Top 10 best SUVs 2024

The modern SUV now spans the whole car market and blends a varied mix of qualities. These are Autocar's top 10 'best for' picks.

So many factors have fuelled the commercial rise of the Sports Utility Vehicle across Europe over the past 25 years that it’s small wonder it’s become such a popular vehicle type. The best SUVs provide comfort and convenience, space and versatility, chunky-cornered design appeal, and boosted occupant safety and visibility.

But does anyone now care, you may wonder, that higher-riding SUVs are inherently heavier, less aerodynamic and less efficient than those saloons and estates they might be supplanting? Or that so many of us are now riding around in cars significantly over-engineered for our daily motoring requirements, and burning through resources quicker than we really need to - often only for the sake of convenience or, worse still, simply ‘because fashion’?

The way so many SUV segments have mushroomed in popularity, and continue to grow, we can only assume not.

So what are the very best SUVs on the road right now? Since the term encompasses everything between a Suzuki Jimny and a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, it’s a little hard to narrow the field down and to rank 10 cars that can all be considered true rivals.

But if, instead, you want an SUV to do a particular job, or meet a specific need in your life, these 10 ‘best for’ suggestions should tell you were you might start looking.

*The best SUVs*