BEST LARGE & 7-SEAT SUVs
These have evolved into Australia’s new large family wagons - they’re safe, cavernous, versatile and practical. Trip down to Bunnings, family touring holiday, school sport, the in-laws … these vehicles pretty much do the lot
HYUNDAI SANTA FE
The seven-seat Santa Fe defies any rational case for buying a notionally premium German SUV.
A stylish yet functional cabin is bookended by affordability particularly in the mid-spec ‘Elite’ version which includes third-row climate control, plenty of charging ports and leather seats. In addition to the clever push-button transmission selector, good towing performance and some funky modern design, there’s even an abundance of legroom for all ages.
A full-size spare wheel is mounted externally under the rear, there’s a choice of a hybrid or full-combustion powertrains, driving either the front wheels or all of them.
Santa Fe’s AWD system is active, meaning it’s always monitoring and managing grip. Deploy row 3 seats at a moment’s notice; choose your configuration between 7 seats, or a 6-seater with second-row captain’s chairs.
MAZDA CX-90
The Mazda CX-90 is that company’s foray into the prestige brand territory, offering seven very luxurious leather seats, an imposing footprint and a remarkably nice interior design. It also supersedes CX-9.
You get two choices of engine, either a 3.3-litre turbo-diesel with a mild hybrid energy recovery system, or a 3.3 turbocharged petrol engine, also with the same mild hybrid setup. CX-90’s performance feels like some kind of ballistic leather couch, which makes you appreciate the equally impressive stopping power from the big brakes.
You get the choice of front-wheel drive and on-demand all-wheel drive (because that’s Mazda’s thing), and the model range is three tiers of easily digestible features packaging that makes you question paying another $90K for an ‘equivalent’ base model BMW X7.
In fact, if you’re considering anything from the luxury 7-seat segment like a Lexus LX, Audi Q7, the Mercedes GLS or the X7, you might want to do your bottom line a favour and try an Azami CX-90 first.
SUBARU OUTBACK
Outback offers strictly five seats and a long boot, running on a permanent all-wheel drive system and has the choice of a turbocharged 2.4 petrol engine that makes it as fun to drive as it is practical, or an atmo 2.5.
Towing is quoted at a maximum 2400kg on turbo models, while overall is only weighs in at 1800kg, giving it a lighter footprint than other larger seven-seaters. Outback also gets useful clever stuff like built-in roof racks, a portrait tablet control screen which minimises driver reach, a side camera for kerbside parking and a full-size spare wheel to make sure you’re always running on correct rubber. A mountain bike even fits in the back when you drop the rear seats.
Outback is ideal for regional travel, beach days, snow trips, unpredictable conditions on unfamiliar roads or lots of steep streets or dodgy driveways. A practical, restrained SUV that suits many families.
KIA SORENTO
Refreshed Sorento feels like a six-figure luxury SUV because it’s refined and drives beautifully. It shares fundamentals with Hyundai Santa Fe, but there’s a strong argument that Kia’s execution is better. The cabin and cockpit operations are slick and ergonomic, and there’s a third ISOFIX child restraint point (with corresponding top tether) in row three - making this one of very few triple-ISOFix SUVs on the market.
Kia’s rotary transmission selector is a dial to twist left or right for reverse, neutral and drive - a very slick piece of design great for doing U-turns, three-pointers and reversing a trailer.
Powertrains are all-wheel drive with an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission with the 2.2L diesel, or an eight-speed epicyclic-auto in front-drive with the 3.5L V6 petrol. There’s a full-size spare, tyre pressure monitoring is standard, and 2000kg of max (braked) towing.
HYUNDAI PALISADE
If you need a LandCruiser-style large, family-SUV that can do a little towing but only ever needs to go soft-roading, the Palisade is a smart choice next to Toyota’s so-called ‘King’.
Based on the Santa Fe platform, it’s quite capable of towing up to 2200kg, but you’ll need the Load Assist Kit from Hyundai to get 180kg of download on the towball; it’s 100kg standard, which is a bit light. GVM is 2755kg on the diesel Highlander, making ultimate payload 683kg (subtracting kerb weight & towball d/load). That’s 17kg shy of a $100K LandCruiser 300 GXL.
