep CO2 low at 148g/km and also makes it exempt from the central London congestion charge.

Hyundai Santa Fe (2012-)
The Santa Fe is a mightily impressive SUV and one that addresses the shortcomings of the model it replaced. The good things remain - it feels well built, is practical and good value. This version hasn't lost touch with these 'core' values but gets a much needed boost in the style and quality departments.


BMW X3 (2010-)

The rather ungainly looks of the X3 hide what is one of the best SUVs around. It's so good in fact, it almost makes the larger X5 redundant. Along with impressive practicality, the usual BMW quality interior and car-like handling, it's affordable to run too. The xDrive18d model can return more than a claimed 55mpg.


Volvo XC60 (2008-)

The good looking XC60 is a family car with a high quality interior and a usefully large boot. It's also well equipped when it comes to safety kit. It's fitted with City Safety as standard - a clever system designed to prevents low speed impacts by automatically stopping the car if the driver doesn't.


Lexus RX 450h (2009-)

Lexus isn't afraid to do things differently as the RX 450h shows. Not only does it look very different from other 4x4s, but as the 'h' in the name suggests, it's a hybrid. It combines a V6 petrol engine with an electric motor to keep CO2 low at 148g/km and also makes it exempt from the central London congestion charge.


Volkswagen Touareg (2010-)

While on the outside this Touareg may not look radically different from the previous model, inside it's a very different story. The cabin has been given a major upgrade and feels far more upmarket with a modern luxury-car appearance plus superb fit and finish. Alongside the popular 3.0 TDI there's also a hybrid model available.


Range Rover

The fourth generation Range Rover represents a real leap forward compared to the outgoing model, particularly in terms of comfort, refinement and handling. Land Rover wanted to create the ultimate 4x4 - a blend of luxury and unmatched all-terrain capability. It certainly succeeded.

Mitsubishi Shogun

It may not be as popular as it once was, but the Shogun still represents a lot of car for the money. It's a proper off-roader too with a centre differential lock and a low range transfer box for extreme conditions, which means you can forgive its somewhat noisy engine and wayward on road handling.

Land Rover Defender

It was inevitable that the Defender would be the number one car on this list. It may be old fashoned, it may be crude by modern car standards and it may be hard work to drive on the road, but the fact remains that if you want a truly unstoppable off roader then there's just one car for you - the Land Rover Defender.

Kia Sorento (2010-)

The Kia Sorento has built up a strong reputation as an affordable, strong and neatly designed large 4x4. It's also good value for money but there's more to this SUV than the price tag. Kia has worked to move it upmarket with improvements in quality inside, better handling and quieter engines.

Audi Q5 (2008-)

It may not be a true off-roader like the Freelander 2 but the Q5 excels when it comes to comfort and refinement. But what impresses most is it's car-like handling. In corners it feels like an A4 with great body control, sharp steering and responsive brakes. It's certainly no ponderous 4x4.

Land Rover Freelander 2 (2006-)

The Freelander 2 is such a big improvement on the original Freelander the comparison between the two is like chalk and cheese. Land Rover addressed the criticisms of the original model to produced a great compact 4x4 that's composed on road but still as capable off-road as you'd expect of a Land Rover.