BEST MEDIUM SUVs
If you’re starting a family, or just (literally) stepping up from a conventional car, these vehicles combine car-like refinement, features and safety with greater capacity for weekend and holiday adventures
Subaru Forester
Forester is a soft-roading champ that offers wheelspin-free driving to ensure you get out of soggy campsites, steep driveways and sketchy gravel tracks where grip is compromised.
It lacks the power of turbo-charged SUV, but unlike competitors’ on-demand AWD systems, all four of Foresters wheels are working at all times; power is split evenly between each, so available grip is never exceeded.
The CVT transmission is also much-improved over previous models, with minimal drone and smoother response to changing driving conditions.
Plus you get a deep, wide luggage space, a nice tall cabin roof which is great for very tall people, and a full-size spare means you’re never limping home at 80 in the rain on a busy freeway. Good build quality, great customer service from Subaru, and a long list of safety features as standard.
Hyundai Tucson
Tucson is Kia Sportage’s twin beneath the skin; same SUV bones, but different design and execution. Tucson focuses more on affordable, accessible performance and practicality over more prestige undertones.
It’s important you try both models to figure out which one suits you. You might prefer Hyundai’s centre console layout and where they put things, as well as how easily you can do a particular task like adjust the air-con or access the stereo functions.
A base Tucson has a heap of standard equipment: heated power mirrors, rear parking sensors, wireless phone charging, leather steering wheel, LED indicators and daytime running lights, auto-headlights, dual row-two USB ports and A/C vents. The ‘poverty-pack’ is anything but poverty.
Tucson also gets a full-size spare, plus the same light-duty towing capacity of 1900kg with the 2.0L diesel-AWD powertrain in Elite and Highlander.
Kia Sportage
Sportage is ideal for families that do a bit of everything, but not all at once, such as occasional camping, frequent regional trips, commuting or perhaps doing sales, consultancy or client-related travels on a weekly basis.
If you need a generous luggage space, full-size spare to keep you fully mobile and ample legroom for growing kids still in booster seats, Sportage is a great balance between practicality, space, comfort, affordability and frugality. Moderate towing is also within Sportage’s wheelhouse thanks to a torquey 2.0-litre turbo-diesel and 1900kg braked towing capacity.
Not only is the payload up to 460kg for suburban-friendly supermarket runs, and weekends away, it’ll also function as a comfortable long-distance cruiser. Consider a Hyundai Tucson if you can’t wait for stock availability.
Mazda CX-5
CX-5 is one of the nicest midsize SUVs to drive thanks to a punchy 2.5-litre turbo-petrol engine, a beautiful cabin that’s quiet to sit in and five seats with good legroom ahead of a surprisingly large luggage space.
‘MZD’ infotainment screen is love/hate because of its rotary dial, but making friends with it means you’ll reduce distraction. CX-5 is extremely popular, meaning you’ll get good resale value at the end of your tenure, and parts are affordable compared with the ‘prestige’ German SUV you might consider instead of a top-spec CX-5 Akera.
Most models offer good towing potential, with either the optional diesel or standard petrol powertrain. The 2.0-litre petrol is a good budget option.
Be aware of the space-saver spare if you’re a regional driver. Mazda customer service is OK and they’ve generally got good stock levels, so delays shouldn’t be long. A new model is coming in the next 18 months.
Mitsubishi Outlander
Outlander offers the best of both the large and midsize SUVs. If you need a seven-seater on a tight budget, it offers three rows but in modest profile, without a soaring pricetag.
The 2.5-litre petrol engine is naturally aspirated, so it’s good enough without being punchy, and frugal enough without being ultra-conservative on the fuel-consumption front.
Legroom is OK in the front and second rows, but it’s kids-only in row three (but no child restraints for row three, so older kids only up the back.
If you’re unlikely to go far off sealed roads, the on-demand all-wheel drive system of Mitsubishi’s is decent enough to get you through most light mud, wet grassy carparks and steep, slippery driveways or take-offs at the lights. The brochure talks a big adventure game, but it’s not a proper 4WD. Mitsubishi also offers a 10-year warranty.
MG HS
If you want to spend an additional $15,000 on the equivalent Toyota, Subaru, Mazda or Kia medium SUV, then go right ahead. But you won’t get the same level of razor sharp value that MG has crammed into the HS.
If you want what is effectively a brand-spanking new 10-year-old previous generation Sportage, RAV4 or CX-5, (because having the latest and greatest isn’t your top priority in favour of maximising your budget), then you’ll want to check out the staggering appeal the HS has to offer.
The HS is what mainstream brands should be terrified of in terms of price point. But that low price does come with drawbacks. You won’t find a full-size spare, a 91 RON fuel engine tune, or a particularly refined driving experience, because MG just hasn’t spent the big bucks making HS drive like the others. Or consume our cheapest fuel.
The terms ‘cheap’ and ‘Chinese’ are separated now because of this vehicle. It’s a win-win for consumers who need bang-for-buck.
Toyota RAV4
RAV4 is a five-seat family vehicle if you’re looking for a general-purpose, straight-forward SUV. A lot of people worship Toyota in Australia: they’re reliable, the dealer network is huge and the resale value is excellent.
The RAV4 is one of those vehicles that does a good job at not offending you with styling or getting in your face with tech or innovation. And that’s okay, because a large portion of buyers don’t care about flashy screens or indulgent styling; they just want an affordable SUV that goes OK. It does.
The boot is a decent size, engines (either atmo petrol or hybrid) are pretty reliable, they’re well built and they drive nicely enough without being anywhere close to ‘performance oriented’. Steering might be considered on the ‘light’ side, so lacking some feel and feedback, the suspension is decent without being uncomfortable, and the range is well priced, if slightly dear.
POPULAR MEDIUM SUVs TO AVOID
Skoda Karoq/Volkswagen Tiguan: Karoq is just a nastier Tiguan with cheaper plastics and a space-saver spare. Tiguan is a knock-off Audi but without the stylish design. Same car, same criminal parent carmaker that rarely treats customer complaints as legitimate.
Mercedes-Benz GLB: Looks drop-dead gorgeous, but you’ll pay full price because: no negotiating. When you present the dealer with some problem, they’ll find a way to ignore your consumer rights and bill you for poor build quality. Mercedes Australia is well-versed at this gouging tactic.
Nissan X-Trail: Nissan wants you to think its gutless mild-hybrid e-Power X-Trail is a quasi-EV. It’s not. This new generation X-Trail is also very new and the first under Nissan’s alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi, so we don’t really know if it’s any good or reliable, so wait six months at least.
Honda CR-V: Honda is nearly finished in Australia; 2022 sales were down 19 percent and 2023 sales did the same. Spending $40-$50K on a CR-V is going to be a depreciation disaster in three-to-five years, so don’t get trapped in Honda’s downward sales death-spiral.
Ford Escape: Escape sales are 1000 percent behind Toyota RAV4. Escape should be selling its socks off for Ford Australia, but it can’t even compete with upstart Chinese brands. Escape is costing Ford, meaning eventually they might stop bothering, which is a resale bomb for you.
Renault Koleos: Koleos is essentially a Nissan X-Trail underneath, but with a bigger pricetag, a more bland interior and weird French steering wheel controls. It’s also going to depreciate faster than the rest of the Best Medium SUVs here.
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