Palisade offers 8-seat 3-row functionality inside without being uncomfortable or gargantuan overall. In fact, it’s about 300-400kg lighter than the Patrol/LC300 set, meaning it drives better through corners, but is still heavy enough to remain stable when towing. That’s important.
Hyundai’s 2.2L diesel with all-wheel drive, their robust 8-speed dual-clutch transmission, and full-size spare wheel mounted externally under the rear, Palisade makes for a strong long-distance family holiday cruiser with a camper trailer, caravan or modest-sized boat.
MAZDA CX-8
The now defunct CX-8 offers a compromise on size, space and pricing; seven seats, a modest footprint and a beautiful interior. Consider a CX-8 model-2023 runout while you can >>
A smart choice for mostly metro-based families which venture to established provincial towns for holidays where signs of life are ever-present, and a tyre shop - because: space-saver spare.
You can have CX-8 as either the 2.5 petrol (front drive), or 2.2 diesel in AWD. But like CX-9, the 8 is a heavy vehicle in higher-spec diesels.
Think of CX-8 as being more rounded at the variety of tasks a typical big family hauler is expected to do. It’ll do everything well, without being especially awesome at either. Row 3 is more cramped than a CX-9, but it’s smaller overall and less cumbersome on confined streets or tight driveways. It’s more affordable, but can’t take as much in the boot.
TOYOTA KLUGER
Kluger is a large SUV with three rows of seats, a big thirsty reliable engine with a conventional transmission (or CVT in hybrid form), an on-demand all-wheel drive system, and a big boot.
There’s a full-size spare wheel, and you get the option of a fairly robust hybrid powertrain that should save you small amounts of fuel on your daily stop-start commute. There’s curtain airbags included in row three unlike more supposedly innovative brands in this segment.
Kluger is very popular, and resale value will be strong compared with rivals. But you’ll have to be patient waiting for yours to arrive some time in the distant future due to ‘supply shortages’.
Grande is dear at nearly $80K, and you won’t get the same effortless polish and unmistakable elegance of a Mazda or the innovative interior or exterior design of a Kia or Hyundai. But that’s fine for many buyers who just want a big, simple, uneventful SUV that isn’t pretentious.
LARGE & SEVEN-SEAT SUVs TO AVOID
Nissan Pathfinder: Pathfinder has an old, thirsty petrol V6 engine and no option of a turbo-diesel, which it desperately needs for such a girthy and potentially heavily-laden family bus. This is because Nissan has failed to innovate. For a vehicle so new, 2023 sales are 270 percent behind CX-9.
Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace/Toureg: It’s Volkswagen trying to make Tiguan into an Outlander competitor, except the Allspace is thousands more expensive. Volkswagen’s new Toureg coming in 2024 will be $70K+, it’ll depreciate badly and you’ll be (unhappily) married to Volkswagen.
Skoda Kodiaq: Kodiak is a stripped out Tiguan that drinks premium fuel and offers Volkswagen Group wayward customer support. Sales are dismal and resale prospects suggest you’ll lose between $15,000-20,000 of value in the first year alone, according to Redbook.
Mercedes-Benz GLE: The GLE is just enormous, extremely expensive to buy ($3900 extra for 7-seat option), run and service, and not nearly as well-made as Mercedes would have you believe. Plus, you’ll pay about $15K in luxury car tax on the base model, losing $25K value in year one.
SsangYong Rexton: New Rexton is affordable and looks okay. It’ll probably be reliable enough, although we don’t know that until they’ve been on the road for at least six months, but there are just too many question marks about whether SsangYong will stay or collapse in Australia, again.
LDV D90: Sales for D90 are down in 2023 compared with 2022, but the key issue with this vehicle is LDV itself. There are some serious concerns about poor build quality, backed up by some poor demonstrations of aftersales so-called customer support. D90 is pretty unrefined, too.
Jeep Wrangler: The ultimate safety deathtrap. Wrangler has been proven by crash experts - repeatedly - that it is predisposed to rollover in the event of a crash, which increases the chance of serous injury and death. Jeep service sucks, parts are dear and build quality is appalling.
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